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THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 
 
THE LIFE 
 
 CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH, 
 
 THE 
 
 FOUNDER OP VIRGINIA. 
 
 BY W. GILMORE SIMMS, 
 u 
 
 AUTHOR OF " LIFE OF MARION," " HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, BIO. 
 
 SEVENTH EDITION. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 JOHN E. POTTER & CO., 
 
 Nos. 614 A 617 SA^SOM STREET. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 18H7, by 
 
 JOHN E. POTTER & CO., 
 
 In the Clerk s Office of the District Court of tho United States, in and for the 
 Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 
 

 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 THE woiks consulted in the preparation of this volume 
 are " The true Travels, Adventures and Observations 
 of Captain John Smith in Europe, Asia, Africke and 
 America," Stith, Beverley, Burke, Purchas, Gra- 
 hame, Bancroft, Collections of the Massachusetts 
 Historical Society, and the neat and well -written Life 
 of Smith, by Mr. Milliard, contained in the Library 
 of American Biography. As much of Smith s own 
 language as could be employed has been made use of 
 without scruple, and with little alteration. It has been a 
 favorite part of the plan of the present volume to make 
 the account of the Discovery, Settlement and Progress 
 of Virginia as copious as possible, consistently with 
 the claims of the biography. 
 
 M311459 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 BOOK L CHAPTER I. 
 
 SMITH, born in Lincolnshire, England good family 
 left an orphan at an early age education neglected by his 
 guardians apprenticed to a merchant of Lynn leaves him 
 and goes to France serves in the Low Countries as a sol 
 dierembarks for Scotland is wrecked and narrowly 
 saved from drowning falls sick, and becomes a hermit in 
 Lincolnshire. ......... Q 
 
 CHAPTER IL 
 
 Revisits the Low Countries robbed by certain French gal 
 lants duel with one of them, whom he wounds received 
 with kindness by the Earl of Ployer takes ship for Italy 
 is thrown overboard by the Catholics in a storm saved on 
 St Mary s Isle is taken off by a French vessel, and sails 
 for Egypt fight at sea between the French and a Venetian 
 Smith travels over Italy goes to Austria, and joins the 
 Imperial army. -.-....99 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Smith attracts the notice of the Imperial officers siege of 
 Olympach he devises a scheme for the relief of the place 
 his telegraphic communication with the besieged by means of 
 torches it succeeds battle with the Turks relief of Olym 
 pach Smith is rewarded by a command of horse in the 
 regiment of Meldritch. 33 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Siege of Alba Regalia " Fiery Dragons" of Smith their 
 effect the city taken by storm Turks approach for relief 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 battle on the plains of Girke Smith wounded his horse 
 killed second battle Turks routed Smith goes with the 
 
 CHAi l LK. V. 
 
 Siege of the Turkish city of Regall the Christian knights 
 challenged by Lori Turbishaw lots cast, and Smith is 
 chosen to encounter the Turkish champion kills him in 
 sight of both armies, and carries off the head of Turbishaw, 
 with his armor. 47 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Smith is challenged by Lord Grualgo, the comrade of Tur 
 bishaw accepts the challenge they meet as before in the 
 sight of both armies Smith is wounded by a pistol shot, 
 but carries off the head and armor of Grualgo in turn he 
 sends a challenge to the knights in Regall challenge ac 
 cepted by Bonny Mulgro Smith is nearly defeated in the 
 combat, but slays the Turkish champion. 53 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Smith honored with a triumph ennobled by Sigismund, Prince 
 of Transylvania siege of Regall continued Regall storm 
 ed massacre the army penetrates Wallachia battle with 
 Jeremias Smith s description of the battle. 68 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 War with the Turks continued Christian army retreats- 
 beleaguered by their enemies Smith s invention of fire 
 works their success approach of the Tartar army battle 
 in the valley of Veristhorn defeat of the Christians Smith 
 wounded, and left for dead among the slain a captive, and 
 sold to the Bashaw Bogall. ff, 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Smith sent to Constantinople, a present to a Turkish damsel 
 wins her affections sent by her for safety to her brother, Ti- 
 mour Bashaw is brutally treated by him beats out the 
 Bashaw s brains, and escapes to M .scovy. 74 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. Ill 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Smith reaches Ecopolis is kindly treated by the Lady Cala- 
 mata returns to Transylvania warmly received by Mel- 
 dritch and Prince Sigismund goes with a French captain 
 to Morocco accompanies him in a cruise to the Canaries 
 sea-fight with two Spanish vessels, and escape of the 
 Frenchman. ..-.....-83 
 
 BOOK II. CHAPTER I. 
 
 Smith again in England colonial settlement and mercantile 
 adventure he is greatly interested in the subject English 
 discovery in the New World Smith joius with others seek 
 ing to colonize. -------- -93 
 
 CHAPTER IL 
 
 Squadron of three small vessels sail from Blackwall, in De 
 cember, 1606 voyage inauspicious strife among the ad 
 venturers Smith taken into custody by his comrades they 
 reach the Chesapeake is allowed his freedom James river 
 the site chosen for a settlement. 104 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Smith s energy and industry not suffered a seat in council 
 he visits Powhatan colonists surprised by the Indians 
 their terror at the English firearms the council propose to 
 send Smith to England he resists them insists upon his 
 trial is acquitted obtains damages for his injuries, and is 
 admitted to the council. 112 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Distresses of the colony evils of the management incompe- 
 tency of the President Smith placed at the head of affairs 
 his courage and conduct improvement in condition of 
 the colonists Smith s encounter and success with the sa 
 vages conspiracy against him among the whites defeats 
 it punishes the conspirators explores the country is 
 taken by the Indians. 120 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Smith carried in triumph through the settlements of the sa- 
 
IV TABLE OFCONTENT8. 
 
 vages nearly slain by an Indian father, wAose son had 
 been killed in an affair with the whites fears of being eaten 
 is conducted to the hamlet of Powhatan. ... 135 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The power of the Indian emperor Smith received oy him in 
 state is treated with courtesy his fate discussed he is 
 doomed to die his head is on the block, and the executioner 
 about to strike, when the victim is saved by the interposition 
 of Pocahontas, the child of Powhatan. - - - - 143 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Smith is taken into favor his judicious policy with the In 
 dians his doubts and distresses conferences with Powha 
 tan treaty is sent back to Jamestown, and reaches the co 
 lony in safety new conspiracy of the English to abandon 
 the settlement quelled by Smith they seek to punish him 
 for the death of two soldiers, slain by the savages, when he 
 was taken prisoner he lays his enemies by the heels. - 158 
 
 BOOK III. CHAPTER I. 
 
 Smith s description of the Indians his management of them 
 his power over them Newport persuaded to visit Powhatan 
 his fears Smith s example the interview with and de 
 scription of the Indian emperor exchange of hostages and 
 courtesies trade 169 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Mutual policy of the red and white men equal sagacity of 
 Smith and Powhatan cold winter destruction of James 
 town by fire blunders of the proprietors, and ridiculous 
 search for gold. 175 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Preparations for invading the Monacans bad practices of the 
 sailors and the colonists insolence of the Indians their 
 thefts Smith drives them before him the effects of his re 
 solution upon them conspiracy against the colony Poca- 
 hontas sent to Jamestown with apologies from Powhatan, to 
 whom Smith gives up his Indian captives. ... iQ3 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. V 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Radcliffe President his weakness and excesses is restrained 
 by Smith energy of Smith he explores the Chesapeake in 
 an open boat thunderstorm and narrow escape ambuscade 
 of the savages Massawomeks discovery of Potomac 
 Smith wounded severely by a stingray. 191 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Return to Jamestown follies of the President Smith re-em 
 barks on a new voyage makes discoveries of other tribes 
 and ruins the Susquehannocks, a gigantic people conflicts 
 and treaties with the Indians peril from tempests. - - 205 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Re-building Jamestown arrival from England idle projects 
 of the adventurers visit to Powhatan by the English 
 sports of Indian damsels pride of Powhatan ludicrous 
 scene at his coronation -----.. 926 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Newport s abortive adventure in the country of the Mona- 
 cans Smith sets the colonists to work his punishments for 
 swearing hostility of the Indians distress of the colony 
 his remedies his letter to the treasurer and council of the 
 plantation. ---.--... 23t 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The exigencies of the colony Smith goes among the Indians 
 for provisions camp in the snow difficulties with the In 
 dians Powhatan hostile Smith resolves to seize his per 
 son vigilance of Powhatan his cunning and ill feeling, 
 treachery and excellent speech attempts of the savages- 
 Smith s courage and conduct defeats their plans Poca- 
 hontas comes to Smith by night to warn him against the 
 messengers sent bv her father the supper. ... 35; 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Treachery among the whites Smith at Pamaunkee, the seat 
 of Opechancanough hostile designs of the latter Smith 
 environed by the savages seizes Opechancanough in per- 
 
VI TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 son, and extricates himself and friends second attempt of 
 
 the Indian chief, and defeat disaster at Jamestown. - - 271 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Smith renews his attempts to take Powhatan and is again 
 baffled returns to Jamestown confusion there his laws 
 attempt upon his life and the colony by the savages, with 
 the help of certain traitorous Dutchmen Smith assailed by 
 the King of Paspahegh, a giant overthrows him in single 
 combat, and carries him prisoner to Jamestown His skill 
 in surgery Indian ingenuity. ------ 284 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Improvements at Jamestown Smith supreme Powhatan s 
 liberality Smith s treatment of mutineers his power 
 among the savages the Dutchmen tLnr fate return of 
 
 exploring parties. - 297 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Smith s enemies a new charter for the colony new officers 
 from Europe their follies Smith superseded the distresses 
 and disturbances of the settlement Smith s scorn and in 
 difference his resumption of authority his energy, decision 
 and judgment combat of the settlers at the Falls with the 
 savages Smith rescues the former resettles them, and 
 they abandon the settlement. --.--- 306 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Smith blown up with gunpowder nearly drowned conspi 
 racy, and attempt upon his life his sufferings resigns the 
 government to Percy, and returns to England his services 
 in the colony. 317 
 
 BOOK IV. CHAPTER I. 
 
 Smith in England his studies writings associates and eulo 
 gists " The Sea Marke," a poem the Virginia colony 
 Pocahontas her captivity marriage with John Rolfe, and 
 admission into the Church of Christ. - 32(1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Smith s cravings for adventure Plymouth Company Dis- 
 
TABLE OF CON TENTS. VII 
 
 covery in New England Smith s first voyage for furs and 
 lish his narrative and map of the country receives the 
 honorary distinction of Admiral of New England difficul 
 ties between the London and Plymouth companies Smith s 
 second voyage to New England misfortunes encounters 
 with pirates is taken prisoner by the French escapes in 
 one of their boats during a storm. - 331 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Smith at Rochelle in France assisted by Madame Chanoys 
 returns to England his publications, fame, disappoint 
 ments and noble firmness vainly labors to proceed with a 
 new armament to New England. 348 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 /irginia attempts of the English to take from Powhatan a 
 second daughter Pocahontas her character is carried to 
 England by Sir Thomas Dale her interview with Smith 
 his letter to dueen Anne Uttomakkin, the emissary of 
 Powhatan Death of Pocahontas her descendants. - - 355 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 ^owhatan his death Opechancanough, his power and policy 
 massacre of the English Smith s scheme for subduing 
 the Indians his opinions of the state of the colony his fail 
 ures and writings neglect, and death in 1631 Opechanca 
 nough his captivity dignity assassination by an English 
 soldier while in custody of Sir William Berkeley. - - 367 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Smith s Patent of Nobility - - - - . . - JT7 
 
THE LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH. 
 
 BOOK I. CHAPTER I. 
 
 IN tne long roll or catalogue which the world may exhi 
 bit of the great or remarkable men who have distinguish 
 ed its several epochs and conditions, none have ever so 
 completely ravished the regards of contemporaries as 
 those who have been equally marked by the great and 
 spontaneous readiness of their thoughts, and the resolute 
 activity and eagerness with which they advance to the 
 performance of their actions. In such persons, under pe 
 culiar laws of temperament, the blood and the brain work 
 together in the most exquisite unanimity. There is no 
 reluctance of the subordinate to follow the commands of 
 the superior ; no failure in the agent properly to conceive, 
 and adequately to carry out, the designs and desires of the 
 principal. The soul responds generously to the dictates of 
 the mind, and no tardy ratiocination, slowly halting in the 
 rear of the will, finally supervenes to reprove the deed 
 when it is too late for its repair, and compel a vain regret 
 for the hasty and unconsidered action. But, on the con 
 trary, the impulses of the blood, and the counsels of the 
 
1 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 brain, as if twinned together, harmoniously prompt am, 
 perform those admirable achievements, which ordinary 
 men regard as the fruits of a sudden instinct, or a happy 
 inspiration. Tried by calm reflection, the process chosen, 
 the labor done, seem to have met the necessity precisely, 
 as if the most deliberate wisdom had sat in judgment upon 
 the event ; and yet the performance will have been as 
 prompt as the exigency which provoked it. With persons 
 thus fortunately constituted, deliberation is rather an ob 
 stacle than a help to right performance. They seem to 
 conceive and to think more justly while in action than in 
 repose. It is the necessity which provokes the thought 
 It is the sudden call upon their genius that shows them to 
 be possessed of the endowment. Such are the men who 
 commonly appear to shape and regulate the transition pe 
 riods in society ; to time and to direct its enterprises ; to in 
 fuse its spirit with eagerness and enthusiasm, and to meet, 
 with the happiest resources and the most unfailing intre 
 pidity, the frequent exigencies which hang about the foot 
 steps of adventure. 
 
 Of this class of persons, living in modern periods, and 
 by reason of merits such as these commended to our at 
 tention, the name and fortunes of him who is the subject 
 of these pages possess a more than common interest for 
 the American. Capt. John Smith, the real founder of 
 Virginia, is one of the proverbial heroes of British settle 
 ment in this western hemisphere. His career will happily 
 illustrate the peculiar sort of character upon which we 
 have thought proper briefly to expatiate. His story is 
 one of those real romances which mock the incidents of 
 ordinary fiction. This we are to gather chiefly from his 
 ow r n narratives, and partly from his contemporaries, by 
 whom his deeds are amply confirmed and put beyond dis 
 pute. Of his adventures, which lift into heroic dignity a 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 1 ] 
 
 name so little significant in itself as to be commonly a sub 
 ject for the vulgar jest, it is enough to say, that they serve 
 to denote the more noble and daring events of a period, 
 distinguished by its spirit, its courage and its passion, for 
 vigorous and stirring performance. It is as one of the 
 master spirits of this period and of modern times, that the 
 subject of our biography challenges the consideration of 
 our people. 
 
 JOHN SMITH was born at Willoughby, in the county of 
 Lincolnshire, England, some time in the year 1579. He 
 was descended from an ancient Lancashire family. His 
 father came from the ancient stock of the Smiths of Crud- 
 ley in that shire ; his mother from the Rickards, at Great 
 Heck, Yorkshire. He received his education, such as it 
 was, at the free schools of Louth and Alford. It was, 
 probably, his own fault that his schooling was not better. 
 He was not of a temper to be restrained by schools and 
 tutors. The eager activity of his mind and blood betrayed 
 itself at a very early period. He makes the first exhibi 
 tion of this activity while at school, and at the early age 
 of thirteen. " Set," even then, according to his own 
 showing, u upori brave adventures," he sold his books and 
 satchel, and was preparing secretly to steal away to sea, 
 when he was arrested by the death of his father. His 
 mother, of whom he does not speak, seems to have died 
 previously. His wandering purpose, arrested by this 
 event, was checked for the moment only. His father left 
 him some little property, which, with himself, was com 
 mitted to the charge of certain guardians, who proved 
 quite unfaithful to their trust. They were not disposed to 
 waste his substance upon him, and with shameful cupidity 
 winked at that tendency to vagabondism which his early 
 impatience of restraint seemed to promise. Fortune thus, 
 in lessening his domestic ties and sympathies, seemed to 
 
12 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 encourage his wandering inclinations. His guardians al 
 lowed him much liberty, if they gave him little money. 
 Of the former he soon had enough to enable him to get 
 beyond the sea ; but his means were too slender to justify 
 his flight. A little more liberality, at tliis early period, 
 might have relieved them of all farther annoyance at his 
 hands. Compelled to provide for him at home, they placed 
 him, as an apprentice, with a merchant of Lynn, named 
 Sendall " the greatest merchant," according to Smith, " of 
 all those parts." But Smith longed for the sea, and Sen 
 dall had other uses for him on shore. His apprentice had 
 no taste for these uses, and though his guardians might 
 bind with all the fetters of the law, he was not the lad to 
 reverence such a bondage. The spirit, that already 
 dreamed of doings with the sword, was not to be subdued 
 by indentured parchment. He soon leaped his counter, 
 and never saw his master again until the lapse of eight 
 years rendered it equally unlikely that the latter would re 
 cognize or reclaim his fugitive. He thus made himself a 
 freeman with but ten shillings in his pocket. This ten 
 shillings was the liberal allowance of his guardians, " out 
 of his own money," given him, as he tells us, " to get rid 
 of him." His flight from the merchant does not appear 
 to have been withheld from their knowledge. In all pro 
 bability he fled to them from Sendall, in order to procure 
 the means of getting to sea or passing into foreign coun 
 tries. These were his favorite ideas. They constituted 
 his passions, and, as the nearest step to their gratification, 
 he found means to enter the service of the sons of the 
 famous Lord Willoughby,* then under tutelage, and about 
 to make the tour of the continent. We are not told in 
 
 * "The Right Honorable Peregrine, that generous Lord Wil 
 loughby, and famous soldier." Smith s Narrative. 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH, 13 
 
 what capacity he attended these young gentlemen most 
 probably as a page, scarcely as a companion. He was not 
 long in this situation. Within a month or six weeks after 
 entering France, " his service being needless," as he him 
 self te ls us, he was dismissed with a liberal allowance of 
 money to take him back to his friends. But such friends 
 as our apprentice had left behind him in London possess 
 ed very few attractions. Their bonds were not so very 
 grateful as to move him voluntarily to resume them. He 
 had as yet seen but little of the world. He had but par 
 tially gratified the strong curiosity which had carried him 
 abroad. He remembered the ten shillings bounty of his 
 guardians, and the object for which it had been given, and 
 he concluded to linger a while longer in France. He 
 made his way to Paris a boy of fifteen, without friends or 
 companions how, he does not tell us, but under what dif 
 ficulties, doubts and dangers, at that early period in his own 
 life, and that unsettled period in the history of the country, 
 through which he went ! This very progress illustrates, 
 in some degree, the courage and daring of his mind. At 
 Paris, he made the acquaintance of a Scottish gentleman, 
 named Hume, in whose eyes he soon found favor. Hume 
 replenished his purse, and becoming interested in his grace, 
 spirit and intelligence, furnished him with letters of intro 
 duction, couched in terms of liberal commendation, to his 
 friends in Scotland. The idea, which possessed the mind 
 of this gentleman in behalf of his youthful protege, suffi 
 ciently proves the great hopes which he had formed of his 
 endowments, even at that early period. The object of 
 his advice and letters was to make of him a courtier, to 
 procure for him access to the person, and, if possible, em 
 ployment in the service of King James, the well-known 
 Scottish Solomon. What was the influence of Hume and 
 his friends at court, it would not now be easy to discover. 
 2 
 
14 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 Looking to the sequel in the career of Smith, it woulp 
 prove his patron to have been a man of discernment and 
 sagacity. The design certainly proves that Hume beheld 
 in the boy some foreshowings of the future man. We are 
 prepared to see already that he was no ordinary boy we 
 see that he at least possessed some of those outward ac 
 complishments which compel the regards of older heads. 
 These accomplishments, whatever they may have been, 
 were all certainly of his own acquisition. They did not 
 come from the free schools of Louth and Alford ; they 
 scarcely had their foundation behind the counter of the 
 Lynn merchant, and it does not appear that he was much, 
 if anything, indebted to his parents. They were the fruits 
 of a peculiar original endowment. All that was precious 
 in Smith s education came from his experience. 
 
 But Smith was still too much of the wayward boy to 
 follow implicitly the directions of his friend. Though at 
 first honestly resolved to do so, his temper was quite too 
 capricious just at that moment to continue in his purposes. 
 There were too many objects in France for his diversion. 
 His mind was too eager for the novel, too impatient of the 
 staid, too wild, too erratic, to remain long at this period 
 in any one way of thinking. And let us not too seriously 
 censure these exhibitions of caprice. It is curious to ob 
 serve how frequently, not to say inevitably, they attend the 
 career of the young adventurer who carves out his own 
 fame and fortunes. It is in this way that nature prompts 
 to the necessary acquisitions of the performer. The rest 
 lessness of mood which we thus witness, leads to constant 
 discovery. The wandering footstep is associated with the 
 keen eye and the scrutinizing judgment ; and the mind 
 finds its strength and volume in this seeming caprice and 
 purposeless misdirection, as the muscle of the child grows 
 from the feverish restlessness of its feeble and uncertain 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. If 
 
 limbs. While we studiously train the young to the steady 
 exercise of their faculties, we must allow, at the same 
 time, for the indulgence of those impulses which cause 
 vigilance, far-sightedness, promptness of decision, and 
 great activity. 
 
 Scarcely had Smith got out of the sight of his Scottish 
 benefactor, when he forgot the ambitious purpose which 
 was entertained in his behalf. He forgot Scotland and 
 its pacific monarch in a new impulse to adventure. It is 
 probable that the attractions of courtier life made a less 
 lively impression on his fancy than upon that of Hume. 
 At all events, arrived at Rouen, he finds his money all 
 spent, and listens to other counsellors. The sound of the 
 trumpet stirs his soul with more delightful and powerful 
 sensations. He hears the shouts of the horsemen, and the 
 preparations for war. Instead of Scotland he takes the 
 route to Havre de Grace, where, in his own language, u he 
 first began to learn the life of a soldier." This must have 
 been somewhere between the years 1608 and 1610. What 
 were the lessons he learned, what battles he saw, in what 
 wars or on what side he was engaged, are left wholly to 
 conjecture. The civil wars of the Catholics and Protest 
 ants, terminating in the assassination of Henry IV., pre 
 vailed about this period. That Smith shared in these con 
 fiicts, and on the Protestant side of the question, may rea 
 sonably be inferred from all the circumstances. These 
 wars were at an end. Peace in France made that coun 
 try no longer an attraction to him who had just taken hi* 
 first lesson in the art of war, and Smith at once passed 
 into the Low Countries then, and long afterwards, des 
 tined to become the great battle-ground for half of Europe. 
 Here he served four years under a Captain Joseph Dux- 
 bury. He was probably one of a band of English auxi 
 liaries serving against Spain in the great conflict which 
 
16 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 finally secured to the Netherlands their independence. Of 
 his own share in this war, and of the position which he 
 held, Smith tells us nothing. Though he wrote much, 
 Smith was not an elegant writer. Though sometimes 
 tedious, he is so more on account of his style and manner 
 of narrative than because of his material. He is never 
 copious, and satisfies himself with barely glancing at 
 events, the details of which, we perceive, would enrich 
 the story and delight the reader. It is only when he ar 
 rives at a trust, when he becomes a leader, that he speaks 
 distinctly of himself. Of Smith in the ranks, as one of 
 many, doing nothing more and nothing better than the rest, 
 he is modestly silent. He was still little more than a boy 
 while under Duxbury, could scarcely have had any trust 
 assigned him, and evidently considered himself as barely 
 serving out an apprenticeship. He was more faithful in 
 this than in the service of the Lynn merchant. That he 
 was diligent in his studies, that he took to his art con 
 amore, and mastered it quickly and with a rare ability, we 
 have every reason to suppose from his subsequent career. 
 Indeed, but a short time after, we find him boasting of 
 his acquisitions even when silent on the subject of his per 
 formances. He tells us with equal pride and modesty that 
 he had mastered all in the martial schools of France and 
 the Netherlands that u his tender years could attain unto." 
 These acquisitions could only have been attained by prac 
 tice ; this practice could only have been found in the 
 actual exigencies of war. These inferences are unavoid 
 able. Still, it is to be wished that his narrative had not 
 been so meagre that we could have been suffered to see 
 the eager spirit of the boy, and how he bore himself in 
 these preparatory campaigns. We should have been the 
 better prepared to understand the origin of those audacious 
 instances of valor, and those admirable proofs of skill and 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 17 
 
 sagacity, which subsequently became so completely asso 
 ciated with his name. 
 
 His apprenticeship to the art of war, as pursued in the 
 Low Countries, was prolonged for three or four years. At 
 the close of this period, in some interval of the service, or 
 possibly in one of his usual caprices, Smith bethought 
 himself of the Scottish letters furnished him by Hume. 
 He suddenly resumed the purpose which he had abandon 
 ed at Rouen, and once more determined to proceed to 
 Scotland. He embarks accordingly at Ancusan for Leith. 
 In this voyage he was destined to enjoy a foretaste of that 
 harsh fortune by which his genius was to be schooled, in 
 order to the requisite training for its true performance. 
 The vessel in which he sailed was wrecked. He narrowly 
 escaped drowning only to encounter another equally great 
 danger from a severe fit of sickness, which seized him on 
 the Holy Isle of Northumberland, near Berwick. Here 
 he lay in as much danger " as sickness could endure." As 
 soon as he had sufficiently recruited, he entered Scotland, 
 and delivered the several letters which Hume had given 
 him for his friends. The proverbial hospitality of the 
 Scotch people was not denied to Smith. He had no occa 
 sion for complaint on this score. The persons to whom 
 his letters were addressed " those honest Scots at Kip- 
 weth and Broxmouth" received him with the greatest 
 kindness, but beyond this his mission produced no fruits. 
 It does not appear that he was ever presented to the king. 
 He himself tells us that there " was neither money nor 
 means to make him a courtier." His native independence 
 of character may have been an obstacle, may have ren 
 dered impossiblejto his spirit, those preliminary servilities 
 which ambition, taking this course, is compelled usually 
 to undergo before it can hope for the attainment of its ob 
 ject. The good sense or the proud stomach of our hero, 
 
18 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 may have saved him from this sort of degradation ; and 
 such it was like to have been, in fawning upon such a 
 monarch as James the First. By a comparison of dates, 
 it is highly probable that this sovereign was now becom 
 ing eagerly anxious for the robes of Elizabeth. Her de 
 mise followed a few years after, and looking to this event 
 we may reasonably conjecture that bonnie King Jamie 
 had no particular reason to increase his establishment in a 
 country from which at any moment he might have been 
 summoned to depart. What would have been the effect 
 upon Smith s fortunes, and those of England, had the 
 former found his way into favor in anticipation of Buck 
 ingham had his nobler spirit dictated the enterprises, and 
 stimulated the courage of the kingdom ? Imaginative his 
 tories, equally instructive and amusing, may sometimes be 
 wrought by the happy intellect, pursuing some such grate 
 ful conjecture, upon a single fact assumed, to its probable 
 conclusion, in changing the destiny of kingdoms and in 
 averting the fall of kings. This is one of these subjects. 
 Smith taken into the family of James, while yet a boy at 
 the Court of Scotland, might, with the vigor of youth, have 
 pursued and carried out the brilliant schemes of Raleigh, 
 then no longer young ; and by realizing some of the nobler 
 objects of that great man, while yet he lived, might have 
 yielded a human consolation to his dying moments. The 
 roving passion was strong in both their bosoms, and their 
 career in arms was not unlike. They both received their 
 early lessons of war in France and the Netherlands, fight 
 ing for the same behalf, that of the Protestants. We shall 
 see that one at least of the adventurous projects of Raleigh 
 was destined to owe its successful prosecution to the saga 
 city, the courage and the energy of Smith. 
 
 Whatever may have been the cause, our hero was very 
 icon diverted from any thought of pursuing the toils and 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 19 
 
 the occupations of the courtier ; and, possibly with some 
 feelings of chagrin and disappointment with the world, he 
 returned to Willoughby, in Lincolnshire, his place of birth. 
 Here it appears that he lived a great deal in society ; but 
 the society even of his early abode, the first sensations of 
 pleasure over, was not calculated to satisfy a mind of his 
 eccentric energies. He describes himself as "glutted with 
 too much company, wherein he took small delight." la 
 moments of exhaustion, from previous excess of toil or 
 enterprise, the spirits of persons of this order flag, and re 
 quire a degree of repose strictly proportioned to the energy 
 they have displayed in their preceding exertions. To a 
 man like Smith in particular one who had lived so rapid 
 ly, and had already seen so much of the world there 
 could have been no condition so well calculated to pall 
 upon his tastes as the tame and monotonous movement of 
 daily life in the humdrum quiet of a country town. His 
 blood was naturally fretted by inactivity, and the very 
 presence of a crowd, of a society that was performing no 
 thing, must soon have disgusted a temper which, for so long 
 a period, had enjoyed for its daily food the humors and the 
 excitements of a camp, the variety and the animation of a 
 great city, the dangers of the sea, and the thousand stimu 
 lating aspects and avocations of a strange land. His reme 
 dy against the apathy into which he was in danger of fall 
 ing from his intercourse with a society which to him could 
 afford no nourishment, was of a kind to denote the impa 
 tience and the independence of his mind. He fled alto 
 gether from communion with men, adopting a like resort 
 with many of the bold and eccentric persons of past 
 times, and betook himself to the solitude and shelter of the 
 forests. " In woodie pasture," thus he writes, " invironned 
 with many hundred acres of other woods," he adopted the 
 guise and the manners of a hermit. " Here, by a faire 
 
20 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 brooke, he built himself a pavillion ot boughs, where onelj 
 in his clothes he lay." We see in this proceeding the ro 
 mantic tendencies of his character that eager, enthusias 
 tic nature, which always yearns for the wild, the strange 
 and the extravagant disdaining the beaten track, and 
 eagerly striving after a condition and performances from 
 which the ordinary temper shrinks ever in dismay. In this 
 very errantry we may see the germ of that adventurous 
 mood which led him in rnaturer years across the Atlantic 
 to the fathomless depths of forest in Virginia. 
 
 Here, in his " pavillion of boughs," he gave further 
 proofs of the decided character of his genius in the books 
 which he read, and the exercises, strange enough in his 
 hermit life, which he adopted. His " studie was Machia- 
 vellie s Arte of Warre" and Marcus Aurelius ; his exer 
 cise, a good horse with a lance and ring. His moods, er 
 rant though they were, did not, it seems, interfere with that 
 self-training, which was certainly the best that he could 
 have chosen for service in his future career. The horse, 
 the lance and the ring brought to him the skill, and show 
 him to have been imbued with the spirit of chivalry. Few 
 of the courtiers of King James are likely to have been as 
 decidedly inclined to such exercises. As a hunter he 
 practised some other of the minor arts of war. His food 
 was chiefly venison of his own taking. He states this fact 
 slily thus : "his food was thought to be more of venison 
 than anything else," as if he were troubled with certain 
 misgivings on the subject of the game-laws. His other 
 wants were supplied by a servant, through whose means 
 he still maintained some slight intercourse with the world 
 which he had forsworn. 
 
 His library, thus limited to two volumes, and those not 
 of a character to beget the impulse to such an eccentric 
 mode of life as that which he adopted, we are to look for 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 2) 
 
 this impulse to the natural constitution of his mind, urged 
 by an ambition which is yet vague in its developments, 
 and taught by a judgment yet in the green of youth, and 
 from the early exercise of his will, equally uncertain in 
 
 ts aim and resolved upon its prosecution. Smith had 
 something of the poet in him, and wrote smooth verses 
 upon occasions, but does not seem to have been much a 
 
 eader of the poets. His romantic excesses were probably 
 all native, the natural overflow of a mind, vigorous, easily 
 excited, and so full of spontaneous utterance, as necessarily 
 to rush at times beyond the limits of a sober and restrain 
 ing reason. And yet it is only by a course of reasoning 
 based upon the ordinary habits of the merely social man, 
 that we shall see anything to astonish us or to provoke 
 censure in the hermit seclusion and studies of our hero 
 The eccentricity of this mode of life soon had the effect 
 of making him notorious ; and here we may remark that, 
 in all probability, this was not the most disagreeable result 
 which he anticipated from his present strange career. 
 The mind of Smith, naturally ambitious of distinction, was 
 swelling like that of the Spaniard. He was one of those 
 who crave to live ever in the eyes of men who enter 
 tain a passion, born of impetuous blood, which seeks pre 
 sent distinction and reward for performances, and which 
 works constantly with an appetite for present homage. 
 To such persons the applause of contemporaries is fame, 
 or such a foretaste of it, as to make it certain that they 
 shall attain the object which they seek. He was not dis 
 pleased when the rustic world around him began to stare 
 at the strange stories which they heard about their neigh 
 bor hermit. He found his pleasure, and possibly his pro 
 fit also, in provoking the wonder of the peasantry. By 
 degrees the fame of our anchorite extended to the weal 
 thier classes, and at length an Italian gentleman, a sort of 
 
22 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 master of the horse to the Earl of Lincoln, was persuaded 
 to seek out our hermit in his " pavillion of boughs." He 
 did so. He penetrated to the forest den of Smith, and 
 made himself known to him. The visit did not offend our 
 hero, who, in all probability, began to tire of his seclusion 
 The conversation of the Italian pleased him, and his horse 
 manship no less. Gradually, at length, as an intimacy 
 grew up between them, Smith was beguiled from his soli 
 tude, which he abandoned with his new associate. But the 
 society which he thus acquired did not suffice for the 
 exacting spirit of our adventurer any more than did that 
 of Willoughby. " Long these pleasures conld not content 
 him," and he chafed in his inactivity, as the lion, born for 
 the desert, chafes at the close limits of his cage. Smith 
 was not encaged. He was not to be kept. He was of 
 that hardy nature which yearns for the conflict, and 
 loses the pleasant consciousness of its strength, unless in 
 the absolute enjoyment of the struggle. He probably ap 
 peared even to disadvantage in moments of repose and 
 quiet. Be this as it may, in such quiet as that for which 
 his solitude had been surrendered he was not willing to 
 remain. His Italian friend failed to keep him at Tatter- 
 sail s, and we find him, very soon after, breaking away 
 from this intimacy and from England, once more to seek 
 his fortunes in the Low Countries. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 " THUS," says our hero, in his own narrative, u when 
 France and the Netherlands had taught him to ride a 
 horse, and to use his armes, with such rudiments of warre 
 as his tender ye"eres in those martial schooles could attaine 
 unto, he was desirous to see more of the world, and to try 
 his fortune against the Turkes, both lamenting and repenting 
 to have scene so many Christians slaughter one another." 
 The passage would seem to imply that he had a second 
 time seen service in the Low Countries. Yet of this 
 period and service we have no particulars. It was his pe 
 riod of apprenticeship only, in which fortune afforded him 
 no opportunities of distinction, or his " tender years" 
 made it impossible that he should avail himself of them. 
 He was at this time but nineteen years old, hopeful, san 
 guine and warmly confiding, as is usually the case with 
 persons of this temperament. He was to incur its usual 
 penalties, and to pay dearly for that caution which exue- 
 rience alone can teach, and which is so important lor 
 him who seeks to be a leader among men. We next 
 find him in company with four French gallants, famous 
 rogues it would seem, who flatter his vanity and take ad 
 vantage of his youth. Nobody is more easily betrayed 
 than the youth having large enthusiasm of character, and 
 a warm faith in what is allotted for his performance. One 
 of these cunning Frenchmen passes himself off upon our 
 hero as a nobleman. The rest are his attendants. It is 
 not difficult to deceive a character such as that of Smith. 
 Vigilant by nature against the enemy, the same nature 
 places no sentinel against the approach of friendship. In 
 
24 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 this guise, our cunning Frenchmen play their parts to ad- 
 miration. Our hero yields thorn his full heart. They 
 persuade him to go with them into France, where they 
 should not only obtain the necessary means for going 
 against the Turks, but letters from certain distinguished 
 persons to the general of the Hungarian army. The pre 
 tences were all plausible, the end to be attained of consi 
 derable importance. The parties embarked in a small 
 vessel, the captain of which, if not a party to the designs 
 of the Frenchmen, at least was disposed to wink at their 
 proceedings. Smith had money and fine clothes. In 
 these respects they were less liberally provided. He was 
 a youth, very confiding, and might be plucked with safety. 
 It does not seem to have required much skill in the ope 
 ration. It was on a dark and gloomy night in winter, 
 when they reached the port of St. Valery, in Picardy. 
 Under cover of the night the conspirators, with all theii 
 own baggage and that of Smith, were taken ashore by the 
 captain without the knowledge of the other passengers. 
 It was not until the rogues were fully beyond reach that 
 the treacherous shipmaster returned to his vessel. When 
 the robbery was detected it was without present remedy. It 
 s very probable that the captain was a sharer of the spoils. 
 He no doubt commanded one of those coasting luggers of 
 mixed character, to be found at that period in all the mari 
 time countries of Europe, which played according to circum 
 stances the character of the smuggler or of the honest trader. 
 The extreme youth of Smith, and the manner in which he 
 had been stripped of everything, awakened the compassion 
 of the passengers, while the evident treachery of the cap 
 tain enkindled all their rage. Some of them supplied the 
 oresent wants of the former. He had been left wholly 
 without clothes, those only which he wore excepted ; and 
 with but a single penny in his pocket, was compelled to 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 2C 
 
 part with his cloak for the payment of his passage. The 
 indignation against the master of the vessel had nearly led 
 to disastrous consequences. The passengers were kept 
 with difficulty from putting him to death in their fury, anc 1 
 nothing but their ignorance of the ship s management pre 
 vented them from running away with her. Fortunately 
 these intemperate counsels did not prevail, and the vessel 
 was relieved of her angry inmates without suffering, except 
 in the fright of the captain, which, we may be allowed to 
 hope, afforded him a proper lesson of prudence, if not of 
 honesty. 
 
 In these events our luckless adventurer was not wholly 
 without consolation. He found friends among his new 
 companions. One of these, in particular, who was him 
 self an outlawed man, and might therefore be naturally ex 
 pected to sympathize with one so young and so friendless, 
 helped him to money, and brought him from place to place 
 to a knowledge of his own friends, by whom he was every 
 where hospitably entertained. His story interests the peo 
 ple, who are won by his youth, the frankness of his temper, 
 and the graces of his person ; those externals of character 
 and figure which prompted Hume to think of him as a 
 courtier for King James. He meets with kindness and 
 protection finally from lords and ladies, whose names he 
 gives, but whom it is scarcely possible for us to identify, 
 disguised as they are by the antique English spelling of our 
 author. With these persons he might, as he writes, 
 /c have recreated himself so longe as he woulde ;" but, as 
 he adds, " such pleasant pleasures suited little with his 
 poore estate and his restlesse spirit, that could never finnde 
 content to receive such noble favours as he could neithei 
 deserve nor requite." Accordingly, break 1 " ng away frorr 
 his new friends as he had done from the old, he resumed 
 his wanderings, seemingly without an object beyond the 
 
26 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 gratification of that restlessness of mood and independence 
 of resolve, which were the prime characteristics of his 
 genius for ever after. In these wanderings he is made to 
 endure much misery and privation. His means are soon 
 exhausted, his stout heart begins to fail him, probably be 
 cause of the want of food ; and, one day, finding himself 
 in a forest, he flings himself, nearly dead with grief and 
 cold, " beside a faire fountaine under a tree," as if resolved 
 to yield to despair and to go no farther. Here he is found 
 by a neighboring farmer, who takes pity on his condition, re 
 lieves his wants, and gives him means to resume his jour 
 ney. And thus he fared, travelling from province to pro 
 vince, and from port to port, following the bent of a way 
 ward inclination, still dissatisfied and vexed with those 
 vague yearnings which naturally troubled the mind of him 
 who has not yet learned to address himself to his legiti 
 mate objects. While thus wandering, the fortune which 
 refuses to find him better opportunities, helps to gratify 
 his revenge. Alone, and vagabondizing in Brittany, he 
 accidentally meets in a wood with one of the treacherous 
 Frenchmen who had robbed him of his clothes and money. 
 This fellow was named Cursell. The parties recognized 
 each other at a glance, and under an equal impulse their 
 weapons were bared in the same instant. With an avow 
 ed object or enemy before him Smith was decisive always 
 They had no words. u The piercing injuries" of our hero 
 in his own language, " had small patience." His superioi 
 skill, together with (as we may surely assume) the good 
 ness of his cause, gave him rather an easy victory. He 
 tells of it without any boasting. The fight took place in 
 the presence of several persons, the inhabitants of an old 
 tower standing in the vicinity. In the hearing of these 
 *e extorted an ample confession of his guilt from the 
 "obber he had overthrown and wounded. But he obtained 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 27 
 
 no further satisfaction. It appears from CurselPs con 
 fession that the rogues had quarrelled among themselves 
 for a division of the spoils, that they had fought, and he 
 had been driven away from any participation of it. With 
 this story, and the honorable victory which he had won, 
 Smith was compelled to be satisfied ; and leaving the wound 
 ed robber to his own conscience and the care of the peas 
 antry before whom he had confessed, he directed his steps 
 to the seat of the Earl of Ployer, whom he had formerly 
 known during the wars in France. By this nobleman and 
 others, his kinsmen, Smith was received with distinction. 
 They took pains to show him the country, " Saint Male s 
 Mount, Saint Michael, and divers other places in Brittany," 
 and when he was ready to depart, they supplied him with 
 means and sent him on his way rejoicing. Pursuing such 
 a route as would enable him to see the country, and gra 
 tify the caprices of his curiosity, he at length made his 
 way to Marseilles, where he took passage in a ship for 
 Italy. 
 
 He was destined on this voyage to experience another 
 of those trials, by which it would seem that fortune studies 
 to task the strength, while she confers upon genius the 
 degree of hardihood which is essential for great achieve 
 ments. The vessel in which Smith sailed was crowded 
 with pilgrims of the Catholic faith, making their way to 
 Rome. She had scarcely put to sea when she was driven 
 by stress of weather into the harbor of Toulon. This 
 mishap, and possibly some indiscretion of his own, drew 
 all eyes particularly upon himself. They discovered that 
 he was the only Protestant on board. He was the Jonah, 
 accordingly, to whom their misfortune was ascribed, and 
 they exercised their own ill-humor, and his patience, by 
 denouncing his religion and his nation, in no measured 
 language, to his teeth. How, with a temper so quick and 
 
28 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 passionate, he forbore his defiance at this treatment, or 
 that he did forbear, is not told us. The matter was not 
 mended when they resumed the voyage. The bad wea 
 ther continued, and the vessel was once more compelled 
 to seek the refuge of a port. They cast anchor under the 
 little, isle of St. Mary, which lies off Nice, in Savoy. Here 
 the pious Catholics once more gave vent to their indigna 
 tion at the presence of so pernicious a heretic among 
 them. " They wildly railed on his dreade sovraigne, 
 Queen Elizabeth ;" " hourly cursing him not only for a 
 Hugonait, but his nation they swore were all pyrats." In 
 short, concluding " that they never should have faire 
 weather so long as hee was aboard them, their disputa 
 tions grew to that passion" that at length they cast him 
 into the sea. We are told by one of the authorities, that 
 he used his cudgel soundly among them before they pro 
 ceeded to this extremity ; but the assertion is grossly 
 improbable, allowing anything for his discretion, and his 
 own narrative affords no sanction for the story. That he 
 may have defended himself when they offered to lay 
 hands upon him that he did defend himself is probable 
 enough. But that he offered violence in anticipation of 
 this proceeding is highly questionable. Smith, even at 
 this early day, was not without discretion. He was bold 
 enough, but scarcely so rash or so thoughtless as, without 
 help, to rush into conflict with a whole ship-load of angry 
 enemies. That he met their vituperations with responses 
 fashioned in a like style that he gave them as good as 
 they sent in the way of spiritual doctrine, and berated the 
 pope as savagely as they cursed his " dreade sovraigne, 
 Elizabeth," may be admitted ; and in this way he may 
 have precipitated those extremities, which at a later day 
 his prudence would have taught him to avoid. But, whe 
 ther imprudent or merely unfortunate, the storm still pre- 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH 29 
 
 vailing, he was dismissed by these pious pilgrims to the 
 tender mercies of the deep. Well for him was it that the 
 vessel was so nigh the shore. It wa.s among the accom 
 plishments of his desultory mode of life that he was an 
 able swimmer. His heart did not fail him, nor his limbs. 
 Buffeting the seas manfully, he succeeded in making his 
 way, with little hazard or difficulty, to the dry land on 
 St. Mary s isle. The place was uninhabited, except by a 
 few kine or goats ; and here, but for his better fortune, he 
 might have become another Alexander Selkirk, with a 
 temper quite as well prepared as his to make the most of 
 his barren empire. But the very next day he was taken 
 off by a French vessel, which, like his own, had put in to 
 find shelter from the storm. This vessel was commanded 
 by one Captain La Roche, of St. Malo, who proved to be 
 a friend of the Earl of Ployer. When he ascertained the 
 friendship of this nobleman for Smith, he treated him with 
 the utmost kindness and consideration. 
 
 To the roving mind of our hero it did not much matter 
 to what quarter of the globe his face was turned, and, 
 well entertained, he made no sort of objection to accom 
 panying his new acquaintance on his voyage. They 
 sailed accordingly to Alexandria, in Egypt. Smith does 
 not tell us in what capacity he went with Captain La 
 Roche, nor whether he participated, except as a looker on, 
 in any of the proceedings of the latter. But he was of an 
 age and a character which must have made him highly 
 useful in any situation, and we may readily conceive that 
 he was not simply " an idle mouth" on the passage. Dis 
 charging her freight at Alexandria, they went to Scande- 
 roon, " rather," says Smith, " to see what ships were in 
 the roade than anything else." The truth seems to be 
 that our vessel of Brittany was something more than a 
 merchantman. She could serve a turn at oth^r purposes, 
 3 
 
30 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH 
 
 and her cruise simply " to see what ships \\vre in the 
 roade" was not a quest of idle curiosity. " Keeping- their 
 course by Cypres and the coast of Asia, sayling hy Rhodes, 
 the Arc.hipe/lagans, Candia and the coast of Grccia, and 
 the isle of Zeffalonia," they lay-to for a few days, evidently 
 on the watch for prey, between the isle of Corfu and the 
 Cape of Otranto at the entrance of the Adriatic Sea. 
 
 Here they did not watch in vain. Their cruise was 
 rewarded by an encounter with a Venetian argosy, richly 
 laden with gold, silks, velvets, tissue, and other rare pro 
 ducts of that genius and invention, in which the Venetians 
 were then very much in advance of the age. This 
 encounter enlightens us somewhat in regard to the object 
 of our Frenchman s course, although it is not certain 
 that his quest was a Venetian vessel. It does not appear 
 that war at that time existed between France and the Re 
 public, but this was not necessary to make insecure the 
 rich argosies of the one nation, meeting with a cruiser 
 of the other, where no cognizance of their mutual doings 
 might be had. The suspicious demeanor of our ves 
 sel of Brittany startled the fears of the vigilant Vene 
 tian. He very imprudently answered the civil salutation 
 of Capt. La Roche with a shot, affording him in all proba 
 bility the very pretext which he desired. This shot, killing 
 one man on board the Frenchman, brought on a general 
 action. The conflict which followed was exceedingly 
 fierce. Twice in the space of an hour and a half did the 
 French board the Venetian, and twice w r ere they gallantly 
 repelled. A third attempt resulted in the two vessels taking 
 fire. The mutual danger led to their separation. The 
 fire was soon quenched, but not the fury of the assailants 
 Their rage at being baffled led to more desperate efforts 
 and these were successful. The Venetian, in a sinking 
 condition, yielded to the captors. They went to work to 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 61 
 
 stop the leaks only that they might be enabled to rifle her 
 of her valuable merchandize. This required twenty-four 
 hours at the least, and Smith tells us that the u silkes, vel 
 vets, cloth of gold and tissue, pyastres, chicqueens and 
 sultanies which is gold," of which they despoiled her in 
 that space of time, " was wonderful." Having crammed 
 their own vessel, they cast off the prize, leaving in her as 
 much good merchandize as would have "frauyhted such 
 another Britaine." The Venetian was four or five hundred 
 tons in burthen, the Frenchman but two hundred. The 
 latter lost fifteen, the former tw r enty men in the engage 
 ment a sufficient proof of its severity. That Smith took 
 conspicuous part in the fight, with the hearty good will 
 and the stubborn courage of the Englishman, may be infer 
 red from his share of the spoils, which amounted to " five 
 hundred chicqueens (sequins) and a little box," God-bent 
 him (that is, we suppose, the immediate spoil of his own 
 right hand) with as many more. The box was probably 
 one of jewels. 
 
 Smith, so far as mere pecuniary fortune was concerned, 
 had every reason to be satisfied with this adventure. But 
 he was not satisfied to pursue the career thus handsomely 
 opening before his eyes. He prepares to leave La Roche, 
 and, at his own request, with his sequins and his jewelry, 
 is set on shore in Piedmont. He parts kindly with La 
 Roche, whom he styles " this noble Britaine," and who 
 seems to have treated him with an appreciating and just 
 consideration. His next journey is for Leghorn ; and, 
 making the tour of Italy, he meets the friends with whom 
 his first pilgrimage had been made, Lord Wil lough by and 
 his brother. He finds them under painful circumstances 
 upon which he does not dilate : " Cruelly wounded in a 
 desperate fray, yet to their exceeding great honour." 
 Yet what had been their experience, compared with his, 
 
^ LIFE OF C A P T A I K SMITH. 
 
 from the moment of their first separation, when all of 
 them were boys, to that of their present meeting ? What 
 a life of adventure had the nobleman of nature led in com 
 parison with the easy fortunes which were theirs the 
 noblemen of society ? What lessons had he learned of 
 courage, and wisdom, and expedient, to serve him in a 
 perilous career, and to secure him future eminence ? 
 
 Smith visits Rome, where it was " his chance to see 
 Pope Clement the Eighth, with many cardinals, creepe 
 up the holy stayres." From Rome he went to Naples, 
 and other great places, lt to satisfie his eye with faire 
 cities, and the kingdome s nobilitie ;" and after a very am 
 ple tour, the description of which, as contained in his own 
 narrative, is exceedingly bald and valueless, but in which 
 we have reason to suppose that he was pretty well re 
 lieved of all his sequins, wo find him suddenly awakened 
 to a recollection of the original put-pose for which he sail 
 ed from France that of joining the armies of Rodolph of 
 Germany, then waging war against the Turks, uuuer the 
 third Mahomet. From Venice lie p.oceeded to Ragusa, 
 on the Adriatic, where he lingered " some time to see that 
 
 O 
 
 barren, broken coast of Albania and Dalmatia ;" thence 
 to Capo D Istria, " travelling the maine of poor Slavonia," 
 till he came to Gratz in Styria, the residence of Ferdi 
 nand, Archduke of Austria, and afterwards Emperor of 
 Germany. Here he met with an Englishman and an 
 Irish Jesuit, by whom, having made them acquainted with 
 his desires, he w r as presented to Lord Ebersbaught, 
 Baron Kisell, the Earl of Meldritch, and other persons of 
 distinction in the imperial army. He was soon successful 
 in finding his way to the confidence of these noblemen ; 
 and attaching himself to the staff of the latter, who was a 
 colonel of cavalry, proceeded with his regiment soon after 
 to Vienna. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE time at which Smith made his appearance as a vol 
 unteer in the armies of Rodolph was particularly favorable 
 to the desires of one having so large an appetite for mili 
 tary achievements. A cruel war had long been raging 
 between the Christian power of Germany and the Grand 
 Seignior. The close of the career of Amurath the Third 
 had been hastened and embittered by disaster. He entail 
 ed upon his successor, the third Mahomet, the necessity, 
 or more properly the seeming policy, for continuing the 
 same bloody warfare. The year 1601, at the close of 
 which Smith made his appearance in this new field, had 
 been distinguished by many terrible conflicts, the advan 
 tage remaining in some measure with the Turks. They 
 had ravaged Hungary, and taken some of its best for 
 tresses ; and Ibrahim Bashaw, with an immense army, 
 had laid siege to Canissia, a place of strength on the bor 
 ders of Styria, nearly surrounded by deep marshes. The 
 Christian forces undertaking the relief of this place were 
 defeated with great slaughter, and Canissia was finally 
 surrendered. Flushed with this success, the Turks pushed 
 forward to other conquests, and, with a force of twenty 
 thousand men, laid siege to Olympach. The defence of 
 this town was assigned to Lord Ebersbaught, one of the 
 officers of the imperial army, to whom our hero had been 
 introduced at Gratz. In this nrwv acquaintance he had 
 found a willing listener to the narrative of his military 
 career, and to certain suggestions, which might have been 
 original with Smith, for the improvement of the art of 
 war. Something of his views may have been gathered 
 
34 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 from his reading, more perhaps from his experience, and a 
 good deal from the activity of his mind, which could 
 digest with equal independence the material derived from 
 these twofold sources. Smith s brain seems to have been 
 full to overflowing of strategic matter. He was at once 
 the thinker and the worker : that rare combination of 
 character, as we have said before, by which men of action 
 are distinguished. He was always to use his own phrase 
 " trying such conclusions as he projected to undertake." 
 Some of these conclusions, with which he succeeded in 
 impressing Lord Ebersbaught, were, as we shall see 
 hereafter, of considerable service in obtaining advantages 
 over the enemy. That he so readily obtained the ear of 
 this nobleman and others, must be ascribed to an address 
 of peculiar felicity. The English friends who introduced 
 him could scarcely do more for him than say that he had 
 seen service, and had experienced many vicissitudes. As 
 yet he could boast none of the distinction of having been 
 a leader of men. He had served a valuable apprentice 
 ship ; it was now for the first time that he was to reap its 
 fruits. 
 
 Ebersbaught, in addition to the evident qualifications of 
 the youth, most probably saw that he was ingenuous, that 
 he did not belong to the ordinary class of military adven 
 turers. It was a real passion for glory, and not a thirst 
 after spoil, that brought him at that doubtful juncture into 
 Hungary. Certainly, as we have shown, no moment 
 could have been more unpromising for the imperial forces 
 than that in which our hero joined himself to the regiment 
 of the Earl of Meldritch the Imperialists, defeated in 
 successive actions, their strong places overthrown, their 
 country ravaged, the Turk growing daily more confident 
 and strong, and Olympach, greatly shattered by the be 
 siegers, cut off from all communication with its friends, 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN S M T H 35 
 
 and nearly hopeless of succor from without. The forces 
 appointed for its relief, under the Baron Kisell, a general 
 of artillery, were inadequate to the task assigned them, 
 and could give assistance in no other way than by occa 
 sionally annoying the besiegers, whenever opportunity 
 offered for preventing them from obtaining supplies, or by 
 cutting off a detachment. It was quite too feeble to 
 attempt any more formidable enterprise against the mair 
 body of the besiegers. The regiment of Meldritch formed 
 a part of this command of Kisell, and, as cavalry, was no 
 doubt actively engaged in the business of this campaign, 
 that being of a nature particularly to commend the use of 
 horse. Of Smith s share in this business he tells us little. 
 till we find him serving as a volunteer immediately about 
 the person of the baron. That he had proved useful, and 
 had succeeded in drawing attention to himself, may be 
 inferred from this circumstance. He was about to prove 
 himself more useful still. In the straitened condition of 
 Olympach, Kisell was exceedingly anxious to attempt 
 something in concert with the besieged ; but how to effect 
 this simultaneous operation was beyond his ingenuity. 
 Communication with the town had been long since cut off. 
 The Turks in vastly superior force lay between them, 
 and closely watched as was the place, with an army of 
 twenty thousand active and barbarous enemies, who 
 were never known to spare, it was not possible to find a 
 soldier sufficiently daring and reckless to hazard himself 
 in the attempt to pass the cordon which their vigilance 
 maintained. In this difficulty Smith came to the relief of 
 his commander. He reminded him that among the nume 
 rous schemes of a military character, which he had com 
 municated to Lord Ebersbaught, now in defence of Olym 
 pach, there was one of a telegraphic alphabet by which, 
 with signal torches corresponding regularly with the let- 
 
36 LIFE C)F CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 ters of the alphabet, a correspondence might be carried on 
 between persons not too far asunder for properly detecting 
 and discriminating the lights. This scheme of a telegraph, 
 as old as the days of the Greeks and Romans, may have 
 been picked up by Smith in his military readings, but is 
 by no means too intricate for his own unassisted invention. 
 The fortunate circumstance was that he should have com 
 municated it to Lord Ebersbaught among his " projections" 
 and u conclusions," without entertaining any dis.inct con 
 ception of the present emergency, by which its usefulness 
 was to be determined. The hope now entertained was 
 that Lord Ebersbaught would sufficiently renumber the 
 suggestion to comprehend the signals. At all events, 
 Smith succeeded in persuading Kisell to try the experi 
 ment. Seven miles distant from the town of Olympach 
 stood a mountain of considerable elevation, which seemed 
 to our hero suited for his purposes. To this mountain he 
 conveyed himself with the necessary agents and imple 
 ments by night. Here he first displayed three signal fires, 
 equidistant from each other. These drew upon him the 
 attention of the garrison, and wji re at once comprehended 
 by the governor, whose wits, sharpened no doubt by the 
 emergency, found no difficulty in recalling the scheme as 
 related to him by the English adventurer. What was the 
 joy of Smith when he was replied to by three torches 
 from the walls of the town, showing him that his signals 
 were understood ! The rest was easy. The lights were 
 then displayed from the mountain in proper order so as to 
 form the successive words, thus 
 
 " On Thursday at night I will charge on the 
 east at the alarm sally you." 
 
 The answer w r as immediate " I will !" and this mat 
 ter thus happily adjusted, Smith returned to camp, equally 
 prepared to take part in the conflict, and" to attempt further 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 37 
 
 ocheines for making it successful. His active genius con 
 ceived a plan for remedying the inferior numbers of the 
 troops under Kisell ; and by this means to keep in such a 
 state of doubt and uncertainty a large portion of the be 
 sieging army, as to prevent them taking much or any part 
 in the battle. The Turks were divided into two bodies, 
 of ten thousand men each. These bodies lay apart, sepa 
 rated by a river. The entire force of Kisell amounted 
 only to ten thousand. To fall suddenly upon one of the 
 Turkish bodies, and to restrain the other, by reason of 
 its own fears, from any attempt to second or assist it, 
 was the desirable object. The river by which they were 
 separated favored the scheme of Smith. This was to 
 prepare some " two or three thousand pieces of match, 
 fastened to divers small lines of an hundred fathom iu 
 length, being armed with powder," which "might all be 
 fired and stretched at an instant, before the alarm, upon 
 the plaine of Hysnaburg, supported by two staves at each 
 line s end, and which would thus seem so many mus 
 keteers." This scheme, which had for its object to render 
 vigilant the one half of the Turkish army, which it was 
 not intended to assail, in watching the imaginary musket 
 eers, is easily comprehended. 
 
 The result was eminently successful. While ten thou 
 sand of the Turks, w r holly unendangered, were thus plac 
 ed hors de combat, waiting anxiously for the momentary 
 charge from the foe that had no existence except in their 
 fancies, the actual warriors of Kisell, with Smith among 
 them, were penetrating with havoc and slaughter among 
 the ten thousand that lay encamped on the opposite side 
 of the river. The ruse was admirably seconded on the 
 part of the garrison. The Turks, bewildered and distract 
 ed, ran to and fro, without concert or courage, and offer 
 ing no effectual opposition, were slaughtered in great num- 
 
38 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 bers. More than a third of the ten thousand thus at 
 tacked, were slain or drowned in the attempt to swim 
 the river to their comrades, who, on the other side, main 
 tained such a resolute and watchful front against the 
 imaginary army, as most effectually to discourage its 
 assault. 
 
 The result was a triumphant one for the assailants 
 Two thousand picked soldiers were thrown into the gar 
 rison, and the Turks, hopeless now of its conquest, retired 
 in disgrace from before its walls. Our hero was not with 
 out his recompense for his share in an achievement, the 
 success of which was due so largely to his ingenuity and 
 skill. He received a command of two hundred and fifty 
 horse in the regiment of his friend, the Earl of Meldritch, 
 to say nothing of other honors and rewards 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 A BRIEF interregnum, which seemed like peace, followed 
 the relief of Olympaeh, to be succeeded by newer and 
 greater preparations for the war. But the soul and intel 
 lect of Smith were not at rest. His was not the spirit to 
 which repose is desirable ; but, if not absolutely in action, 
 contemplating action with the eye of his imagination, he 
 was perpetually schooling himself for its vicissitudes. 
 Never was mind more observant than his of the progress 
 and condition of the world about him. His narrative, as 
 a volume of travels, would be absolutely worthless to the 
 reader who seeks for anything more than to ascertain the 
 simple fact that the traveller himself had been an observer. 
 Of this there can be no question. The mind of Smith 
 was not given to description, and disdained details. It 
 was of a sort fond of generalization, and taking in at a 
 glance all the vital conditions of its subject. He describes 
 little, but you see that he comprehends. He gives but 
 a few words to the manners and customs of a people, but 
 you see in these words that he conceives and appreciates 
 them. The military eye of our hero is evidently 
 keenly exercised in all the countries that he visits. He 
 comments shrewdly on their forts and garrisons, on their 
 weapons of war, their training, or the ease or difficulty 
 with which their strong places may be overthrown. These 
 notices, sprinkled over all his pages, show the source of 
 that frequent mental provocation by which the resources 
 of his own genius were brought into exercise and develop 
 ment. They show him watchful and shrewd, not easily 
 persuaded by novelty, not easily deceived by show of a 
 
40 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 calm, clear mind, a firm spirit, and one which, if it has not 
 survived its youthful enthusiasm, is at least no longer 
 to be deluded by it. 
 
 It was in busy study and contemplatior that Smith em 
 ployed the interregnum following the relief of Olympach, 
 and the resumption of the actual event,; of war. The 
 campaign opened early in the year. The levies of the 
 Turks were, prosecuted with unwearieu diligence and 
 activity, while, on the other hand, three large bodies of 
 troops were raised by the emperor. One of these was 
 commanded by the Archduke Mathias ; one by Ferdi 
 nand, Archduke -of Styria ; and a third by Gonzago, 
 governor of Hungary. The lieutenant of the Archduke 
 Mathias was the Duke Mercury (Mercceur), w r ho led a 
 force of thirty thousand men, ten thousaH of whom were 
 French. Smith served in this division, still under the 
 immediate command of the Earl of MeUritch. To Ma 
 thias was given the defence of Lower Hungary, and the 
 Duke Mercury began the campaign vigorously by laying 
 siege to Alba Regalis, a strongly fortified town in posses 
 sion of the Turks, and considered in thai day almost im 
 pregnable. Here Smith s talents as an engineer were put 
 in requisition ; and here we again find nun counselling 
 novel inventions in war, by which to obtain unusual advan 
 tages. He suggested to the Earl of Meldritch the em 
 ployment of a sort of shell, which, filled with combustible 
 matter, was discharged from a sling. These were called 
 
 t O O 
 
 " Fiery Dragons" by their inventor, who describes them 
 as " round-bellied earthen pots," filled with " hard gun 
 powder and musket bullets," and covered with a coating 
 of brimstone, pitch, and turpentine. His plan was favora 
 bly entertained. He was permitted to try ihe experiment, 
 which he did successfully. Having first learned from 
 spies and deserters, or prisoners escaped from the town, 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 41 
 
 in what quarters it was usual for great numbers of people 
 to assemble on occasions of alarm, his bombs, or hand- 
 grenades, to the number of forty or fifty, were flung; at 
 midnight into the city, directed to those places where the 
 greatest crowds were likely to be brought together. " It 
 was a fearful sight," says Smith, " to see the short flam 
 ing course of their flight in the air ; but, presently after 
 their fall, the lamentable noise of the miserable slaughtered 
 Turkes was most wonderful to heare." These combusti 
 bles had the farther effect of firing the suburbs, " which 
 so troubled the Turkes to quench, that had there beene 
 any means to have assaulted them, they could hardly have 
 resisted the fire and their enemies." The Turks fought 
 bravely, nevertheless, making frequent sallies, and doing 
 very slaughterous deeds whenever they came forth. But 
 valor did not avail them. The place was finally taken by 
 a bold and well executed manoeuvre, which gave to the 
 besiegers possession of the city. The bashaw by whom 
 it was defended was faithful to his trust. Desperately 
 fighting, and disputing every inch of ground with the 
 assailants, he drew together a select body of five hundred 
 men before his own palace, resolved in perishing to sell 
 his life dearly. The conflict was a terrible one. The 
 Turks were almost cut to pieces, and the bashaw saved in 
 m s own spite by the Eail of Meldritch, who, with his 
 own hands, protected him from the fury of his troops. 
 This city had been in possession of the Moslem for sixty 
 years. They valued it accordingly. An army of sixty 
 thousand men, under Hassan Bashaw, had been sent to its 
 relief at the beginning of the siege, and was rapidly press 
 ing forward when the news of its conquest was received. 
 This did not arrest the march of the Turkish army. Trw* 
 loss of Alba Regalis was a severe stroke, seriously felt at 
 the beginning of the campaign, and a subject of deep mor 
 
42 LIFE OF CAP TAIN SMITH. 
 
 tification with the Turks. Hassan Bashaw was disposed 
 to risk much for its recovery. Pressing forward with all 
 his energy, it was his hope to surprise the army of the 
 Imperialists before they could well repair the (breaches in 
 the walls. He was mistaken in this expectation. The 
 Duke Mercury had promptly provided for the defence of 
 the place ; and, apprised of the undisciplined and inferior 
 character of the Turkish levies, he adopted the bold deter 
 mination of marching out with twenty thousand men to 
 meet them. The two armies encountered on the plains of 
 Girke. The battle was joined upon the march, regiment 
 after regiment mingling in the melee as they severally came 
 upon the ground. The conflict was obstinate and bloody. 
 If the Moslems lacked discipline there was no deficiency 
 of valor, and valor makes so large an element of success 
 ful warfare, that it w r ill not do to overlook or disregard it 
 when estimating the resources of a foe. Besides, the 
 Turks were thrice the number of the Christians. Disci 
 pline at length prevailed, after a long and murderous strug 
 gle. The skill and practised valor of the forces of Duke 
 Mercury more than supplied the deficiency of number, and 
 with equal courage and bravery effectually baffled that of 
 the foe. The battle closed only with the night, nor wa 
 the affair then concluded, since, as it has been said of th< 
 British in recent times, the Turk did not know when h/ 
 was beaten. The affair was destined to- be resumed with 
 the beginning of another day. 
 
 Smith approved his valor in the conflict, was wounded, 
 and had his horse shot under him. But he was not the 
 warrior to be content with this, and to remain dismounted 
 when there were so many noble steeds running masterless 
 around him. He was soon supplied with the means of 
 renewing his labors in a field, in which his ardent and 
 fearless spirit found so much to delight him. The wound 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 43 
 
 of Smith in this action he calls a sore one. Nothing is 
 said of the part which he took in the final assault when 
 Alba Regalis was carried ; yet if we recollect that the 
 last desperate struggle with the governor took place 
 with the troops under the immediate command of the Earl 
 of Meldritch, we have every reason to conclude that our 
 hero had his share in the worst dangers of that bloody 
 conflict. 
 
 Night, which separated the combatants on the plains of 
 Girke, left the affair still doubtful. But the Turks thought 
 otherwise. Hassan Bashaw was a brave man, and had 
 the most perfect Moslem faith in the sword and doctrines 
 of Mohammed. Flattering himself that the Christians 
 were wholly in his clutches, he committed the gross mili 
 tary error of detaching twenty thousand of his men, and 
 sending them off* to begin the leaguer of that town which 
 he had been marching to relieve. He proposed to finish 
 the affair with Duke Mercury the next day with the forces 
 which remained. Never was general more mistaken. He 
 failed in both his objects. The precautions which the 
 Duke had taken before leaving Alba Regalis, in providing 
 amply for its safety, without regard to his movements or 
 fate, enabled the garrison to beat off and baffle the assail 
 ants. The situation of the Duke himself was much more 
 hazardous. With the return of daylight the generals of 
 both armies opened their eyes with an increased respect 
 for each other, and each proceeded to intrench himself 
 where he lay, under sight of his enemy. Thus they lay 
 for two or three days, the precautions of the Imperialists 
 being rather greater than those of the Turks, as was pro 
 per to their inferior numbers. By the latter they were 
 frequently taunted with their weakness, and defied to come 
 from behind their trenches. These provocations finally 
 goaded them to the encounter. The Christians were led 
 
44 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 out by the Rhinegrave, by Culnitz, and Meldritch, in 
 throe bodies. The struggle was a short one. The Turks 
 were driven to the cover of their intrenchments, with a 
 loss of six thousand men ; the Imperialists forbearing to 
 press their advantage, because of the sudden appearance 
 of a large body of troops, coining from an unexpected 
 quarter. The success thus obtained, while it lessened the 
 Turkish appetite for a renewal of the game, did not increase 
 the courage of the Christians. We are not told of their 
 losses in the two conflicts which had already taken place ; 
 nor of the character of that body of men, whose sudden 
 appearance in the midst of the last battle prevented Duke 
 Mercury from pressing his advantage to a final victory. 
 In all probability there were good reasons in his own 
 weakness for this forbearance. Thus intrenched, the two 
 armies lay watching each other for some days more, until 
 at length, growing impatient, or hopeless of any good 
 result from longer delay, Hassan Bashaw broke up his 
 camp, and retired from his trenches ; the Imperialists 
 hanging upon his march, and assailing his rear frequently 
 and with success. The Turks fled to Buda, and the Duke 
 divided his army into three parts. One of these divisions, 
 consisting of six thousand men, was given to the Earl of 
 Meldritch, who was sent to assist George Busca against 
 the Transylvanians. With this division went our adven 
 turer, and to its fortunes we must confine our attention. 
 Our notice of the history of the country, as a matter of 
 course, will be confined to such glimpses only as are neces 
 sary to a proper comprehension of the part taken by Smith, 
 and the relation to public events in which each occurrence; 
 finds him. Transylvania at this period was assailed by 
 very different enemies. Sigismund Bathor, the native 
 prince of the country, was contending with the Emperor 
 of Germany on one hand, and with the Turks on the 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 45 
 
 other, who were the deadly enemies of both. While the 
 latter were the invaders of his land, the former was am 
 bitious of its sovereignty. Meldritch had been sent 
 against Sigismund, but being a native of Transylvania, he 
 preferred serving the native prince to the invader. He 
 was perhaps the more readily persuaded to this, as he found 
 Sigismund already in possession of the best footholds of the 
 country. He did not find it difficult to divert the arms of 
 his followers into the direction which he himself proposed 
 to take ; particularly, indeed, as he could urge upon them 
 the better booty to be won from the Turks, than that 
 which could possibly be gleaned from the poor natives. 
 his countrymen. The Emperor had not been a very good 
 paymaster, and this was another argument easily per 
 suading to a change of service. Besides, why fight 
 against Christians, when the Turkish enemies were before 
 them, at once the foes of their country and their faith ? 
 A war, too, carried on against these, was a war in favor 
 of both of the Christian princes, though they might be 
 contending in deadly hate against each other. We can 
 not reproach the Earl of Meldritch and his followers with 
 their change. of service. Smith, certainly, had neither 
 moral nor social obligations to adhere to the banner of 
 the Germans. Nay, to have done so, in carrying war 
 into Transylvania, would have been on his part a gross 
 offence against society and morals. His own previous 
 convictions would have denounced him, as he had long 
 since " repented and lamented to have seene so many 
 Christians slaughter one another ;" and he had sought the 
 army of the Imperialists, with the express desire to " trie 
 his fortune against the Turkes." 
 
 He was still to enjoy th pleasure. Sigisrnund was very 
 well pleased to obtain the services of a captain so brave 
 and well experienced as Meldritch, and readily consented 
 
46 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 that he should endeavor to drive the Turks out of hi* 
 country. It so happened that they held possession of 
 those very portions of Transylvania in which* the earl s 
 family estates were situated. His motives were therefore 
 quite as personal as patriotic. He began his career with 
 his wonted vigor. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 IN the campaign which followed, Smith was employed in 8 
 manner which must have afforded him an excellent train 
 ing for his fulure career among our North American In 
 dians. The country, in which its operations were to take 
 place, was one equally wild and savage in its natural and 
 social aspects. The greatest trials of strength were to 
 be found in regions which to ordinary courage would 
 have seemed inaccessible. In these regions had the 
 Turks planted their stronghold. They occupied the rocky 
 mountains of Zarham, and ravaged the tributary plains 
 and valleys. Over these wild and stony passes, in regions 
 possessed by herds of bandits and renegades of an ut-scrip- 
 tions, Turks and Tartars a people not so much Turks as 
 outlaws not so much men as savages the troops of Mel- 
 dritch must make their way to get at their enemies., and 
 gain possession of his estates. They had to contend with 
 a people practised in guerilla or partisan warfare a war 
 fare more than all others calculated to draw out the 
 resources of military genius, to stimulate ingenuity and acti 
 vity, and prompt courage to feats of the greatest audacity. 
 Meldritch knew the country, and was by no means igno 
 rant of its difficulties. He soon brought his troops to an 
 acquaintance with the predatory warriors by whom it was 
 possessed. These were sought and pressed, and with 
 daily and unremitting industry. Gradually, they yielded 
 before his arms, and left him in possession of the plains. 
 They had their cities in the mountains, and to these they 
 retired from before the presence of the foe. To one of 
 these, as utterly impregnable, they ascended when they 
 
4-8 LIFE OF CAP T A I N S M I T II . 
 
 could no longer find safety below. This was the city of 
 Regall, a place of great natural strength, to which the 
 military art of the day had added suitable fortifications. 
 Kegall was full of men, and so placed among the moun 
 tains, at one side only accessible, that nothing but the most 
 extraordinary perseverance and courage would ever think 
 of subduing it. But these were the very qualities which 
 the Earl of Meldritch brought against it. He had been 
 
 O O 
 
 twenty years a soldier, was full of resources, and had under 
 him no doubt many adventurers who, like Smith, could 
 contribute to his success at the perilous moment by ori 
 ginal expedients in arms. He had much at stake in the 
 enterprise, and he approached it cautiously. His exami 
 nation of Regall, of its approaches, strength and general 
 characteristics, was thorough and satisfactory. He began 
 the siege with the opening of spring. "The earthe no 
 sooner put oa her greene habit," says Smith, " than the 
 earl overspread her with his armed troops." Meldritch 
 proceeded as he had begun, with great energy. He strove 
 in the face of a thousand difficulties. His ordnance was 
 to be carried up through narrow passes of the mountains, 
 in which he was liable to capital misfortune at any moment, 
 unless watched by vigilance and the most ready courage 
 A race of active mountaineers, familiar with the country, 
 and practised in the sort of warfare which it requires, 
 might long succeed in baffling an invader of ten times 
 their numbers. The banditti in possession of the moun 
 tain were not prepared to forego the advantages of their 
 position, and every step on the part of the assailants was 
 distinguished by conflicts which were equally obstinate 
 and bloody. But perseverance, which is moral courage 
 of a distinguished order, co-operating with that of ordinary 
 valor, and seconded by experience and skill, succeeded in 
 arraying the force of the Christians on the table of the 
 
L [ F E OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 49 
 
 mountain, and in front of Regall. The defenders of the 
 city, apprised in season of the attempt against that place, 
 had lined its walls with soldiers, and stored it abundantly, 
 as well with provisions as with the munitions and imple 
 ments of war. Confiding in the strength of the place, 
 thrir own numbers and courage, and the ample supplies 
 which they possessed for maintaining the. siege, they 
 laughed to scorn the attempts of the assailant. The seem 
 ingly feeble force brought against them for the whole 
 army of Meldritch did not exceed eight thousand me-n 
 seemed lo justify the contempt which they expressed. 
 But they were soon taught another language. Kven with 
 this small army he succeeded in all the skirmishes in 
 which they met, and had fully beleaguered them within 
 the walls of Regall before he was joined by the forces of 
 Prince Moyses, nine thousand in number. To him, the 
 chief command was Surrendered. 
 
 The preparations of the besiegers were now deliberately 
 made. These were to secure them in the position which 
 they had won. It occupied near a month before they 
 were able to intrench themselves fully, and to plant their 
 batteries. The slowness of these proceedings increased 
 the courage of the Turks. They were amused rather 
 than alarmed by that deliberation, which was in truth the 
 strongest proof of their danger. With a blind confidence 
 in their numbers and the strength of their walls, they 
 derided the besiegers with frequent messages of scorn and 
 defiance. One of these messages was of the very charac 
 ter best adapted to provoke the more chivalrous per 
 sons in the Christian army, as it mingled the lofty tone 
 and temper of chivalry with the insolence of inflated self 
 esteem. It roused an individual spirit in the besiegers. 
 It reproached them with their inactivity said that they 
 grew fat for lack of exercise ; and expressing a fear lest 
 
50 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 they should suddenly depart from the city without affording 
 any pastime to the ladies thereof, proposed a defiance from 
 the Lord Turbishaw to any captain having the command 
 of a company. The head of the vanquished, with all that 
 he possessed, was to be at the mercy of the conqueror 
 The challenge was after the fashion of knightly times, am 
 these had not entirely gone out of the memories of men 
 The very motive to the offer " to delight the ladies, who 
 did long to see some courtlike pastime," partook largely 
 of the best spirit of the Middle Ages. There were not 
 wanting numerous brave captains in the Christian army 
 whose hearts bounded to the acceptance of the challenge 
 with the eagerness of the ancient war-steed, stirred sud 
 denly by the onset sounds of the trumpet ; and but a 
 single mode was left of deciding upon the champion that 
 of casting lots for the noble privilege. We need not say 
 that Smith was among the claimants, and that special for 
 tune befriended him. The ballot upon which his name 
 was written was the first to present itself; as if the watch 
 ful fate, for ever heedful of her favorite, had snatched 
 for him the golden opportunity for fame. 
 
 The preparations for the combat were as great as the 
 anxieties for the issue were lively. A truce was made 
 between the opposing armies, in order to the completion 
 of am Moments for this event; and as both parties pos 
 sessed a very equal knowledge of the sort of state which 
 should distinguish such proceedings, the affair absolutely 
 recalls very vividly to the mind the great jousts and 
 solemn tournaments which characterized the famous deeds 
 of knighthood, as they were practised a hundred years 
 before. On the day appointed for the combat the Chris 
 tians were drawn out in battle array, making the most 
 lavish display of banners, trophies, and heraldic insignia , 
 while the ramparts of the town were covered with fair 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 51 
 
 ladies, and men glittering in armor. The Turkish dames 
 in these regions seem not to have shrunk from a display 
 of their persons to the eyes of infidels, as they were com 
 pelled to do in the more central cities of their religion. 
 Living on the borders of a Christiai land, some of their 
 social habits might naturally enough I e modified by famili 
 arity with the customs of their neighbors. 
 
 The Turkish challenger, as in duty bound, first made 
 his appearance on the field. A " noise of howboys" 
 announced his coming and his presence. His entree was 
 calculated to rivet the attention, and compel admiration. 
 He was well mounted, and clad in a suit of splendid armor. 
 " On his shoulders were fixed a paire of great wings, com 
 pacted of eagle s feathers, within a ridge of silver, richly 
 garnished with gold and precious stones." Three Jani 
 zaries attended him ; one going before and bearing his 
 lance, the two others walking beside him and conducting 
 his horse to the station which was assigned him. Such 
 was the proud entrance and imposing aspect of the Turk 
 ish champion. That of Smith was far less showy. It 
 does not appear that he wore any but his ordinary armor, 
 or that he had any other to wear. We have reason to 
 suppose, however, that he was not regardless of his per 
 sonal appearance ; particularly as he was to fight in the 
 presence of the ladies. That they were pagan dames did 
 not lessen his respect for the sex ; and, if the truth were 
 written, he was more than usually solicitous of his toilet 
 on that day. That he donned his best surcoat, that he 
 selected his most showy scarf and plumage, we may con 
 jecture with sufficient safety. But he was no carpet 
 knight. He did not keep the Turkish champion waiting. 
 He rode into the field with a flourish of trumpets, attended 
 by a page bearing his lance, passed his foe with a cour 
 teous salute, and gracefully wheeled into the position 
 
52 LIFE OP CAPTAIN SMITH 
 
 which was designated for him. There was no delay. At 
 the sound of the trumpet the combatants rushed into the 
 deadly embrace of the strife, and the encounter was ended 
 with the single shock, and almost as soon as it had begun. 
 So admirably true was the aim, so firm the nerves of the 
 Christian champion, and so well trained his steed, that the 
 lance of Smith penetrated the beaver of the Turk, am] 
 passing through his eye into the brain, he fell dead to the 
 ground at the first thrust, without so much as grazing the 
 person of his conqueror. Smith leapt to the ground, un 
 braced the helmet of his enemy, and finding him lifeless, 
 smote off his head, which he bore away in triumph to the 
 Christian host. The body of Turbishaw was delivered to 
 his friends. The spoils of war necessarily became the 
 property of the victor. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 WE may imagine the exultation in the camp of the Chris 
 tians, and the good auguries of future triumph which were 
 conveyed by so gallant a beginning. The hero was met 
 by the army with a shout of general welcome. In just the 
 same degree was the mortification of the good people of 
 Regall. Sorely did they lament the fall of their cham 
 pion, and sadly, we may suppose } did the u faire dames 7 
 of the city sigh as they thought upon the delightful pastime 
 which was made for them by the Cbristian,Smith. But the 
 chief mourner in Regallwas one Grualgo, the bosom friend 
 of Turbishaw, and a fierce and powerful warrior. In the 
 first paroxysm of his grief and fury he despatched a special 
 message to the conqueror, proposing his own head a,* 
 the stake for the recovery of his friend s. To make the 
 bait the more tempting to our champion, his horse and 
 armor were also proposed as pledges upon the issue. It 
 need scarcely be said that, flushed with one victory, and 
 having full confidence in his own prowess, Smith was ready 
 to seek the chances for another. The challenge was prompt 
 ly accepted. Nothing, indeed, could have been more 
 agreeable to our hero. It is true, he had given the head 
 of Turbishaw to Prince Moyses, who had " kindly accept 
 ed it," but it cannot be doubted that the prince would 
 gladly risk his prize with the expectation of getting that 
 of Grualgo also for his collection. There were no diffi 
 culties in the way of the arrangement, the field was pre 
 pared as before, and the ensuing day was appointed for the 
 combat. 
 
 The walls of Regall were again covered with spectators. 
 
54 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 The fair and the brave once more came forth with mingled 
 feelings of delight, expectation and anxiety pride, and 
 hope, and apprehension, duly mingling in their bosoms, 
 according to the temper of the individual. Grualgo entered 
 as his friend had done, with a noise of hautboys ; Smith, 
 as before, with a flourish of trumpets. The sound of the 
 trumpet gave the signal for the combat. At the first pas 
 sage the lances of the combatants flew into pieces ; but, 
 while the Turk was nearly unhorsed in the encounter, 
 Smith kept his seat as if he had grown to the saddle. 
 The splintered spears were thrown aside, and seizing their 
 pistols, shots were instantly exchanged between the par 
 ties. At the first shot Smith was slightly wounded, and 
 Grualgo escaped unhurt. In the second, the latter was 
 less fortunate. His left arm was shattered, and his horse 
 became unmanageable. In this plight he was thrown to the 
 ground, and lay at the mercy of the conqueror. The age 
 was not favorable to much forbearance in such cases, nor 
 had the terms of courtesy between the contending armies 
 been of such a sort as to render the want of pity a reproach 
 to either from the other. Besides, the Turk had staked his 
 head with a full knowledge of all the dangers, and having 
 the fate of Turbishaw before him. Smith had voluntarily 
 subjected himself to the same risk, and this he scarcely 
 would have done, but with a view to his obtaining all the 
 profits of his risk. The conditions of the field seem to 
 have been inevitable, and leaping to the ground, the con 
 queror smote off the head of Grualgo as effectually as 
 he had done that of Turbishaw. Head, horse and armor 
 remained his trophies. The body, he is careful to tell 
 us, with all its rich apparel, was sent back to the city. 
 Our champion took nothing more than he had a perfect 
 right to take. 
 
 These were severe strokes to the defenders of Regall. 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 55 
 
 We have every reason to suppose that Turbishuw andGru- 
 algo were their very bravest champions. No more chal 
 lenges were sent from that city. The desire among the 
 Turkish warriors of delighting the ladies of the place with 
 such courtlike pastimes seemed fairly at an end, and the 
 chivalry of both parties was now exercised in daily conflicts 
 of a more general nature. The Turks made frequent sal 
 lies, but did not long wait for the skirmishes they pro 
 voked. " They would not endure," says Smith, " to any 
 purpose." They had, by this time, tested sufficiently the 
 superior prowess of their assailants, and their sorties had 
 no other object than to divert or retard the operations of 
 the leaguer, of which they may reasonably have begun 
 to be more apprehensive than at the beginning of the cam 
 paign. These operations were of a character too slow and 
 tedious for the temper of Smith. The approaches were 
 left to unskilful engineers, and the progress to the con 
 summation of the event was too unpromising to satisfy the 
 impatient and ambitious nature of our champion. Burning 
 for some new occasion for displaying his skill and spirit, 
 he determined to take the initiative in a new attempt to 
 delight and amuse the ladies. " With many incontradicti- 
 ble persuading reasons" u to delude time," Smith obtained 
 leave from his commander to send a message of defiance 
 into the town. It was couched, however, in language of 
 particular courtesy, as being addressed to the ladies of 
 Regall themselves. He begged to assure them that he 
 was not so much enamored of the heads of their servants 
 in his possession, but that he was ready to restore them 
 upon proper terms, and he invited them to send forth some 
 other champion who would risk his own to recover them. 
 Smith concluded by declaring himself willing that his head 
 should accompany th^ others, if their champion was pre 
 pared to take it. 
 
56 11 F OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 Thus addressed, it became a point of honor with the 
 gallants of Regail that the ladies should not lack a cham 
 pion. The challenge of the Christian was accepted with 
 suiiicient promptness by a brave fellow, whose u me in 
 our English orthography does not create the impression of 
 any very formidable personage. How it would look and 
 sound in Turkish costume is beyond our conjecture 
 Bonny Mulgro thus written by Smith M-as the name of 
 the third champion sent forth from Regail. He came only 
 to add a third lo the trophies of our here The arrange- 
 
 I O 
 
 ments were made for the ensuing day. 
 
 The combatants entered the field as in the previous 
 instances, and under like auspices the day fine, and the 
 camp of the Christians, and the entire population of Re- 
 gall, turning out to behold the issue. But there was one 
 difference in the arrangements which had like to have 
 brought about an important difference in the result. The 
 choice of weapons being \vith the challenged party, taking 
 counsel from the fate of his predecessors, he declined hav 
 ing anything to do with the lance, of which weapon Smith 
 had shown himself a perfect master. (How much of this 
 mastery did he owe to his practice when playing hermit 
 in the woods of Lincoln ?) Bonny Mulgro chose the 
 pistol, the battle-axe, and falchion ; in the use of which 
 weapons, particularly in that of the battle-axe, he was 
 more than commonly a proficient. The combat honored 
 his discretion, and had nearly resulted in his victory. At 
 the sound of the trumpet the combatants rapidly darted 
 upon each other, discharging their pistols as they drew 
 nigh. No damage having been done by these weapons, 
 they were thrown aside, and a close and severe combat 
 followed \vith the battle-axe. For some time the strife 
 was doubtful. Sound strokes were given on both hides, 
 ith such hearty good will, and such imperfect defence, 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 57 
 
 as to leave neither of them scarce sense enough so Smith 
 tells us to keep their saddles. At length, however, the 
 Turk succeeded in giving his antagonist a blow so severe 
 as to deprive him of his battle-axe. At the sight of this 
 advantage gained by their champion, the people of Regall 
 set up such a shout as shook their ramparts. This, while 
 it encouraged Bonny Mulgro to do his utmost, may be 
 supposed to have stung his opponent into a full recovery 
 of his senses never more necessary to him than just at 
 that moment. He did recover them. It was very fortu 
 nate for him that he was so efficient a horseman. It was 
 only by the dexterous management of his steed that he 
 succeeded for some time in avoiding the blows hailed-upon 
 him by his enemy. Smith is not unwilling to share some 
 of the merit with his horse, whose " readinesse" he eulo 
 gizes, while insisting upon his own " judgment and dex 
 terity in such a businesse." It was beyond the expecta 
 tion of all the spectators almost beyond the hope of his 
 Christian friends that our hero, finally, " by God s assist 
 ance," not only escaped the hatchet of the Turk, but 
 drawing his fashion, succeeded in running him through 
 the body. This event dismounted him ; and though he 
 alighted on his feet, he was not suffered to keep them long. 
 He soon shared the fate of his companions ; and Smith, 
 still in possession of his own head, added a third to his 
 former bloody trophies. 
 
 9* 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THESE several victories, the fruit of so much skill, judg 
 ment and valor on the part of our champion, had the most 
 inspiriting effect upon the soldiery, and were duly honored 
 by the commander of the Christians. A most imposing 
 pageant took place in his honor. With an escort of six 
 thousand men, the three Turks heads borne before him 
 on so many spears, preceding the three horses with their 
 panoply, the spoils of the three combats, Smith was con 
 ducted to the pavillion and into the presence of the general. 
 Prince Moyses welcomed him with embraces, compliment 
 ed him as his deeds deserved, bestowed upon him a noble 
 charger richly furnished, a splendid scimetar and belt 
 worth three hundred ducats. Count Meldritch added to 
 these gifts another, which our hero in all probability valued 
 quite as highly as any of the rest. He made him a major 
 in his regiment. Nor were these the only rewards which 
 followed his unwonted and successful chivalry. At a later 
 period Sigismund Bathor, Prince of Transylvania, coming 
 to review the army, and being made aware of his peculiar 
 achievements, distinguished him with the highest personal 
 attentions, gave him his picture set in gold, a pension of 
 three hundred ducats per annum, and crowned all with a 
 patent of nobility. This patent entitled him to a coat of 
 arms, bearing three Turks heads in a shield, with the 
 motto, " Vincere est Vivere.* 
 
 * For this patent and the certificate of the English garter king-al 
 arms, Sir William Segar, by whom it was admitted ?.nd put on 
 record in the Heralds College, England see Appendix. 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 59 
 
 But Smith was destined to undergo other perils and 
 vicissitudes, and to make other exhibitions of courage, 
 skill and endurance, before these last mentioned honors 
 were conferred upon him. Regall was yet to be taken, 
 and however keenly its defenders might feel the mor 
 tification and loss of three of their favorite champions, 
 their determination to defend the place to the last moment 
 was not a whit lessened by their fate. The works of the 
 besiegers being at length completed for the grand assault, 
 they opened upon the walls of the city with six and twenty 
 pieces of artillery. In the space of fifteen days two 
 breaches were made. These were defended by the Turks 
 with all the earnestness of desperate men in maintenance 
 of their last favorite places of retreat. A general assault 
 at length was commanded, and after a furious conflict, 
 hand to hand, in which the assailants suffered severely, 
 the town was entered by them sword in hand. The sur 
 viving defenders fled to the castle or citadel, as the only 
 place of refuge. But this was not to be a place of refuge 
 long. In vain did the little garrison send out a flag of 
 truce, entreating composition with the besiegers. The 
 prayer was rejected with scorn and indignation. The 
 Christians had old massacres to avenge, and the castle,sub- 
 jected to a like battery with that which had overthrown 
 their ramparts, was taken the next day by storm. Then 
 followed one of those terrible instances of havoc and bru 
 tality which, in all similar circumstances,in that and pre 
 ceding periods, has marked the victory obtained over 
 walled places in the phrenzied and exciting heat of actual 
 conflict. Dreadful was the massacre which ensued. All 
 who could bear arms were put indiscriminately to the 
 sword, their heads cut off and set around the walls upon 
 stakes, -such as had been done to the Christian defenders 
 when the place had fallen into the hands of the present 
 
RO LIFE OF CAPTAIN S M I T . 
 
 victims. Humanity asks without being answered, " What 
 of the fair women, the beautiful and young, whose pre 
 sence on the walls, at a more exhilarating moment, had 
 stimulated the valor of knighthood, and whose smiles had 
 lighted up the field of chivalry ?" The ferocious temper 
 which spared not the submissive warrior, was not likely, 
 in the desperate mood which the sacking of a city de 
 mands, to forbear excess and violence to the pleading and 
 the loveliness of his women, particularly when the very 
 faith with which they professed, placing them among the 
 heathen, seemed of itself, in the estimation of that day of 
 bigotry and superstition, to put them out of the pale of hu 
 manity. Though our adventurer spares us the melancholy 
 details of this ferocious history, it is to his credit that his 
 language, when he refers to the subject, is that of regret 
 and sympathy. We have no reason to suppose that he 
 ever had occasion to feel remorse for his share in these 
 proceedings, or to reproach himself with deeds which were 
 not performed in the heat of actual conflict, and under all 
 the necessity of self-defence. 
 
 The ramparts of Regall being repaired, and his own 
 besieging works overthrown, Prince Moyses manned the 
 place with a strong garrison, and proceeded to other con 
 quests We need not say that Smith accompanied him. 
 Like successes attended the Christians at Veratio, Solmos 
 and Kupronka. These places also fell by storm, were 
 sacked the garrison sharing a like fate with the arms- 
 bearing inhabitants of Regall, and the decrepid, the women 
 and children, two thousand in number, being carried into 
 captivity. We are to conjecture for ourselves the sort 
 of experience, busy and bloody, of strife and slaughter, 
 through which our hero passed in this melancholy progress 
 of sacks and sieges. But the heart of the soldier is not 
 necessarily a callous one ; and the fervor of actual combat 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 61 
 
 subsiding, the more genial humanities are apt to recover 
 all their sway in the bosom which rather obeys the prompt 
 ing of an impetuous nature, than the cold and cruel dic 
 tates of diseased and vexing passions. Smith s narrative 
 is never allowed to shock our sensibilities. He speaks of 
 the conflict in the spirit of the warrior ; but, the strife at 
 rest, he seems to shrink from such details as degrade him 
 from his humanity. It may be urged that he was not igno 
 rant of the final issues of war, and the atrocious practices 
 which usually accompanied it at that period, and in the 
 wild countries in which he waged it ; but this will be 
 insisting upon standards of morality w r hich did not belong 
 to his time, and would not properly apply in the case of 
 one so neglected in his youth and training as himself. 
 Besides, he was too much the creature of action, too fond 
 of adventure in fields which tax all the energies of the 
 soul and spirit, to be easily diverted from employments 
 which gave exercise to these, because of the occasional 
 repulsiveness of their conditions. Our object, however, is 
 not to excuse but to represent him justly. A wild time 
 and wild countries demand a prompt and unscrupulous 
 courage. Though Smith laments the horrors of warfare, 
 and speaks always with the gentleness and meekness of 
 that better spirit which sometimes softened the aspects of 
 the feudal ages, he is not to be driven from the profession 
 of arms, because of its occasional massacres. We find 
 him still commanding under Meldritch, though by this 
 time certain political changes in the affairs of Transylvania 
 kft him no longer under the same superior. Hitherto, 
 the Prince Sigismund, from whom he had received his 
 honors, had maintained a sufficiently bold front at once 
 against the Turks and the emperor, whose authority he 
 had defied, asserting for himself all the rights of an inde 
 pendent sovereign. But the struggle was too unequal 
 a 
 
62 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 The resources of his principality were exhausted in the con 
 flict ; and, with the spectacle before his eyes of ravaged 
 fields and wasted territories, 4 he proud spirit of the Prince 
 was humbled within him. Smith gives in a few words a 
 painful description of the condition of the country after the 
 close of this twofold struggle. From being " one of the 
 fruitfullest and strongest countries in those parts," it was 
 become " rather a desert, or the very spectacle of desola 
 tion ; their fruits and fields overgrovvne with weeds, their 
 churches, and battered palaces, and best buildings, as for 
 feare, hid with mosses and ivy : being the very bulwarke 
 and rampire of a greate part of Europe, most fit by all 
 Christians to have been supplyed and maintained, was 
 thus brought to ruine by them it most concerned to sup 
 port it." But what was the true interest of the country 
 or of Europe to the prerogative of the Emperor ? The 
 latter was unyielding, and Sigismund, with a humane 
 regard to the distresses of his people, craved a truce from 
 his invader. This truce led to the desired concessions, 
 which were followed by a partial disbanding of the army 
 under Prince Moyses. Sigismund accepted a munificent 
 pension, and yielding up his perilous sovereignty, retired 
 upon the rank and estate of a private nobleman. But 
 this was an arrangement by no means satisfactory to all 
 the parties. Young hawks must be fed ; and soldiers by 
 trade are not the less willing to fight because they are 
 disbanded. Prince Moyses, the lieutenant of Sigismund, 
 declared his resolution never to submit to the Germans ; 
 and disobeying the commands of Sigismund perhaps 
 compelled by his troops to disregard them he marched 
 against the forces of the Emperor, commanded by one 
 Busca, an Albanian. A few small successes which he 
 obtained were followed by a bloody conflict, in which he 
 was finally defeated, and fled for refuge to the Turks at 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 63 
 
 TVmesvare. His overthrow removed all obstacles to the 
 progress of the Emperor; and it was not difficult to enlist 
 the same soldiers of fortune who had fought for the one 
 in the armies of the opposing Prince. It does not appear 
 that Smith had made cause with Moyses in his insurrec 
 tionary and frantic movement against Busca. On the 
 contrary, he seems to have adhered to the fortunes of his 
 more immediate leader, the Earl of Meldritch, and soon 
 found employment with him, as before, in defending the 
 country from the infidel. There was no lack of employ 
 ment in those days, and in that region, for the warlike man- 
 at-arms. The Turk was no such imbecile as we find him 
 now, to be trodden upon and buffeted with impunity by all 
 his neighbors. There were few of the contiguous nations, 
 indeed, which at that time he did not cause to tremble ; 
 and his restless ambition rendered necessary the mainten 
 ance of veteran armies everywhere along the frontiers of 
 his empire. Wallachia was then a Turkish province, the 
 people of which revolting against the tyranny of their vai- 
 vode or governor, one Jeremias, expelled him from their ter 
 ritory, and called in the assistance of the emperor s forces. 
 These were not slow in coming at the call, and at their 
 presence and with their assistance^ new vaivode was pro 
 claimed in the person of Lord Rodoll. But Jeremias, the 
 governor who had been expelled, having succeeded in 
 assembling a numerous army of forty thousand men, pre 
 pared to contest the authority^ which had succeeded to his 
 own, and to subdue and scourge the revolt among his sub 
 jects. Rodoll, unable to contend with such an army, fled 
 at its approach, and took shelter among the Transylvanians. 
 It became necessary to assert the rights of the new vai 
 vode by force of arms, and Busca, anxious to furnish em 
 ployment to the old regiments of Sigismund, of whose fide 
 lity he seems to have had some doubts, found no diificulty 
 
(T4 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 in yielding them for this purpose, to the application of the 
 fugitive. It was thus that Smith, still under the command 
 of his old leader, the Earl of Meldritch, again took the 
 field against his ancient enemy, the Turk. Meldritch led 
 to the support of Rodoll a powerful army of thirty thou 
 sand men. This body of troops, well trained, well olS- 
 cered and admirably experienced, was perhaps the most 
 veteran force in Transylvania. This army, penetrating 
 Wallachia, advanced upon the camp of Jeremias, who lay 
 strongly entrenched in the plains of Peteski, awaiting rein 
 forcements from the Grim Tartars. Here the Christians 
 encamped also, watching their enemy, but not daring to 
 assail him in the strong position which he held. Frequent 
 contlicts took place between small parties of the opposing 
 forces, which were chiefly remarkable for the shocking 
 cruelties which thoy practised. While Rodoll beheaded 
 his prisoners, and Hung their gory heads by night into the 
 Turkish trenches, the latter, not to be outdone in brutality, 
 flayed his vic.iais alivj, aud staked the sail wann car 
 cases on huge poL s "ra si^ at of their infuriated comrades. 
 To seduce Jeremias from his entrenchments, Rodoll fell 
 upon a plan of retreat, which was intended to have all the 
 appearance of a (light. His scheme was well devised, and at 
 a given period, firing the country as he withdrew from his 
 camp, he retired in the night upon the Brink! in seeming 
 precipitation. The ruse had the desired effect. The 
 Turks, against the will of their commander, forced him 
 to lead them in pursuit, and while the rear-guard of Rodoll 
 was skirmishing with the advance parties of his enemy, 
 the m tin body of his army was putting itself in the most 
 favorable position for the reception of the pursuing foe. 
 Smith gives us a lively account of the battle which ensued. 
 His is one of those frank and generous natures which 
 shows no reluctance in declaring the merits as well of 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 65 
 
 friend and enemy. Meldritch and Busendorfe he describes 
 " rather like enraged lious than like men," and fighting the 
 assailants " as if in them only had consisted the victory." 
 Meldritch s horse is slain under him, and the desire of the 
 Turks to make him prisoner, and of his own followers to 
 save him from this peril, makes the battle hottest where 
 he stands. He is remounted, and " it is thought with 
 his owne hands he slew the valiant Zanzacke, whereupon 
 his troopes retyring, the two proud bashawes, Aladdin and 
 Zezimmus, brought up the front of the body of their bat- 
 tel." The fight becomes desperate and bloody. The 
 bravery and skill of Jeremias, which are highly commend 
 ed by our hero, leave it for some time doubtful, even with 
 the object of his stratagem obtained, if Rodoll will remain 
 the victor. The conflict is one of individual combats, and 
 becomes a massacre rather than a fight. ii There was 
 scarce ground to stand upon," says Smith, " but upon the 
 dead carkasses which, in less than an hower, were so 
 mingled as if each regiment had singled out the other." It 
 is really pleasing to hear him speak of the Turkish cham 
 pions. " The admired Aladdin," says he, " that day did 
 leave behinde him a glorious name for his valour, whose 
 death many of his enemies did lament after the victorie." 
 " Zezimmus, the bashaw, was taken prisoner, but died 
 presently of his wounds." "Jeremie * * * like a 
 valiant prince in the front of the vantgard, by his example 
 so bravely encouraged his soldiers that Rodoll found no 
 great assurance of the victorie." But the victory finally 
 fell to the Christians. Their veteran experience deter 
 mined the odds in their favor. The havoc had been 
 immense. The Turks lost their bravest officers, and not 
 less than twenty-five thousand dead of both armies were 
 left upon the field, a bloody proof of the resolute hatred 
 of the opposing legions. Of his own share in this battle, 
 
66 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 Smith modestly tells us nothing. His eulogies upon the 
 valorous deeds of others, friend and foe, leave him no 
 room to relate his own. But a struggle so hotly and so 
 closely contested, with regiment grappling regiment over 
 the bodies of slain comrades, is not likely to have been 
 spared the exhibitions of that spirit, skill, strength and 
 courage, which had so often individualized his previous 
 career. We have no doubt that our adventurer did not 
 suffer himself to" be outdone, and his own glory obscured, 
 by any Turk or Christian in the two arrays. He did not 
 repose upon the laurels of Regall, but in all probability 
 dyed his sanguinary chaplet trebly red in the havoc of that 
 mortal struggle. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 JEREMIK, the .eader of the Turks, after performing prodi 
 gies of valor, escaped from the field with some fourteen 
 thousand men, making his way to Moldavia. Lord Rodoll 
 resumed his rule as vaivode in Wallachia ; but his fate 
 seemed resolute that he should not hold it long without 
 disturbance. The Turks and Tartars again drew to a head 
 in numbers, and, under the conduct of Jeremie, who had 
 succeeded in uniting the remnant of his forces with other 
 troops in Moldavia, again appeared upon the field. The 
 numbers of his army had been greatly underrated ; and 
 Meldritch, laboring under this error, was sent against him 
 with but thirteen thousand men. With an enemy before 
 him numbering nearly forty-five thousand men, Meldritch 
 slowly yielded to a pressure which it would have been 
 madness to resist. He retired towards Rottenton, a 
 strongly garrisoned town of the vaivode, but was terribly 
 harassed by his enemy on the retreat. The skirmishing 
 parties of the two armies were in constant collision, and 
 not without advantage to the Christian army ; which, 
 however, still continued its retrograde movement, made 
 momently more and more conscious, by the accumulating 
 presence of the foe, of the tremendous disparity between 
 the two forces. A night march which Meldritch s troops 
 made, with incredible expedition, through a wood, brought 
 them unexpectedly upon two thousand of the Turks laden 
 with plunder. Favored by a thick morning fog, which 
 concealed their approach from the foe, they immediately 
 charged with complete success, slaying many, and taking 
 numerous prisoners. But this success was accompanied 
 
58 
 
 r E OF C A I TAIN SMITH. 
 
 by the knowledge, gained from tluir captivvs, that thi-ii 
 rapidity of march huci availed them nothing Thry \\ere 
 apprised that Jvi emie with his Turks had got in advance 
 of them, and now lay in waiting, guarding the onlv pass 
 through which they could escape. To support him in 
 his position, the Tai tars, twice his number, were approach 
 ing at a little distance, conscious of their vast superiority 
 of force, arui eager for their prey. The prospect only 
 increased the desperate valor of the Christians. Jt hecame 
 necessary to force the passage, if possible, before the 
 junction of the Tartars with the Turkish army under Jere- 
 ntiie ; and here, again, the ingenuity of the " Knglish 
 Smith," as he styles himself, was put in requisition foi 
 the relief of the beleaguered army. Smith, remembering 
 the excellent success which had followed his experi 
 ments of" fiery dragons" and " false mu.-keteers" on pre 
 vious occasions, conceived the idea of a " pretty stratagem 
 of fireworks," of which he instantly advised his superior. 
 By means of these he proposed to diminish materially the 
 danger and difficulties of fighting his way through such a 
 host as that of Jeremie, in the advantageous position 
 which the latter occupied. Meldritch, who had already 
 seen the excellent skill which our hero possessed in gun 
 powder, gave ready ear to his suggestions. The plan of 
 Smith was quite simple. Rockets, of a highly explosive 
 and eccentric character, were immediately prepared, and 
 fastened to the ends of their lances ; and under cover of 
 the niprit the passage was attempted. The expedient had 
 all the success which was expected from it. The rockets, 
 two or three hundred in number " truncks of wild-fire" 
 at the end of the charging spears, " blazed forth such 
 flames and sparkles, that it so amazed not only their 
 horses but their foot also, that, by the meanes of this 
 flamin" encounter, their owne horses turned tailes witt) 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 69 
 
 such fury, as by their violence overthrew Jeremias and 
 his army, without any losse at all to sp,>ak of to Meldritch. 1 
 The Turks were in fact beaten and driven from the field 
 by this simple stratagem, and the dangerous passage was 
 passed, with hopes of safety renewed among the Chris 
 tians, having so unexpectedly surmounted the obstacle 
 which had been so much feared. Truly, the English 
 Smith was a valuable companion in a moment of emer 
 gency ; and it is to be recognized as a sufficient proof ot 
 the estimation in which he was held, that he finds his 
 way at pleasure to the private ear of his superior, and his 
 counsel is usually adopted with ready confidence. 
 
 But the success of the " pretty stratagem of fireworks" 
 was only temporary. They had discomfited Jeremie 
 but the Tartar with his forty thousand men lay still in 
 the path. The army of Meldritch was now reduced to 
 eleven thousand only. Pressing forward with this rem 
 nant with more speed than prudence, they encountered 
 the enemy in force within three leagues of Rottenton, the 
 fortified city which they aimed to reach. The position in 
 which the two armies encountered was such as to render 
 it impossible to escape the conflict. The alternative for 
 fight was to " be cut to pieces flying." 
 
 " Here," says Smith, bitterly, reviewing the danger, 
 " here Busca and the emperor had their desire." His 
 allusion is to the obvious anxiety of the Germans to be 
 rid of auxiliaries, whose very fidelity made them suspect 
 ed by his enemy and successor, and whose veteran valor 
 he had excellent reason to fear. It is in this place that 
 our adventurer exhibits the glow and ardor of that spirit 
 which was at the bottom of his chivalry. It is here, in 
 his book, that his tones rise, and his voice dilates in the 
 swelling language of the Spaniard. And there is a rude 
 vein of poetry apparent in his narrative at this and other 
 
70 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 like places, which reminds us of the verses of genuine bards. 
 Thus when he says, " The sunne no sooner displayed his 
 beames than the Tartar his colours," we feel that he is 
 quite as natural, and even more happy in his figure, than 
 Dan Chaucer in the famous line 
 
 " Uprose the sunne, and uprose Erailie ;" 
 
 since the pomp and splendor of the image which furnished 
 the comparison is much more appropriate to the gorgeous 
 aspects of battle than to the making of a damsel s toilet. 
 
 The terrors and dangers of the approaching contlict do 
 not render our hero indifferent to the beauty and magnifi 
 cence of the spectacle. " It was a most brave sight," he 
 exclaims, " to see the banners and ensigns streaming in 
 the aire, the glittering of armour, the variety of colours, 
 the motion of plumes, the forests of lances, and the thick- 
 nesse of shorter weapons, till the silent expedition of the 
 bloody blast from the murdering ordnance, whose roaring 
 voice is not so soone heard as felt by the aymed-at object, 
 which made among them a most lamentable slaughter." 
 
 Delivered up to almost certain destruction by what 
 Smith styles having reference, we suppose, to the empe 
 ror in withholding succor " a tyrannical and treacherous 
 imposture," " a cowardly calamity," the Christian army 
 prepared for the terrible encounter with the coolness and 
 resolve of veterans. It was " in the valley of Veristhorne, 
 betwixt the river of Altus and the mountain of Rottenton," 
 that " this bloody encounter" took place, " where the most 
 of the dearest friends of the. noble Prince Sigismundus 
 perished." The affectionate manner in which Smith 
 speaks of this Prince, and of the followers whose fidelity 
 he had experienced, is very pleasing and honorable. His 
 sense of the beauty of fidelity is another of those traits of 
 chivalry, which are conspicuous equally in the events oi 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 71 
 
 his I ifr, and in the narrative which records them. He 
 dwells with more than ordinary minuteness upon this last 
 fatal battle. 
 
 Meldritch, always a good captain, made the best possi 
 ble disposition of his forces. His eleven thousand men 
 were drawn up at the foot of the mountain, and in their 
 front and on their flanks sharp stakes, hardened in the fire 
 and bent against the enemy, were planted in the earth. 
 By digging numerous holes at frequent intervals along the 
 line, it was aimed still farther to lessen the vast superiority 
 which the Tartars possessed in cavalry. The infantry 
 was ranged among the stakes, having orders to retire be 
 hind them when they found themselves too severely 
 pressed. All the precautions which were practicable in 
 the condition of their affairs seem to have been taken with 
 deliberate coolness and resolve the preparations made 
 being of a character to show, that it was the conviction of 
 the Christian commander that the struggle was a final one 
 for life rather than victory though, in such an issue, the 
 former seems necessarily to imply the other. 
 
 It was noon before the armies joined battle : " the 
 sunne" that had risen so gloriously, according to Smith, 
 u for shame did hide himselfe from so monstrous sight of a 
 
 O 
 
 cowardly calamity." But the calamity, however great, 
 could not suffer from the reproach of cowardice, unless it 
 be charged upon the Tartar forces in regard to their over 
 whelming numerical superiorityr These, forty thousand 
 in number, were also arrayed for the struggle with skill 
 and judgment. The battle was begun by Mustapha Bey, 
 who came on, gallantly enough, in the midst of a storm of 
 music from drums, trumpets and hautboys. He waa 
 bravely met, and beaten back by the regiments of horse 
 under Nederspolt and Mavazo. His attack was followed 
 up *;y the bold and headlong onslaught of a Tartar chief 
 
72 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 named Begolgi, whose advancing squadrons darkened the 
 skies with their multitudinous arrows. The lieutenants, 
 Veltus and Ober win, struggled under this terrible pressure 
 for more than an hour, yielded finally, and sank agreeably 
 to order behind the stakes which had been planted for 
 their safety against this very emergency. Then followed, 
 heedless of this obstruction, of which hitherto they had 
 seen nothing, the blind rush of the Tartar cavalry. " It 
 was a wonder," says Smith, " to see how horse and man 
 came to the ground." 
 
 The disorder was so great among these " mangled 
 troopes," in consequence of this unlocked for disaster, that 
 the Christians, enlivened by new hopes, began to shout 
 for victory ; and, with five or six field-pieces which now 
 played with effect upon the discomfited horsemen, succeed 
 ed for a brief space in arresting the assailants. But the 
 hope was illusory. The respite was for an instant only. 
 The Turks soon recovered from their disorder and sur 
 prise, and renewed the combat with new legions and a 
 fresher fury. Their reckless onslaught, and swarming 
 multitudes, soon satisfied Meldritch that nothing short of 
 a miracle could save his army, that any hope of victory 
 was idle, and that all that now remained for him to attempt, 
 was to cut his way through the enemy with a select body 
 of his men. With this resolution he drew together hi? 
 
 D 
 
 choice troops and his reserve, and gave orders for tho 
 desperate charge. The attempt was only in part success 
 ful. The passage was made by Meldritch himself and 
 some fourteen hundred horse, who succeeded by swim 
 ming in throwing the river Altus between the nselves and 
 their pursuers. But heavy was the toll which he had to 
 pay in making that passage. Numbers fell in the flight, 
 and among these many of his bravest officers. Of the 
 sanguinary terrors of that conflict some idea may be 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 73 
 
 gathered from the fact, that of both armies thirty thousand 
 men were left upon the field. Nor did the commons suffer 
 only. Earls and barons, colonels and captains the brave 
 generals Nederspolt, Veltus, Zarvana, Mavazo, and Ba- 
 vell were among- the slain ; and Smith, with praise 
 worthy patriotism, iocs not omit to make a record which 
 he deems honorable to his native land. " Give me leave," 
 says he, " to remember the names of our owne countrymen 
 * * in these exploits, that, as resolutely as the best, in 
 the defence of Christ and his Gospell ended their dayes ; 
 as Baskerfield, Hardwicke, Thomas Milemer, Robert Molli- 
 newx, Thomas Bishop, Francis Compton, George Damson^ 
 Nicholas Williams, and one John, a Scot, did what men 
 could doe ; and when they could doe no more left there 
 their bodies, in testimonie of their mindes. Only Ensigne 
 Caileton and Sergeant Robinson escaped." 
 
 Smith himself was left severely wounded, and seemingly 
 dead, among a heap of the slain. His rich armor drew 
 the attention of the conquerors, while his groans, uttered 
 in his unconsciousness, showed him to be still alive. His 
 life was spared in consideration of his ransom. Carefully 
 nursed and tended, his wounds were healed, his strength 
 gradually recovered, and when fit for inspection, he was 
 offered for sale in the slave-markets of Axiopolis. He 
 was bought by the Bashaw Bogall, and sent by him in 
 chains to his " faire mistresse" at Constantinople. " By 
 twentie and twentie, chained by the neckes, they marched 
 in files to this great citie, where they were delivered to 
 their several masters, and he (Smith) to the young Cha 
 ratza Trayabigzanda." 
 
CHAPTER IX, 
 
 THE Bashaw Bogall, though no hero, was yet ambitious 
 of the fame of one ; and, in sending Smith to his mistress, 
 he committed the blunder to say nothing of the worse 
 offence against morals of telling her that the captain was 
 a Bohemian nobleman, who had yielded to the vigor of 
 his own right arm in battle. The personal appearance of 
 Smith was in his favor ; and his address soon awakened 
 in the fair Charatza a degree of interest which was not 
 allowed to escape his notice. To what extent he availed 
 himself of this discovery, his own modesty forbids us to 
 know. That he won her affections is unquestionable 
 The story of the wooing, as told in his own narrative, 
 reminds us strongly of that of Othello. The narrative 
 which she had received from Bogall prompted her dis 
 course. She sought him from time to time, and demanded 
 of him the particulars of his overthrow by her lover. 
 When she heard the falsehood of the tale with which the 
 latter had imposed upon her, her indignation against the 
 impostor prepared the way for another sort of feeling for 
 himself. She could speak the Italian language, and a, 
 he had travelled in Italy, there was no impediment t< 
 their free communication with one another. When h( 
 told her that he had never seen Bogall till he had been 
 sold to him in the slave-market of Axiopolis that he was 
 no Bohemian, but an Englishman, who had succeeded by 
 his prowess to a command in Wallachia her curiosity 
 and interest increased in the captive. But she did not 
 yield herself implicitly and without proper precaution to 
 his narrative. She tried his veracity by inquiries propos 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 75 
 
 ed to other persons slaves also, we suppose, who could 
 speak the English, French, and Dutch languages by all 
 of whom the honesty of Smith s assurances was confirm 
 ed, and her sympathy with him Smith calls it " com 
 passion," was necessarily strengthened and increased. 
 As she arrived cautiously at her " compassion," so she 
 observed a like degree of caution in giving it utterance. 
 She was not herself sufficiently free to do boldly what she 
 desired ; but when she sought the society of her slave she 
 feigned sickness, which enabled her to discard other com 
 pany for that of the preferred one. She had lonely mo 
 ments, sad ones, when it pleased her mood to retire to 
 " weepe over the graves ;" and we are permitted to fancy 
 that on such occasions Smith was always nigh to give he> 
 lessons in English, or to confirm her practice in Italian 
 The burial-places among the Moslems are rare and beau 
 tiful retreats frequently garden-spots, filled with singing 
 birds and the stately and solemn moods of the people 
 render them highly eligible as places of resort to the con 
 templative and gentle spirit. Their superstition somewhat 
 increases the security of such places, and the loving as 
 well as the sorrowing heart may thus equally find them 
 useful. It is quite natural that an author should become 
 abrupt at this stage of his narrative. It belongs to him, 
 as a preux chevalier, to relate only what is unavoidably 
 necessary to his biography. But he had won her heart, 
 and the discovery, unfortunately, was made by others 
 quite as soon perhaps as by the parties. Charatza is sud 
 denly alarmed lest her mother should sell her favorite. 
 She is not her own mistress, and dares not openly oppose 
 this design. She finds but one way to avert it, and that 
 is by sending him to her brother Timour Bashaw, of Nal- 
 britz, in Gambia, one of the provinces of Tartary. This 
 proceeding satisfies the mother, since her only object was 
 
76 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 to separate the maiden from the captive in whom she had 
 such a tender interest. But never could choice be more 
 unfortunate. The letter which Charatza wrot^ f o her 
 brother unhappily betrayed to him her secret. She relied 
 too much upon his regard for herself, and did not hesitate 
 to demand from him the best of usage ft. the prisoner. 
 His sojourn in Tartary was to be temporary only, for the 
 purpose of acquiring the habits and the language of the 
 Turks, and until time should make her mistress of her own 
 person. This last suggestion, which *o completely be 
 trayed the nature of the inte r ~r>i. which she felt in the cap 
 tive, awakened all the ^acional bigotry in the bosom of the 
 brother. It provoked a treatment equally prompt and 
 cruel, which the poor Charatza little fancied would befall 
 her favorite. The haughty Bashaw was not prepared to 
 countenance such a connection between his sister and her 
 slave. To degrade the object of her interest was his first 
 movement ; and within an hour after his arrival, our 
 adventurer was stripped naked, his head and beard shaven 
 " so bare as his hand," his body clad in undrest skins and 
 haircloth, and a heavy ring of iron, " with a long stalke 
 bow r ed like a sickle riveted about his neck." The rest 
 of his treatment was of the same description. He was 
 tasked with the vilest labors, in a condition, as he himself 
 expresses it, beyond the endurance of a dog ; a slave, as 
 the last comer, to the whole herd of slaves, hundreds in 
 number, in bonds to this petty tyrant ; who, " for all 
 their paines and labours, no more regarded them than a 
 beast." 
 
 Smith was an attentive observer, so far as his opportu 
 nities would allow, of the peculiarities, the manners, and 
 condition of the country, no matter what were the circum 
 stances in which he found himself. Though his narrative 
 is usually a meagre one, he yet suffers us to see that he 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 77 
 
 notes all things with a shrewd and military eye. We 
 have constant proofs of it in his pages, which are seldom 
 heedful of very nice details. Thus, in his transit from 
 Constantinople to Nalbritz, we have a bird s-eye view of 
 places and objects on the route, though it is not always 
 easy to identify the points which fix his attention, under 
 the names or the orthography which he employs in desig 
 nating them, with such as are familiar to us now. Nor is 
 it important that we should. A prisoner, closely watched 
 and guarded, is not likely to see much of curious interest 
 in his progress, and ours is a biography, not a book of 
 travels. 
 
 He remarks always the face of the country ; how the 
 towns lie ; what are the approaches by water ; how the 
 forts are built, and their apparent strength or weakness ; 
 straits, how defended ; channels, how obstructed, or how 
 accessible ; and sometimes gives us a bit of military his 
 tory, as applicable to the particular place which attracts 
 his attention All this he does unobtrusively, and without 
 the slightest pretension. 
 
 As a bondsman among the Tartars, he was compelled to 
 nolice other things, as well as to perform other duties, 
 which hitherto had received but little of his attention. 
 Several chapters of his memoirs are given to the diet of 
 the Turks ; to their slaves ; the attire of the Tartars 
 their religion ; modes of warfare ; modes of living ; feasts ; 
 estates ; buildings ; tributes ; laws ; justice ; slaves ; en 
 tertainment of embassies ; armies and levies ; arms ; pro 
 visions for armies ; division of spoil, &c. Where his per 
 sonal observation fails in regard to these subjects, he 
 pieces it out with materials drawn from books ; and in all 
 probability, after coming out of captivity, he read all that 
 he conveniently could in relation to the countries which 
 he had traversed, or in which he had been held in bondage 
 
78 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 His own observations are not favorable to the Mussul 
 mans. Their food disgusts him ; their drink ; their loath- 
 some and filthy habits ; and, as a matter of course, theh 
 brutal treatment of the captive. But Smith saw things 
 through the rings of his fetters, and his picture of the peo 
 ple and the country could scarce be other than unfavorable. 
 He certainly takes away, by his description, much of the 
 picturesque in the habits and history of the wandering 
 Tartars. He pays willing tribute to their laws and jus 
 tice as administered among their own people ; and frankly 
 credits their hardihood of life, their physical constitution, 
 their agility and strength, their horsemanship, their prompt 
 obedience, and their endurance of evil without complaint. 
 The four chapters which he devotes to these subjects, 
 while they prove his good sense, excellent judgment, and 
 vigilant observation, are scarcely of any interest in the 
 present advanced state of our knowledge in regard to the 
 condition of the several countries to which they relate ; to 
 say nothing of the material changes in habit and character 
 which Turk and Tartar have undergone since the period 
 when they were written. They suffice only to show how 
 diligent was his mind, and how patient his watch, that 
 could enable him to see and remember so much while in 
 the irksome bonds, and busy in the degrading labors to 
 which he found himself condemned. How long he re 
 mained in these bonds is uncertain. His own narrative is 
 silent on the subject ; but from the period when he was 
 made prisoner to that in which he returned to Transyl 
 vania, the interval is something short of one year. An 
 obscure passage in one of his chapters leads to the infer- 
 once that he may have been something over six months a 
 bondsman with Timour Bashaw. In this period he was 
 without consolation. The sympathies of woman, the 
 blandishments of love, no longer lightened his sorrows 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH 79 
 
 He heard nothing from the fair Charatza, upon whose 
 affection he built his only hope of delivery from thraldom. 
 She was, in his own words, " surely ignorant of his bad 
 usage ;" or if not ignorant, she was not permitted to con 
 tinue or to resume an intrigue which so much revolted the 
 pride of her watchful parent, and despotic brother. But 
 though disappointed and wearied with the hope deferied, 
 he did not despond. He did not rely upon the one hope 
 only. He was not the man to wait events when he might 
 shape and give them impulse, and he frequently discussed 
 with his fellow-bondsmen the subject of their condition, 
 and the probabilities in favor of any attempt which might 
 be made for their escape. But these gave him no encour 
 agement. Neither " reason nor possibility" encouraged 
 their attempts. He probably found among them no such 
 spirit as his own ; the long period of their slavery having 
 somewhat reconciled them to its severities. 
 
 Smith had not reached this condition of resignation, and 
 he was to find the door of his prison-house unfolded at a 
 moment when he least expected it. i( God," he exclaims, 
 with that complacency which prompts every adventurous 
 mind every man of genius, in other words to consider 
 himseli the child of a peculiar destiny : " God, beyond 
 man s expectation or imagination, heipeth his servants 
 when they least thiuke of helpe, as it hapned to him." In 
 common speech, an opportunity offered itself at once for 
 escape and vengeance, and his manly courage did not suf 
 fer it to pass unemployed. His task? for some time pre 
 vious, had been to thrash corn at a country-house, more 
 than a league distant from the dwelling of his Tartar lord. 
 To this place the latter frequently came, and on all such 
 occasions Smith was particularly the victim of his ill- 
 usage. The affections of the sister had provoked the 
 antipathies of the brother, and our adventurer was thus 
 
JO LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 nade to endure abuses in due proportion to those delights 
 <vhich had soothed him in the first days of his captivity. 
 It was hy beating and buffeting her slave, that Timour did 
 justice to the entreaties made in his behalf by the loved 
 and loving Charatza Tragabigzanda. He was destined to 
 repeat this wanton exercise once too frequently for the 
 patience of his captive. On this occasion it so happened 
 that the circumstances were all favorable to the latter. 
 The two were alone together in a spot removed from the 
 other prisoners, remote, indeed, from the observation of 
 all ; and when the petty tyrant, in his humor, smote the 
 slave over his task, the ordinary thrashing-flail which he 
 worked with became the ready implement of his defence 
 and vengeance. Stung to fury by the repeated indignities, 
 and counselled by the auspicious circumstances of the 
 occasion, the love of the sister was forgotten in the rage 
 which the !. vitality of the brother had provoked, and dart 
 ing upon his tyrant unexpectedly, Smith beat out his 
 brains in an instant. 
 
 The deed was done as effectually as suddenly. But 
 this was only the beginning of the game. There was no 
 time to lose, and with the same readiness and resolution 
 as he had shown in slaying his enemy, our hero dressed 
 himself in his garments and threw his carcase out of sight 
 beneath the straw. This done, he filled his knapsack 
 with corn, closed the doors, and mounting the Tartar s 
 horse, which stood in waiting, he pushed with all speed, 
 at a venture, for the solitude of the desert. He knew 
 nothing of the route before him ; could not even conjec 
 ture what course to pursue to avoid his enemies, and thus 
 wandered wildly forward, not daring to seek information, 
 but rather strivin^ to avoid encounter with all alow the 
 
 -T? C? 
 
 road. For three days he wandered thus desperately, and 
 in this miserable manner. But the child of destiny 
 
Smith kills Timour Bashaw. Page 80. 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 81 
 
 more finds himself the object of a special providence, The 
 power which had favored him thus far seems to have 
 guided his footsteps in a peculiar manner, since the firsl 
 intimation of his whereabouts and route which he receiv 
 ed, was from the sign of the cross ! This was a huge 
 guide post set up by the wayside, and shaped like the 
 cross, to indicate the highway to Muscovy, a Christian 
 country. Such a symbol, thus encountered, might well, 
 in the case of a Christian, be regarded as an auspicious 
 augury ; and Smith so esteemed it. The God whom he 
 served, had directed his unconscious footsteps to the sym 
 bol of his Redeemer s sufferings ; and Smith was very far 
 from being unmoved by the unlocked for circumstance. 
 He has previously given himself up to despair, " even as 
 taking leave of this miserable world ; rt when " to his 
 dying spirits thus God added some comfort in this melan 
 choly journey, wherein, if he had met any of that vilde 
 generation, they had made him their slave ; or knowing 
 the figure engraven in the iron about his necke (as all 
 
 O O * 
 
 slaves have), he had beene sent back again to his master." 
 The sign of the cross, at the foot of which he suddenly 
 finds himself, was the sign of his safety, and filled him 
 with new confidence and courage. Now, this emblem 
 was only one of many which, according to Smith s ac 
 count, are common to the country. It is by such symbols, 
 adapted to the particular nation, that the Mussulmen 
 indicate the people to whose territories their fingers 
 point. Thus, while the cross denotes the route to 
 Muscovy, the " half moone" shows that " to Crym- 
 Tartary ; " a blacke man, full of white spots," guides 
 to Persia and the Georgians ; and " a picture of the 
 sunne to China." But the naturalness of this discovery 
 did not lessen its religious influence upon him. In 
 this sign, even more certainly than in the case of Con- 
 
82 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 stantine, lay the hope of our adventurer. He darted 
 exultingly along the path which it pointed out, and, in 
 dread and tribulation, but still in hope and without dis 
 aster, he pursued for sixteen days his solitary journey 
 arriving at the end of this time at Ecopolis, a garrison of 
 the Russians upon the river Don. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 IT was the peculiar good fortune of our adventurer in aL 
 situations of great emergency and distress, to enlist the 
 sympathies and secure the assistance of individuals of the 
 gentler sex. We have seen the place which he seems to 
 have taken, almost at the first glance, in the affections of 
 the Turkish damsel, the fair Charatza Tragabigzanda ; and 
 his arrival at Ecopolis conducts him to the smiles and 
 bounty of another lady, equally Christian in character, and 
 more so by education. This was the lady Callamata, who 
 " largely supplied all his wants." We know nothing 
 more of her than this. Nothing is said in the narrative to 
 awaken a single suspicion of the perfect purity and sim 
 plicity of her benevolence. With that respectful and con 
 siderate regard for the sex, which invariably marks the 
 bearing of our hero when he approaches them, his lan 
 guage is frank yet unequivocal, gentle and affectionate, 
 yet always within the limits of a becoming warmth and 
 propriety. " The Good Lady Callamata largely supplied 
 all his wants," is the single phrase which declares his 
 obligations in the text. Subsequently, in his dedication 
 of the " Generall Historic of Virginia, &c.," to the " Illus 
 trious and most noble Princesse, the Lady Francis, Du- 
 chesse of Richmond and Lenox," he sums up his general 
 indebtedness to the sex in a single paragraph, for which 
 this may be a place quite as appropriate as any. Apolo 
 gizing for his presumption in calling an eye " so piercing" 
 and " so glorious" as that of her grace, to view his u poore 
 ragged lines," he is yet encouraged by the recollection of 
 their previous kindness and indulgence. " .My comfort it 
 
84 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 that heretofore honorable and vertuous ladies, and com" 
 parable but amongst themselves, have offered me rescue 
 and protection in my greatest dangers. Even in forraine 
 parts I have felt reliefe from that sex. The beauteous 
 Lady Tragabigzanda, when I was a slave to the Turkes, 
 did all she could to secure (succour ?) me. When I over 
 came the Bashaw of Nalbritz, in Tartaria, the charitable 
 Lady Callamata supplied my necessities. In the utmost 
 of many extremities, that blessed Pokahontas, the great 
 King s daughter of Virginia, oft saved my life. When I 
 escaped the cruelties of Pirats and most furious stormes, 
 a long time alone in a small boat at sea, and driven ashore 
 in France, the good lady, Madam Chanoyes, bountifully 
 assisted me. And so, verily, these my adventures have 
 tasted the same influence from your gratious hand, &c." 
 
 This is all perfectly unexceptionable, and we do not 
 perceive in this accumulation of references any signs of 
 that complacency which, in the case of such a person, 
 having such a history to unfold, might seem pardonable 
 enough. What is said in regard to the Lady Callamata, 
 does not show her to have been influenced by any feelings 
 Jess pure and more passionate than that of a human and a 
 Christian sympathy and pity. But some of his eulogists 
 are less forbearing, and make larger assertions when they 
 come to deal in rhyme ; and the good Lady Callamata 
 who, for aught that we know, may have been an ancien 
 matron, entirely past the period of youthful susceptibility, 
 is described in the same category with the Turkish dam 
 sel, who only waited to be her own mistress to become 
 his. One of these poets, who signs himself " R. Braith- 
 waite," writes, in the midst of other doggerel, such lines as 
 the following : 
 
 " But what s all this 1 Even earth, sea, heaven above, 
 Tragabigzanda, 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 85 
 
 Dear Pocahontas, Madame Shanois, too, 
 
 Who did what love with modesty could do." &c. 
 
 We see no reason, and find no authority for the impu 
 tation. Smith does no more, in the case of this lady, than 
 acknowledge her bounty to an unfortunate. And this is 
 done with the gentlemanly solicitude of one who is habitu 
 ally earnest in his deference to the sex. That his per 
 sonal bearing had its effect upon those, of both sexes, by 
 whom he was favorably entertained, is very likely. That 
 it quickened the pulses of female charity is probable 
 enough. He seems to have been of that class of persons 
 who impress favorably at a glance ; was manly and grace 
 ful, exceedingly courteous in his bearing, frank in his 
 deportment, and of features at once pleasing and impres 
 sive. He finds ready credence when he shows himself, 
 and his narrative is heard. It is not from the Lady Cal- 
 lamata alone that he finds favor at Ecopolis. The gover 
 nor takes off his irons, treats him so kindly that " he 
 thought himself new risen from death ;" and when he is 
 invigorated and prepared to depart, gives him letters of 
 recommendation and the protection of a convoy to Her- 
 manstadt, in Transylvania. His melancholy s ory of 
 captivity precedes him on his route ; and his journey 
 through the wretched and sterile regions which he is 
 compelled to pass, is everywhere soothed by the attention 
 of the people. The grateful heart of our adventurer 
 prompts him to declare, that " in all his life he seldome 
 met with more respect, mirth; content, and entertainment ; 
 and not any governor where he came, but gave him some 
 what as a present besides his charges." The sympathy 
 of the people was due in some degree to their common 
 liability to a fate such as that from which he had the good 
 fortune to escape. At that period, the wretched country 
 which he traversed was obnoxious to the frequent incur 
 
86 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 sions of the Tartars ; and it was but seldom that the peo 
 ple who were borne into captivity were so fortunate as to 
 be able to return and tell the story. The story of our 
 hero was one, therefore, which found its echo upon the 
 hearth of many a peasant. Yet, says Smith, " it is a 
 wonder [that] any should make warres for them." 
 " They are countries rather to be pitied than envied." He 
 pauses to describe their hovels, which are like the meanest 
 log-cabins of our frontier ; their modes of defence ; their 
 weapons ; and the manner in which their roads are con 
 structed ; all of which indicate the very lowest condition 
 of human civilisation. 
 
 Arrived in Transylvania, he had the satisfaction of 
 meeting with many of his old friends and associates, who, 
 knowing his worth and valor, had long lamented him as 
 amoiig the slain on the fatal field near Rottenton. Among 
 these friends were his colonel, Meldritch, and Prince 
 Sigismund. They received him with open arms, and 
 attentions so affectionate and warm, that he professes him 
 self u glutted with content, and neere drowned with joy." 
 It was on this occasion that he received his honors from 
 the hands of Sigismund, and fifteen hundred ducats of 
 gold to repair his losses. " But to see and rejoyce him- 
 selfe (after all those encounters) in his native country," 
 he would scarcely have torn himself away from his friends 
 in Transylvania. 
 
 The liberality of Sigismund, whom he styles u the 
 mirror of virtue," enabled him to traverse a considerable 
 portion of Germany, France, and Spain ; to linger in their 
 principal cities, and visit all places that seem to promise 
 most gratification to his curiosity. It is probable that 
 while his ducats lasted he found sufficient excitement in 
 the populous cities of Europe ; and felt no great thirst 
 after new adventures. He forgets for a season that he was 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH 87 
 
 hurrying home " to rejoyce himself in his native country, : 
 anr\ makes a tour which in extent would, even at the pre 
 sent day of steam navigation, do honor to a traveller going 
 ibroad for the first time. Satisfied at length, as he him- 
 ielf tells us, with Europe arid Asia, and hearing of the 
 wars in Barbary, he suddenly feels an impulse to new 
 adventures m this quarter, which it is not possible for him 
 to withstand. In all probability it has become necessary 
 to replenish his pursp. To return to England as destitute 
 as when he left it, scarcely comports with his ambition : 
 and though he tells us nothing of this sort, the suggestion 
 is by no means inconsistent with his own conduct, and 
 with the nature of the individual. He proceeds accord 
 ingly to the African coast, where he forms an intimacy 
 with the captain of a French man-of-war, named Merham, 
 who soon became attracted to our adventurer, and appears 
 to have become quite as fond of him as the Lady Calla- 
 mata. With this person, and twelve others, he goes on 
 an excursion to Morocco, the ancient monuments of which 
 he desired to examine. He gives us, in the space of a 
 couple of chapters, a brief but comprehensive account of 
 the things he saw, and a summary of what he had learned 
 by reading and the reports of others, in relation to the 
 country which he visited. His narrative is enlivened by 
 several traditions and anecdotes gathered in this manner, 
 and characteristic of the country and the people, which, 
 as they do not in any way concern his own fortunes, we 
 forbear to notice. His conclusion, from his inquiry into 
 the politics of the Barbary States, is to have nothing to do 
 with either party in the civil wars by which the country 
 is distracted, and which first drew his attention to its 
 shores. The perfidious character of the natives, " their 
 bloody murthers, rather than warre," only provoke his 
 loathing ; and he returns with his Frenchman, Captain 
 
88 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 Merham, to the man-of-war, destined, in his own language, 
 u to try some other conclusions at sea." 
 
 It is not so certain, in going on board the ship of Mer 
 ham a second time, that our adventurer proposed to take 
 any decided step with him, or indeed contemplated any 
 thing more than a brief visit. His narrative speaks of the 
 visit and invitation as one for the day only ; two or three 
 other persons, not of the craft, being the guests also, and 
 with similar invitations. But the welcome of the French 
 man was so warm, and his hospitality so grateful, that 
 whether designedly on his part or not, they linger on 
 board too late to return to the shore that night, and are 
 constrained, not unwillingly we fancy, to take their beds 
 in the vessel. The evening was fair at first and pleasant, 
 but by midnight such a storm arose as to compel our 
 excellent Frenchman to slip his cables, and carry his 
 guests with him to sea. We do not hear that Smith ever 
 complained of any baggage left behind him. Our French 
 man is compelled to run before the wind, and before the 
 parties know where they well are, his ship is at the 
 Canaries. This flight resolves itself into a cruise, and as 
 the storm abated and the seas grew smooth, Merham 
 amused himself and guests by capturing an occasional 
 vessel laden with wine of Teneriffe ; thus converting a 
 mishap into a very profitable sort of exercise. In this 
 pursuit, however, his eagerness carried him a thought too 
 far, and pressing all sail to overhaul two strange vessel? 
 which had hove in sight, he suddenly finds that he has 
 caught a Tartar, in the shape of two sturdy Spanish men- 
 of-war, far superior in force to his own. But this does 
 not quell the spirit of our Frenchman. Merham, whom 
 Smith calls " an old fox, 1 u seeing himselfe in the lion s 
 pavves," showed a clean pair of heels, but not so clean as 
 to escape altogether the consequences of his temerity 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 89 
 
 His chase had been too eager to make escape easy, though 
 he prided himself upon his vessel as a fast sailer. The 
 action became unavoidable, and was one of those fierce 
 and bloody struggles of which naval history in all times 
 affords us so many terrible instances. The Spaniards fell 
 upon the Frenchman with a broadside, and succeeded, 
 after a severe fight of an hour, in boarding him. The 
 danger was imminent, and Merham s ship must have been 
 carried or destroyed but for certain lucky cross-bar shots, 
 and " divers bolts of iron, made for that purpose," which 
 at the fortunate moment drilled such a breach in one of 
 the Spaniards as left her in a sinking condition. Of the 
 consternation which ensued in the injured vessel the 
 Frenchman availed himself so as to disengage his ship 
 from the grapplings of the enemy, and to renew his efforts 
 at escape. But the chase was hotly kept up by one of the 
 Spaniards, and a running fight followed, which lasted from 
 noon till night. By this time the pursuing Spaniard was 
 rejoined by his consort, who had succeeded in repairing 
 her breaches, and the two together continued the chase 
 with pertinacious diligence all night. They succeeded at 
 length in overhauling their enemy a second time, and 
 bringing him again to action within musket shot. On 
 this occasion the stately Don began the affair with un 
 necessary civility, promising the Frenchman fair quarters 
 if, without giving them farther trouble, he would surren 
 der to the flag of Spain. But Merham had no surrender 
 in him. He knew, as Smith tells us, " well how to use 
 his ordnance," and his answer to this civil soliciting was 
 made by his cannon. The action was thus renewed, and 
 the assailants a second time succeeded in laying the chase 
 aboard. Our Frenchman fought with desperation, but 
 the overwhelming force of the Spaniards enabled them 
 *o cover his decks, and to rush aloft in numbers to unsling 
 
90 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 his mainsail. This he contrived to bring down so sud 
 denly, while they were yet in the rigging, as to place 
 them hors da combat ; while another party were blown 
 off by the desperate Frenchman, with a part of the deck 
 and the grating. These achievements, while they drove 
 the Spaniards back to their own vessel, left that of Mer- 
 ham on fire. Drawing off to escape this danger, the 
 Spaniards kept playing upon him, seeking his destruction 
 rather than his capture, which the desperate valor of the 
 Frenchman seemed to render impossible j while on board 
 the latter, to extinguish the flames gave sufficient occupa 
 tion to all hands. While the danger lasted none could 
 be spared for the scarcely less pressing business of the 
 conflict. The flames were at length extinguished, and 
 this done, Merham renewed the fight with the same spirit 
 as before. It was in vain that his enemies proffered to 
 parley with him to grant him the best of terms, and 
 admit him to fair quarters. The desperate Frenchman 
 had but one answer, and that was through his cannon. 
 And thus another day was spent, and half the following 
 night, when the fire of the enemy slackened and the dis 
 tance widened between the combatants. The firm cour 
 age and reckless valor of the Frenchman saved him for 
 at dawn the Spaniards were no longer to be seen. This 
 desperate action is not unlike that of the Serapis and the 
 Bon Homme Richard. Merham must have been a warrior 
 like Paul Jones ; and he probably found a worthy lieu 
 tenant in our adventurer. Smith modestly forbears saying 
 anything about his own deportment in the action. You 
 would scarce suppose him indeed to have been present, 
 but for his evident familiarity with all its details. He 
 describes at no second-hand. His events are vividly told, 
 as by one who saw them all, and knew their motives and 
 their consequences. His very phraseology has a sang- 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 91 
 
 froid about it which seems to show, not only that he be 
 held, but that he enjoyed fully the whole terrible affair. 
 From his known character there can be no doubt that he 
 did so, and shared amply in all its dangers. He had 
 always rejoiced in the excitements of w*.r, and the une 
 qual conflict invariably warmed his chiyairy. Reasoning 
 from all that we know of his genius and resolution, we 
 need not question that these qualities largely seconded our 
 Frenchman in the admirable and successful defence which 
 enabled him to beat off and baffle his assailants. 
 
HOOK SECOND. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 W i have now to change the scene in our eventful drama, 
 a&-i to show our hero, after all his perils, once more seated 
 in ^afety within his native land. He returned to England 
 some time in the year 1604. He was still a very young 
 man to have undergone such vicissitudes and varieties of 
 fortune. Few young men at twenty-five have ever lived 
 through such a trying experience. But this experience 
 had made a man of him indeed. His mind had ripened 
 with his toil, his judgment had become matured in field.- 
 of danger, and in the life-conflict with a thousand necessi 
 ties; and without losing any portion of that energy of cha 
 racter, and enthusiasm of spirit and of temperament, which 
 had forced him upon the paths of enterprise, and made the 
 field of peril grateful to his impulses, he was now better 
 prepared than ever to convert these admirable qualities of 
 courage into useful and efficient agencies for the prosecu 
 tion of great designs 
 
 It was at a season highly auspicious to the exercise of 
 these endowments that he returned to his native country. 
 The spirit of colonial enterprise which, at a previous 
 period, had been excited beyond the boundaries of reason 
 and prosperity oy the successful examples and discoveries 
 of the Portuguese and Spaniards, and which numerous 
 disasters had tended to discourage and subdue, had, undei 
 
L I F E OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 93 
 
 more favoring circumstances received a new impulse to 
 exertion. The first effect upon the English people of the 
 unfolding by Columbus of the ponderous gates of the At 
 lantic, had been rather injurious than serviceable to the 
 interests of maritime and colonial adventures ; and the 
 reign of Queen Elizabeth was distinguished by hopes and 
 passions, founded upon discovery in the new world, such 
 as no exertions in the adventurer, and no resources in 
 nature, could have possibly appeased or realized It was, 
 in the first place, a subject of mortification to the English 
 that their sovereign had rejected the eminent services of 
 Columbus ; and the growing interests of commerce, under 
 
 O O 
 
 the wise and powerful administration of Elizabeth, goaded 
 tn especial by their jealousy of the- Spaniards, and furthei 
 stimulated by the recent grand defeat of the " Invincible 
 Armada," enabled them to see, in some degree, how vast 
 had been this sacrifice. The commercial mind of Eng 
 land was not disposed to yield El Dorado entirely to the 
 Spaniard, and this mind, succored by an intellect more 
 daring and perhaps more influential than its own, was soon 
 enabled to diffuse throughout the national heart an intense 
 passion for discovery and colonization in America. The 
 eager eyes of popular desire were opened upon a realm of 
 equal loveliness and treasure, which cupidity and curi 
 osity became equally anxious to explore. The master 
 spirits of the age surrendered themselves to this passion. 
 The voice of the nation seconded the impulse, and the 
 very difficulties which the jealous Spaniard contrived to 
 throw in the way of other empires seeking a similar path 
 with himself, contributed to confirm the wild impressions 
 which had gone into all lands of his miraculous treasures 
 in the new. Romance took possession of the theme and 
 dressed it in her richest habiliments. The sanguine gave 
 their credence, and the sedate and doubtful knew not 
 
94 L ( F E O F C A P T A I X S M I T !I . 
 
 how to deny. The policy of many among the wise seemed 
 to render denial injudicious, since, in the prosecution of u 
 great work, the argument to the convert must be such as 
 his nature will most readily receive. And yet it is very 
 doubtful if the very wisest among them did not acknow 
 ledge as probable the gorgeous fictions narrated of the 
 new world, which the experience of the old had never 
 yet found true. Sir Walter Raleigh himself, a man of 
 not less intellect than ambition, whose character, by the 
 way, bold, sanguine and impulsive, martial in spirit and 
 curious in research, very much resembled that of Smith, 
 though with the advantages of far better training in youth, 
 and more approved associations in manhood ; he, too, was 
 one of those who certainly deceived themselves quite as 
 much as they deceived others, yielding a too willing faith 
 to their own fancies. In his day and that of Queen Eliza 
 beth, the vulgar mind everywhere in Europe was possess 
 ed of impressions in regard to America which were worthy 
 only of the fairy empires of Aladdin; and the popular histo 
 ries of the new continent were better suited to the invention 
 of a quick-witted sultana* in danger of the bowstring, than 
 the sober speculations of the sage and reverend grey-beards 
 with whom they found such ready credence and respect. 
 Seen through this happy medium it was the land equally 
 of refuge and delight. To the boy-dreamer about Arcadia 
 and the golden age, it offered all that imagination could 
 conjecture and Astrsea could supply. To the veteran, 
 grown grey in stratagems and spoils, without having grown 
 strong in their retention, it opened the most easy paths for 
 the attainment of his selfish objects. Freedom from all 
 restraints of law, and conflict only with a people entirely 
 
 Scheherazade, the sultana see Introductory Chapter to the Ara 
 bian N~ ght* Enfrrtmnments. 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 95 
 
 put without its pale and protection, were considerations 
 beyond price to the habitual ruffian, who, in the world 
 itself, found nothing more precious than an oyster which 
 he was permitted to open with his sword ; and England, 
 to say nothing of the continent, was filled with u men in 
 buckram" such as these. To the disbanded soldiery of 
 the Low Countries in particular, to which England had 
 sent her full share of discontents and profligates the pros 
 pect of conflict with the native savages in a region where 
 gold had a vegetable period of birth and growth, and was 
 to be had for the gathering, was rather more grateful 
 as the medium for the acquisition of wealth than the 
 wretched drudgery of the ordinary tasks of industry. To 
 the young and fanciful the same wild regions offered the 
 romance of eternal forests, the beauty of strange land 
 scapes, and the foreign charms of a race of dusky and con 
 fiding beauties, not to speak of that exquisite twilight pic 
 turesque, which ever paints the far-off and the foreign in 
 the natural landscape. Others again, the enthusiasts in 
 the world of contemplation, longed for the subdued plea 
 sures of a life passed in solitude a passion, which is so 
 frequently found, in youth, to possess for a season the 
 hearts of those who are equally ambitious and energetic, 
 and who seem in this way to find a necessary repose of 
 the mind before it is bent and strained to its uttermost 
 tension in aiming at objects which call for great decision 
 and endeavor. To another class, religion came with her 
 persuasions also ; and her arguments, urged in behalf of 
 the heathen of the strange countries not yet admitted into 
 the fold of Christ, afforded specious pretexts, by which 
 avarice and ambition contrived to deceive their neighbors, 
 and not unfrequently themselves. These various motives, 
 commerce and cupidity, romance, ambilion and religion, 
 were still sufficiently influential, in spite of numerous com- 
 
96 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 plete defeats, in enterprises of the same desci ption, to 
 bring together many a motley band to whom the forests 
 of America promised full satisfaction for all the desires of 
 their hearts. To these may be added yet another class, 
 of whom Walter Raleigh himself and our own hero, Smith, 
 may be mentioned as sufficient specimens, who loved ad 
 venture for its own sake, who never looked to the mere 
 personal rewards, and not often or too closely to the conse 
 quences, and who were better pleased to be doing and 
 achieving, even if suffering also, than in the acquisition of 
 the spoils, or even the honors of the achievement. 
 
 Smith s arrival in England was singularly opportune, 
 not only as it regarded his own employment, but in rela 
 tion to the success of the experiment, now once more to 
 be renewed, which had always met before with failure. 
 He brought to the work a degree of courage and expe 
 rience, of skill and resourc;-, which made him a person of 
 mark wherever he appeared. He w r as not Ion fj in making 
 liiniaelf known to those who took most interest in mari 
 time adventure ; and indeed his reputation had in some 
 measure preceded him, and prepared the public mind to 
 regard him as one particularly fitted for the exigencies of 
 the time and its peculiar object. That object was scarcely 
 of so vague and deceptive a character as it had been in 
 the previous reign. The actual experience acquired by 
 British mariners in the time of James the First, had fur 
 nished a greater body of facts, on the subject of foreign 
 countries, to the nation, than it had possessed during the 
 sway of. Elizabeth. The defeat of the Armada was one of 
 the great events to which the English people owe their 
 rapid progress upon the high seas. It taught them an 
 increased confidence in their skill and prowess, the results 
 of which were steadily increasing, under the exercise of 
 their powers, and these powers were mainly exercised in 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 97 
 
 the business of discovery in foreign lands. It may be 
 Well, for the better comprehension of our history, to glance 
 briefly at the progress, in this particular, during the reign 
 of Elizabeth. A brief space will suffice for this object. 
 The commercial career of England may be said to have 
 begun in the time of Henry the Seventh, in the maritime 
 labors and discoveries of the Cabots. At that early period 
 it was proposed to plant colonies in the new world. The 
 reign of his successor, though hardly favorable to the com 
 merce of his kingdom, was yet not wholly unmarked by 
 events which showed how certainly mercantile adventure 
 was determined to make itself felt among the great inte 
 rests of the nation. The blood of the old Northmen was 
 too large a constituent of the stock to be satisfied with the 
 progress upon the seas of other and rival nations, without 
 being desirous of contending with them upon an element 
 which seems really to belong to the genius of the people. 
 Voyages of discovery were undertaken in the time of 
 Henry VIII. ; and a spirit sufficiently maritime was shown 
 to awaken the special jealousy of the Spaniard. The 
 statutes of Edward VI. continued to favor this rising and 
 ambitious interest ; nor could the bigotry of Mary, who 
 succeeded him the creature, as she was, of a purely 
 Spanish influence suffice to check the excited and na 
 tural tendencies of the nation. The elevation of Elizabeth 
 gave a new vigor to the efforts of her people in this, as in 
 all other of the interests of the kingdom. Her successful 
 resistance to Spain may be said to have placed England 
 fairly afloat upon the high seas. Her ships penetrated at 
 the same time the waters of the East and West, and were 
 at the same moment in the rivers of Russia, the bays of 
 Newfoundland, and among the Spanish galleons in the 
 harbors of Spanish America. Seeking a northwest pas 
 sage, the possibility of effecting which had been asserted 
 
98 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 by Cabot, Frobisher, in a small vessel, made his way to 
 the shores of Labrador ; and, by these brilliant illusions, 
 " golden" all, first prompted Elizabeth to an exhibition 
 of royal patronage in an attempt to look for the precious 
 metals in arctic abodes, at the very time Drake was gain 
 ing that glory which redeems his name from the charge 
 of piracy by the circumnavigation of the globe. Sir Hum 
 phrey Gilbert, the step-brother of Raleigh, shared his 
 passion for discovery, and we may add his fortunes. With 
 more moderate views of the results of adventure, and more 
 rigorous and reasonable aims, he obtained a liberal patent 
 and put to sea in 1579. But the event was failure and 
 mortification. A second attempt .was more unfortunate 
 still, and the stout old mariner perished at sea. 
 
 Raleigh s experiments followed those of his step-bro 
 ther, and were scarcely more successful. His vessels, 
 under the Captains Amidas and Barlow, coasted the Caro- 
 linas in 1584, penetrated Ocracocke inlet, and formal pos 
 session, with the usual ceremonies, was taken of the 
 country ; which, in honor of the " Virgin Queen," was 
 called Virginia. On this occasion, however, no settlement 
 was attempted. That was reserved for the ensuing year, 
 when, nder the same charter, a colony of one hundred 
 and eight men was confided to Sir Ralph Lane. The 
 settlement was made on the island of Roanoke, and some 
 fruitless explorations were made in the neighboring coun 
 try. But a single year sufficed for the experiment, when 
 the colonists abandoned their lonely hamlet and returned 
 to England. Fifty men,* left by Sir Richard Grenville, in 
 1586, in charge of the deserted settlement, were massacred 
 in a little while ; their miserable remains alone being found 
 
 * Bancroft says fifteen ; Smith and others fifty. The latter seen* 
 the more probable number. 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 9fc 
 
 in and about their ruined habitations, in warning to then 
 successors. But Raleigh was not yet discouraged. A 
 new colony was planted, and this time the solitude and 
 sterility of the wilderness were cheered, in the eyes of our 
 Englishmen, by the presence of woman. But theis did 
 not avail. The history of the colony is a blank. Of its 
 (ate we know nothing. But a single authentic fact 
 remains to us ; namely, that during its brief existence of 
 little more than a year, one female child was born in the 
 wilderness to the foreign settlers, and received the name 
 of Virginia, after the European name of the country. 
 
 Raleigh was a ruined man. He could no longer pursue 
 his enterprises on the strength of his own resources ; but 
 still resolute in his experiments, he endeavored to do so 
 by means of companies. Unhappily for himself and his 
 cause, his personal attempts were all made in other lati 
 tudes. Had he himself but led his colonists to Virginia, 
 instead of wasting himself in fruitless researches aftei 
 mines in Guiana, his own fate and that of the colonies in 
 North America might have been far more fortunate. His 
 enterprises seem really to have failed through the misera 
 ble incompetency, the want of moderation, prudence, skill 
 or courage, among his agents. But his spirit survived 
 himself! 
 
 This disastrous history wonderfully tended to subdue 
 the eagerness of English adventure in colonizing North 
 America. As John Brierton, one of the adventurers of a 
 later day, expresses it, " all hopes of Virginia t^us aban 
 doned, it lay dead and obscured from 1590 till this year 
 1602." Then it was that Bartholomew Gosnold made his 
 way across the Atlantic, and, contenting himself with a 
 cargo of sassafras, returned to England after an absence 
 of four months. This voyage renewed the subject in 
 men s minds of Virginia colonization. A second expedi- 
 
100 LIFE OF C A P T AIM S M 1 T H . 
 
 tion, consisting of two small vessels, was sent out by pri 
 vate adventurers, under Martin Pring only a few days 
 after th death of Elizabeth and this voyage was also 
 comparatively successful, met with no disaster, but made 
 DO settlement. Other expeditions followed. The way, 
 still an indirect one (for the direct passage was very gra 
 dually attained) became at length fairly opened, the path 
 way familiar, and moderate successes stimulated anew 
 the passion for maritime adventure, which had been sick 
 ened so completely by disaster, and by the failure of ali 
 its brilliant anticipations. 
 
 Such was the condition of English discovery in America, 
 and such the condition of the popular mind in England, 
 when Smith reached his native country from abroad. We 
 are not told where his French cruiser set him down, nor 
 in what manner he passed from the continent of Europe to 
 Great Britain ; but there we find him somewhere in Ib04, 
 already busy in urging upon the public the claims of Vir 
 ginia to colonization, and linking his fortunes with those 
 of Bartholomew Gosnold, Edward Maria Wingfield, 
 Robert Hunt and others. An ample patent was obtained, 
 but nothing more, from James the First, with leave to 
 " deduce a colony into Virginia." Circumstances were 
 in favor of the experiment. The time for American colo 
 nization had arrived. The route across the Atlantic was 
 comparatively familiar, and the wild and wondrous character 
 of the enterprise having been taken from it in some degree 
 by the absolute facts of which the public were in possession, 
 secured for it the support of a more steady and solid, 
 though a less imposing countenance. The edge of romance 
 had been somewhat taken from the appetite of adventure, 
 and though the precious metals were still the objects of 
 insane search and speculation, and though the accounts 
 were still extremely exaggerated in all the descriptions of 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 101 
 
 Virginia, yet there was no longer that wild fancy which 
 taught that the gold was to be had for the gathering, and 
 all was to be smiles, and sunshine, and smooth sailing in 
 the experiment. There was work to be done, and dangers 
 were to be met, and toils endured ; and hence the impor 
 tance of a man like Smith, to whom these were not only 
 familiar but grateful. It required the active parties more 
 than a year of zealous service in England before they 
 could move "certain of the nobility, gentry and mar- 
 chantes". to entertain their schemes; in other words, fur 
 nish the necessary funds for their prosecution Gosnold, 
 Wingfield, Hunt, Smith and others, being thought to have 
 risked quite enough when they perilled their lives upon 
 the adventure. The letters patent, bearing date April 
 10th, 1606, were issued to Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George 
 Somers, Richard Hackluyt and their associates. This, 
 the first charter under which the English succeeded in 
 planting a colony in America, was one which was design 
 ed to establish a mercantile corporation. It allotted a suf 
 ficiently ample territory, extending on the sea-coast of 
 America from the thirty-fourth to the forty-fifth degrees 
 of north latitude, together with all islands within a hun 
 dred miles of their shores. This was to be divided be 
 tween two rival companies, one of which, however- 
 that in which Smith was a leader alone succeeded, and 
 to this alone will our attention be directed. The territory 
 actually yielded by the charter to the one company, occu 
 pied exclusively " the regions from thirty-four to thirty- 
 eight degrees of North latitude ; that is, from Cape Fear 
 to the southern limit of Maryland." The territory was 
 ample, but the charter was one of the narrowest limita 
 tions. The selfish monarch granted nothing but a desert 
 waste of forest, with the privilege of peopling and subdu 
 ing it, reserving to himself all Authority. He framed the 
 
102 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 laws, controlled the appointments, and looked largely to 
 the future revenues. With that morbid jealousy of his 
 sovereign prerogative, which rendered him tyrannical, 
 when nature perhaps only designed that he should be ridi 
 culous, he tenaciously took to himself the labor of devis 
 ing the whole scheme of the colonial government ; and 
 contrived very happily as he thought, but very unroyally 
 as we may be permitted to think, to say nothing of the 
 blindness and peevishness of the whole proceeding tc 
 withhold from the emigrants themselves every elective 
 franchise, to deny them every attribute of self-government. 
 " They were subjected," to employ the language of a mo 
 dern historian,* " to the ordinances of a commercial cor 
 poration, of which they could not be members ; to the 
 dominion of a domestic council, in appointing which they 
 had no voice ; to the control of a superior council in Eng 
 land, which had no sympathies with their rights ; and, 
 finally, to the arbitrary legislation of their sovereign." 
 This was only so much rare fooling, by which the feeble 
 king endangered the power, in the assertion of which his 
 morbid jealousy kept him in continual and feverish appre 
 hension. The transmission of this miserable quality of 
 jealousy to his unhappy descendants, without his own ac 
 companying love of approbation, was the true secret of all 
 that was vile and w r retched in their subsequent career and 
 fate. 
 
 But the folly of James did not end here. The names 
 of governor and council, and his instructions how they 
 should proceed, were all carefully sealed up and confided 
 to them in a strong box, not to be opened till after their 
 arrival in Virginia They were consequently under no 
 authority until that period, and to this circumstance some 
 ^^^^^^^^ 
 
 * Bancroft. 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 103 
 
 of the misfortunes which marked their voyage may be 
 ascribed. Their squadron consisted of three small vessels, 
 the largest not exceeding one hundred tons burthen ; the 
 whole being under the command of Captain Christopher 
 Newport, an experienced mariner. The colonists were 
 but one hundred and five in number, of whom we learn 
 that forty-eight were gentlemen, twelve were laborers, four 
 were carpenters, one was a blacksmith, one a bricklayer, 
 one a tailor, one a mason, one a barber, one a drummer, 
 but one a sailor, two were chirurgeons, and there were 
 four boys. The exceeding disproportion between the 
 gentlemen and the mechanics and laborers reminds us 
 irresistibly of the limited allowance of bread to sack in the 
 domestic economy of Falstaff. Why gentlemen should 
 be wanted in a wilderness would somewhat puzzle the 
 philosopher ; and of those who went on this expedition 
 we have a sufficient glimpse, contained in a single passage 
 of the narrative of William Simons, reported by Smith, 
 who describes ** some few of the greatest ranke amongst 
 us as little better than atheists." 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THUS motley in the composition of their members, the 
 colonists set sail from Blackwall, on the 19th day of De 
 comber, 1606 a little more than one hundred years after 
 the discovery of the continent by Cabot. The commence 
 ment of their voyage was inauspicious, and its progress 
 was unhappy. They were not suffered for six weeks after 
 anchor had been weighed, by reason of contrary winds, to 
 lose si^ht of the English coast. In this time our adven- 
 
 O O 
 
 turers employed themselves in the most scandalous dissen 
 sions, which arose at length to such a height of violence 
 as to task all the best efforts of the more judicious among 
 them to maintain the peace. Mr. Hunt, the preacher, a 
 mild and sensible person, who had actively participated 
 with Smith, Gosnold, and Wingfield, in originating the 
 adventure, now approved himself worthy of the Christian 
 ministry in the activity which he displayed in restoring 
 harmony, or at least the appearance of harmony, among 
 these ungenial spirits. But it was an appearance only, to 
 be thrown aside upon the first new provocation, however 
 slight. The substance of peace was wholly wanting to 
 the company. The elements among them were of too 
 mixed and conflicting character ; and these elements, from 
 the silly commands of the king, that their instructions 
 should not be opened until they had reached Virginia, by 
 leaving them without any recognized authority, left them 
 free to the indulgence of all their capricious moods and 
 impulses. What share Smith had in these troubles and 
 controversies does not appear. We are left only to con 
 jecture from what we know of his claims and character, 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 105 
 
 and from what is subsequently revealed to us of his treat 
 ment, that the provocation to their violence, in all proba 
 bility,came from him. That he was the true man of the 
 expedition was probably very soon apparent to all parties. 
 That he was not the most beloved on this account, is a 
 fair presumption from what we know of the insolence, the 
 insufferable pride and vanity of many of his companions. 
 The account from which we draw our own, at this point 
 of the narrative, is that of William Simons, " Doctour of 
 Divinitie," who was not of the voyage, but who is very 
 likely to have procured his intelligence from Hunt. Si 
 mons distinctly ascribes this dissension to envy of, and hos 
 tility to Smith, on the part of those " godlesse foes, whose 
 disasterous designes (could they have prevailed) had even 
 then overthrowne the businesse." The history is a com 
 mon one, and the motive insisted upon is, unhappily, in 
 the weak and vicious state of our depraved humanity, 
 natural enough. The world-man cordially hates the God- 
 man, and will destroy him if he can ; and the conflict, for 
 life,and for all lives,is inevitable between them. We can 
 readily conceive how such a man, so taught by experience 
 and all sorts of fortune, should, in their wretched wind- 
 bound and storm-impeded progress to the Canaries, have 
 given provocation in a thousand ways, by his very address 
 and energy and natural command of character, to the herd 
 of conceited gentlemen sent out to seek their fortunes, by 
 whom he found himself surrounded. Easy for such a 
 man, among such men, to stir up the acrid humors, tc 
 provoke bile, and bitterness, and wrath. His unquestiona 
 ble genius, his notorious experience, his noble aspect, his 
 ready decision, these in all probability acquired him a 
 command during the voyage, in place of the sealed author 
 ity of King James, to which a peevish vanity would not 
 always be ready to submit. The storm which Preacher 
 
106 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 Hunt had partially quieted, burst forth with new violence 
 when the little fleet of Newport reached the Canaries. 
 Here, having matured their schemes, the malcontents 
 seized upon the person of our adventurer and committed 
 nim to close custody, under charges equally ridiculous 
 and scandalous, of sedition and treason to the crown- 
 " some of the chiefe (envying his repute) who fained he 
 intended to usurpe the Government, murther the Coun 
 cil, and make himselfe King ;" a truculent conspirator to 
 be sure and a that his confederats were dispersed in all 
 the three ships, and that divers of his confederats that 
 revealed it would affirme it." Smith seems to have sub 
 mitted patiently, waiting events, economising his strength 
 and courage, wasting nothing in vain struggles, vexing 
 nobody with vain complaint but manfully biding his 
 time, and looking calmly to the coming trial. For thirteen 
 weeks such was his condition. Meanwhile, our little 
 fleet proceeded to the West India islands. It had pur 
 sued, as we see, the old circuitous route, the path which 
 the Genoese had first opened with his prows. At Domi 
 nica they took in water, carried on a smart trade with the 
 a salvages," and enjoyed a refreshing respite of three 
 weeks on shore ; in which it is very possible that our pri 
 soner was not permitted to share. Fortunately, he is one 
 who has ably learned the great lesson of endurance. He 
 waits in his chains with what philosophy he m*y, while 
 the dominant party regale themselves among the soft airs 
 and the delicious fruits and flowers of the tropics. If he 
 is to be sovereign in Virginia he can very well afford to 
 wait. 
 
 At length the voyage is resumed, and our little fleet 
 steered northward, searching for the island of Roanoke. 
 Three days had they passed their reckoning, yet found no 
 land. The discontents increased, and Captain Ratclifle, 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 107 
 
 ot one f the vessels, was urgent with them to abandon 
 the whole expedition and return again to England. Such 
 was the infirmity of purpose, the feebleness of will, and 
 utter worthlessness of resolve among the very " chiefes" 
 who were most hostile to our adventurer. Luckily, while 
 yet they debated, a violent storm which compelled them 
 to hull it all night under bare poles, drove them towards 
 the desired coasts, which they made on the 26th of April 
 1607. The Bay of Chesapeake, a word signifying in the 
 Indian dialect " mother of waters," a name admirably 
 applied received the weary and exhausted wayfarers. 
 To the first land which they descried they gave the name 
 of Cape Henry, to the opposite Cape that of Charles; 
 and the point of land which breasted the pleasant harbor 
 age in which they dropped their anchors, they called 
 " Comfort," in tuiv of the grateful emotions with which 
 its appearance had filled their bosoms. The beauty of the 
 scene around them sank sensibly into their hearts, soften 
 ing their moods, and elevating all their fancies. The 
 green plains, with their great trees and wanton foliage, 
 dipping into the very lips of the ocean, now just beginning 
 to flush and brighten in the embrace of spring, were 
 doubly beautiful in the eyes of those so long saddened 
 with only the aspect of the sea. The world of wood and 
 waste, green and fresh / which spread away with hill and 
 dale, crowned with the profuse luxuriance of the unbroken 
 forest, seemed to them to embrace a very paradise, in 
 which they might well delight to plant their homesteads, 
 fully assured that it was under the especial eye of heaven. 
 Smith, in his pleasure at the prospect, speaks fully for the 
 rest. " Within," says he, " is a country that may have 
 the prerogative over the most pleasant places knowne." 
 * * * Heaven and earth never agreed better to frame 
 a place for man s habitation, were it fully manured and 
 
108 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 inhabited by industrious people. Here are mountaines, 
 hills, plaint s, valleyes, rivers, and brookes, all running 
 most pleasantly into a faire bay, compassed, but for the 
 mouth, with truitfull and delightsome land." 
 
 The land which they had discovered had never been 
 seen by any of them before. Their destination had been 
 the island of Roanoke, distinguished by previous attempts 
 at colonization. The aspect of the region which rose up 
 around them, in all the magnificence of its primeval state, 
 in its unpruned luxuriance and beauty, seemed to promise 
 full satisfaction for all their desires; and, availing them 
 selves of the discretion which had been allowed them, 
 they preferred rather to try the experiment of a colony in 
 this attractive country, than to continue their search after 
 a spot which was really only known to them by disaster. 
 A party of thirty of them went ashore at Cape Henry to 
 u recreate themselves," and received an unexpected les 
 son of caution which, however, did not avail them to any 
 great extent in consequence of the assault of five Indians, 
 who crept upon them from the hills, and though beaten 
 off by the terrors of their muskets, wounded two of the 
 party very severely with their arrows. They were thus 
 warned that, if the country was beautiful, its inhabitants 
 were brave a lesson too frequently taught by them in 
 long succeeding conflicts to be easily forgotten by those 
 whose fortune it is to possess the pleasant places of their 
 inheritance. 
 
 Virginia being now reached, it may be well to see in 
 what manner the British Solomon proposes that the new 
 colony shall be governed. The sealed box of their in 
 structions was accordingly opened on the night of their 
 arrival, and the documents were spread before the colo 
 nists. By these it was discovered that the council was to 
 onsist of Edward Maria Wing field Bartholomew Gosnold. 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 109 
 
 John Smith) Christopher Newport, John Radcliffe^ Tohn 
 Martin, and George Kendall. These were to serve for 
 one year, and to elect their president from among theru- 
 eelves. This is all that concerns us to know of these 
 instructions, and the way that they were disposed of. It 
 does not appear that Smith was present at the opening of 
 the seals. He was still in bonds ; still waiting with pa 
 tience for the coming of his hour. 
 
 To select a proper spot for a settlement, our colonists 
 were employed seventeen days. During this period they 
 were busy in the work of exploration. The treasures of 
 the earth and of the deep were searched for with industry. 
 in the latter they groped for oysters, which lay in places 
 as " thick as stones," and the former they found covered 
 with a flowers of divers kinds and colors," and " goodly 
 trees, cedars, cypress, and other kinds," goodly as ever 
 seen by British voyager before and elsewhere. Straw 
 berries, too, refreshed their eyes and lips, u fine and beau 
 tiful," four times bigger and better than ours in England." 
 A brave world at first beginning tor our discontents. 
 * Pleasant springs issue from the mountains," u the good 
 liest cornfields ever seen in any country," salute their 
 eyes, and give ample guarantee against famkie ; and they 
 are refreshed by th-e fumes of tobacco from the pioes of 
 savages, who give them a more friendly welcome than 
 that which they met from the five creeping scoundrels at 
 Cape Henry. These invite them to their towns of Ke- 
 coughtan and Rappahannock, spread their mats for them 
 when they come, feed them with hominy when theyhun 
 ger, and teach them to smoke a pipe after the repast. 
 " As goodly men" as our Europeans " had ever seen" are 
 these savages j no ways savage, gentle, quite civil indeed ; 
 their werowance, or chief, coming at their head to meet the 
 strangers, playing on a flute made of a reed, with a crown 
 
110 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 of deer s hair, colored red, in fashion of a rose, fastener 
 about his knot of hair, and a great plate of copper on the 
 other side of his head, with two long feathers in seeming 
 of a pair of horns placed in the midst of his crown. Scarce 
 ly a Christian costume in the eyes of Christians, but not 
 amiss in the thinking of our Virginians. As we are to 
 have much future commerce with this people it may be 
 as well to continue this description, which comes to us 
 from the pen of George Percy, a brother of the Earl of 
 Northumberland, a volunteer in the expedition, who has 
 given us a very interesting narrative to be found in Pur- 
 chas. 
 
 " His body (that of the Werowance) was painted all 
 with crimson, with a chain of beads about his neck ; his 
 face painted blue, besprinkled with silver ore, as we 
 thought ; his ears all behung with bracelets of pearl, and 
 in either ear a bird s claw through it, beset with fine cop 
 per or gold. He entertained us in so modest a proud 
 fashion, as though he had been a prince of civil govern 
 ment :" as we suspect he w r as, Mr. Percy, after the 
 fashion of his country. The Indians were armed u with 
 bows and arrows in a most warlike manner, with the 
 swords at their backs beset with sharp s-tones and pieces 
 of iron, able to cleave a man in sunder. 1 " 
 
 Penetrating a spacious river, which the Indians called 
 Powhatan, after their king, but which our no less loyal 
 colonists subdued into the James, in honor of him from 
 whom they had received so liberal a charter, and such 
 admirable counsels, the little fleet of Ne\vport ascended 
 for a space of forty miles from its mouth. Here they 
 fastened their vessels, in six fathoms of water, to trees 
 growing upon the shore, and, landing upon a peninsula on 
 the north side of the river, they fixed upon it as the site 
 of the ir future settlement. 4 A vr.rie fit place, " pays 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. Ill 
 
 Smith, " for the erecting of a great citie :" though it 
 seems that there was some difference of opinion among 
 the captains even then upon this subject ; and subsequent 
 experience seems to have proved the propriety of the 
 doubt. But here, nevertheless, the majority so willing it, 
 on the 13th day of May, 1607, the axe was buried in the 
 trees, and the first shafts were hewn out for the foundation 
 of the forest city of the Royal James, henceforward to be 
 called Jamestown. But the foundation of the city was a 
 small and trivial event to that of the great nation which 
 has yet grown from this small beginning: and he whose 
 eye beholds now upon this memorable but neglected spot 
 no trophy more significant than the rents of ruin in the 
 arches of a single tower overgrown with ivy, and the rank 
 forest growth which denotes the mound where sleep the 
 bones of the early settlers, will scarcely be persuaded that 
 he beholds the obscure nest and birth-place, as iowly as 
 that of the sea-fowl which leaves her eggs along the 
 shore, of the great nation whose wing now spreads, or is 
 fast spreading, over the whole vast continent of North 
 America. Such is, nevertheless, the simple and the 
 startling truth ! One hundred and ten years have elapsed 
 from the discovery of the country by Sebastian Cabot, 
 and twenty-two since Raleigh first attempted unsuccess 
 fully its colonization. From this memorable movement 
 the tree takes root, in the future shade of which a mighty 
 people are to find shelter, and in the fruits of which a 
 .thousand generations are to gather strength and sustenance. 
 Verily, we may not look upon that ruin of a town, that 
 low and lonely remnant of our royal hamlet, on the north 
 side of the river Powhatan, with unconcern and indiffer 
 ence 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE site of their future habitations chosen, the first duty 
 of our council was to appoint a President. Their choice 
 fell upon Mr. Wingfield, by \vhom the members of the 
 council were sworn to the performance of their duties. 
 From this privilege Smith was especially excluded ; the 
 president declaring his reasons for the exclusion in a 
 speech, which we may easily suppose embodied the 
 several charges which had been made against him, of 
 treason and sedition. We can readily understand the pro 
 priety, nay, the absolute necessity of excluding from a 
 seat in tlv jrovernment, an individual who stood under 
 such imputations ; and though the exclusion was in direct 
 disobedience of that authority under which they acted as 
 a council, yet we are of opinion that it is a vital constitu 
 ent of every social or political body to be able to deter 
 mine who shall properly appear among them. It certainly 
 does not seem an injustice assuming that the members 
 of the council are themselves free from improper agency 
 in the matter that, while such charges are pending over 
 the head of an associate, they should refuse to grant him 
 an exercise of power which might contribute to the pro 
 motion of the dangerous designs which he is supposed to 
 meditate. Ard we are bound to believe, until the issue 
 is known, that the council consists of honest men, who are 
 only solicitous of what is right. At all events, Smith 
 makes no complaint. You hear no triurniurs lYorn hi.s lips. 
 tie is cool and resolute, patient as strong rm n generally 
 are, not anxious about the result, pretty well assured, in- 
 deecl, v* hat it must be. He knows the persons with 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 113 
 
 whom he has to deal ; has sounded their depths already, 
 and is familiar with all their shallows. What is more, he 
 knows himself his innocence and his resources equally ; 
 and steadily maintaining his temper and his calmness, he 
 fortifies himself in the daily increasing confidence and 
 affections of those whose morbid vanities are not mortified 
 by his evident superiority of character. 
 
 But though his services are rejected from the council- 
 seat, they are not to be slighted when the toils and perils 
 of the field are to be undertaken. The colony is quite too 
 feeble to forego the vigor of any able-bodied man, and 
 as soon as the work begins we find our adventurer busy 
 with the rest in providing for the security and comfort of 
 the settlement. Trees are to be felled, forts to be raised, 
 wigwams built, and clapboards are to be split for freight 
 ing the returning vessels our patrons at home requiring 
 as rapid return for the outlay as possible. Each man is 
 assigned a labor suited to his capacities ; and while some 
 are engaged upon the tents and cabins, some in the forest 
 hewing trees and getting clapboards, others are weaving 
 bushes into a shelter for their homesteads, and others are 
 laying out gardens, and are preparing gins, snares, and 
 nets for the taking of game and fish. In any of these 
 labors we may be sure that Smith would hold his hand 
 with the best. But he is required for other toils ; and as 
 soon as things begin to be tolerably secure and comforta 
 ble in the settlement, he is despatched with Captain New 
 port and twenty others on a voyage of exploration up the 
 river of Powhatan. He offers no objection to this service, 
 though nothing is said of his trial, and he is still denied 
 the place in council which his sovereign has assigned him. 
 But Smith is superior to his enemies. He entertains no 
 sulks, has no petty revenges, but conscientiously having 
 the good of the colony at heart, cheerfully goes upon the 
 
114 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 duty which is assigned him. They ascend the river to 
 the hamlet of Powhatan himself, the great chief of the 
 country, who dwelt near the falls, and just below the 
 present site of Richmond. This prince is described as a 
 " tall, well-proportioned man, with stern countenance, a 
 head somewhat grey, his beard quite thin and insignificant, 
 his limbs straight, his person erect, of an able and hardy 
 frame, equal to any labor, and at the time of making the 
 acquaintance of the English, near sixty years of age." He, 
 is the Emperor of all the country surrounding Jamestown for 
 a space of sixty miles is supposed, out of a population of 
 six or eight thousand, to be able to bring from fifteen hun 
 dred to two thousand warriors into the field. Dwells in 
 some state at his royal hamlet of Powhatan, but has nu 
 merous residences ; is ordinarily attended by a body guard 
 of forty or fifty of the tallest men in his country ; and a 
 strict military discipline environs his dwelling-place with 
 guards day and night, who regularly relieve each other, 
 and who neglect or slumber in their watches at peril of a 
 bastinado, not unlike that of the Turkish in its severity. 
 Like the Turk, he has his Hareem, his religion offering no 
 limit to his appetite. When weary of his women, he be 
 stows them upon his favorites. His power seems to have 
 been a pure despotism ; though it appears that under par- 
 ticuW r-ircumstances his subjects are permitted the rare 
 privilege of grumbling. They exercise this privilege 
 when Smith and Newport visit the emperor at his village. 
 They resent the intrusion of the strangers ; but Powhatan 
 with better policy, quiets their apprehensions while seek 
 ing to disguise his ow r n. " They are harmless they wanl 
 nothing but a little land." A little land ! The poor 
 savages little know how nearly allied to a land s safety 
 and their own is the knowledge of its value. Pow r hatan 
 Created the English with a lofty courtesy. He was no 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAfX SMITH. 115 
 
 common man among his tribe A born sovereign, he ex 
 tended his domains by conquest, and absorbed the con 
 quered people among his own. He was of an ambitious 
 and fearless nature, but rendered cautious by the usual 
 training of the savage. An object of fear and awe among 
 his subjects, the presence of the whites, among whom he 
 evidently inspired no such sentiments, was ungracious to 
 his eyes ; but with the sagacious instincts of a strong 
 mind, he saw at a glance that he had to deal w r ith a supe 
 rior race, arid the weapon which he proposed to employ 
 against them was one the use of which was familiar to 
 his genius treachery. 
 
 Nobody could have been treated with more kindness 
 and courtesy than were Smith and Newport by our Indian 
 Emperor. Indeed, the entertainment which marked their 
 progress among the Indians was one of the warmest hos 
 pitality. They were everywhere received with dancing 
 and feasting. The food spread before them consisted of 
 bread and fish, strawberries, mulberries, &c. ; in return 
 for which the Indians received the most precious baubles 
 in the shape of bells, beads, pins, needles, and looking- 
 glasses, which made them the happiest of mortals for the 
 time. Powhatan himself furnished them with a guide to 
 explore the river, receiving a warrior as a hostage " in 
 pawn " for the Indian. In this progress Smith exhibits 
 his customary acuteness of remark, and his vigilance of 
 examination into all that met his eyes. He has left 
 us a considerable body of facts, collected on this and sub 
 sequent voyages, illustrative of the manners and habits of 
 the Indians ; their costume, their religion, their super 
 stitions, their modes of going to war, and all the peculiari 
 ties in short which distinguish their condition, and all the 
 facts or traditions which could illustrate their history. 
 These materials, to this day, furnish the ample storehouse 
 
116 LIFE 0> CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 for the student seeking a knowledge of the condition of 
 the aborigines of Virginia and the surrounding countiies 
 at the period of the English settlement. 
 
 Having pursued their voyage of discovery until the 
 river ceased to be penetrable by their prows, our voyagers 
 returned to Jamestown their return somewhat hurried by 
 something suspicious in the demeanor of certain of the 
 Indians on their route. It may be that Smith and New 
 port were rendered farther doubtful by the evident incom- 
 petency of the president, Wingfield. This man, who is 
 described as a " grovelling merchant of the West of Eng 
 land," seems to have been filled with an insane or idiotic 
 jealousy of his own people, and would not only permit of 
 no martial exercise or display among them, but actually 
 arrested their labor in the erection of the necessary forts 
 for the safety of the colony, so that of this work no 
 thing was done, but what was achieved, almost in his 
 despite, by the extraordinary diligence of one of the cap 
 tains. A rude fortification in the shape of a half moon> 
 consisting only of the boughs of trees heaped together 
 offered the only physical .obstacle to the savages, who it 
 appears were suffered to come and go at pleasure, their 
 pacific behavior entirely disarming the English of their 
 caution. The result was to be expected. The colonists 
 were suddenly surprised by a force of four hundred Indians, 
 and but for the timely aid afforded by the fire from the ship 
 ping they would have been cut off at a blow. Scattered 
 about at their different occupations, some in the woods ? 
 some at their gardens, and all unprepared their very 
 weapons not convenient to their hands seventeen of 
 them were wounded at the first onset, and one boy was 
 slain. A cross-bar shot from the cannon of the shipping, 
 rending the limbs from the trees above the heads of the 
 Indians^ v ickily astounded them with a danger of unknown 
 
LIFE OF C A P T A I > SMITH. 117 
 
 character, and dispersed them for the time, affording the 
 English an opportunity to place themselves under cover, 
 and prepare for their defence. The members ot the coun 
 cil were among the sufferers. Most of them were hurt, 
 and the President, Wingfield,was now better persuaded to 
 risk something at the hands of his own people, in order to 
 make the settlement secure against the open enemy. Our 
 chronicles afford us no light on the subject of his appre 
 hensions. It is not said why this overweening jealousy 
 of one another was entertained among the colonists. The 
 fear seems to have mainly lurked among the members of 
 the council, and we are left to conjecture entirely as re 
 gards its origin. We have but a single clue to a mystery 
 which seems so difficult of solution ; and this occurs to 
 us in the case of Smith. That he was a man of desperate 
 valor, was well known to his associates ; that he was a 
 favorite, calculated equally to lead and to persuade among 
 the common people, was sufficiently apparent. It had 
 been found necessary to the success of the settlement 
 that he should be suffered to leave his prison and go forth 
 upon his duties with the rest. Was it the guilty con 
 sciousness of the wrong which they had done him, that 
 made them dread to place weapons in the hands of nis 
 followers and friends that would " admit no exercise at 
 armes," and even arrested the progress to completion of 
 the very fortress which was meant as a cover against the 
 common enemy, lest, in a passionate mood and in a favora 
 ble moment, he should rise suddenly, and take vengeance 
 for his wrongs. In all probability this wretched appre- 
 nension was the true secret of the insane jealousy and 
 weakness of the President. 
 
 The fort was now palisadoed, the ordnance mounted, 
 the men duly armed and exercised ; and it appears not a 
 moment too soon. The first alarm at the discharge of the 
 
118 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 ordnance being over, the savages came back to the assault, 
 and their attacks were frequent. They watched the pro 
 gress of the colonists with a degree of hostility that never 
 suffered an opportunity of doing mischief to escape them. 
 They ambushed the forest paths ; and the keen eye, and 
 nimble foot, and deadly arrow of the savage, made it a 
 death-peril for the colonists who straggled off without pro 
 tection from the garrison. " What toyle we had, with so 
 small a power, to guard our workmen a dayes, watch all 
 night, resist our enemies, and effect our businesse, to 
 relade the ships, cut downe trees, and prepare the ground 
 to plante our come," may be readily conjectured. But 
 the ships were at length laden ; and now that they were 
 ready to depart, our President gave Captain Smith a 
 kindly intimation that he should depart with them for 
 England. The council was pleased benignantly to refer 
 him for censure to the council in England under general 
 charges, rather than, by trying him themselves, with the 
 proofs in their possession, endanger his life, destroy his 
 reputation, and make his good name odious to the world. 
 
 This was cunningly devised. But they were yet to 
 know the man with whom they had to deal, It was be 
 cause he valued his good name and his reputation, rather 
 than his life, that he scorned their pretended indulgence, 
 defied them to the proof of his guilt, and demanded his 
 trial on the spot. And now it was, that his patience, his 
 manly bearing, his good conduct, courage, and character, 
 while in bonds and under accusation, produced their full 
 effects. He had grown strong in all opinions. His inno 
 cence and the malice of his foes had made themselves 
 apparent to the whole company in the thirteen weeks of 
 his confinement, and the six subsequent weeks in which 
 he had enjoyed comparative liberty. The council did 
 not dare refuse him the trial which he demanded, and the 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 119 
 
 result was a triumphant acquittal. It was something more 
 than an acquittal. It was redress and indemnity. He 
 convicted his enemies of their malice; the persons whom 
 they had endeavored to suborn against him confessing 
 the facts, and accusing the accusers of their subornation. 
 So utterly disproved were the charges which were urged 
 against him, and so notoriously malicious, that he was 
 acquitted by acclamation ; and the President, in whom 
 they originated, was condemned to pay iwo hundred 
 pounds damages a sum which Smith at once applied to 
 the necessities of the colony. His magnanimity was not 
 to be outdone by their justice. His seat in council was 
 withheld no longer ; and this occasion was seized upon by 
 the worthy preacher, Mr. Hunt, with " good doctrine and 
 exhortation," to appease this and other animosities, which 
 had sprung up among his flock. On the ensuing Sabbath 
 they all partook of the communion, in confirmation of the 
 sincerity and Christian character of their reconciliation. 
 Peace was formally made the next day with the Indians ; 
 and leaving the colony, consisting of one hundred and four 
 persons, under these pleasant auspices, Newport sailed on 
 the 15th of June for England, promising in twenty weeks 
 to return with fresh supplies. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE pleasant auspices under which Newport left the 
 colony did not long continue. The colonists began to 
 suffer from the oppressive heats of summer. They were 
 strangers to the climate, and engaged in labors for which 
 no previous training had prepared them. Their food was 
 bad, consisting of wheat and barley, which, having been 
 kept for six months in the hot hold of a ship, was now 
 rather bran than corn, and contained quite as many worms 
 and insects as grains ! While the vessels remained, the 
 evil had not been so severely felt. They enjoyed a daily 
 allowance of ship s-biscuit, for which they paid the sailors 
 in "money, saxefras, furres, or love." Their departure 
 cut off this supply. The ships had been the taverns of 
 our colonists. With them went hotel, and brewhouse, and 
 bakery. cc Had we beene as free from all sinnes as glut 
 tony and drunkennesse," says our narrative,* with a sad 
 enough sort of humor, u we might have been canonized 
 for saints." The common kettle was all that remained 
 to them, and even of this the individual allowance was 
 inadequate. Half a pint of wheat and as much barley, 
 was as much as the President allowed per day for each. 
 To himself he was much more indulgent. He engrossed 
 for his private use, the " oatmeale, sacke, oyle, aqua ml&, 
 beefe, egges, or what not, 1 liberally forbearing, however, 
 
 *Chap. II. of third Book of Smith s Virginia, and evidently in 
 great part from the pen of Smith himself, though signed, " written by 
 T/iomas Studley, the first cape merchant in Virginia, Robert Fenton t 
 Edward Harrington, and /. S." Smith (I. S.) probably wrote, and 
 the others signed with him as witnesses. 
 
LIFE OF (JAi TAIN SMITH. 121 
 
 to touch the contents of the common kettle. u Our drinke 
 was water," says one melancholy humorist, " our lodgings 
 castles in the ayre." Such diet and lodgings, coupled 
 with severe labors, constant and diligent watch, in the 
 oppressive summer climate of that region, were fatal to 
 European health and strength. In a short time after the 
 departure of the ships, so extreme was the suffering that 
 scarcely ten men of the hundred were able to stand. 
 Gosnold died ; Smith, Martin, and Radcliffe were all 
 dangerously sick, and so were most of the soldiers Fifty 
 of them were buried, and those who survived were in 
 danger of starvation. Their provisions, worthless as they 
 had become, were soon consumed ; and from June until 
 September they lived only upon sea-crabs and sturgeon. 
 Very good living, too, it will be said, for famishing men ; 
 but these they had to snare and take for themselves, 
 almost too feeble, from long sickness, for toils so moderate. 
 But the sea-crabs and sturgeon finally disappeared from 
 the waters, and the terrors of famine returned upon them. 
 At this very time our wretched colonists had reason to 
 apprehend an inroad from the Indians, who during the 
 midsummer had given them a little respite. Even while 
 they suffered from this cruel condition and melancholy 
 prospect, the selfish wretch to whom they had confided 
 the Presidency was secretly meditating his own flight to 
 England in the pinnace, leaving them to their fate. He 
 had probably exhausted his private stores, and was now 
 disposed to fly from the suffering which he had been wil 
 ling neither to relieve nor share. His treachery was dis 
 covered, and so much moved the colonists, in spite of their 
 languor and prostration, that they deposed him and put 
 RadclifFe in his place. This was substantially placing 
 Smith at the head of affairs. Radcliffe was incompetent ; 
 " of weak judgment in dangers, and lesse Industrie in 
 
122 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 peace." He was perfectly satisfied that Smith should 
 relieve him of the toils of his office and its responsibilities 
 together. The result of this change was instantly appa 
 rent in the improved aspect of affairs. The manhood of 
 Smith s character became conspicuous the moment that 
 he felt his burdens. Still feeble from sickness, not well 
 recovered, he at once addressed himself to his tasks, as 
 vigorously as when he fought the Turks at Regall, and 
 made his way from Nalbritz to Wallachia. When he 
 began his new labors there were no houses to cover the 
 settlers ; the tents were rotten, and the cabins worse than 
 useless. The chief men were sick or malcontent, the 
 " rest being in such dispaire, as they would rather starve 
 and rot with idleness than be persuaded to do any thing fcr 
 their owne reliefe without constraint." With such neces 
 sities to encounter, with such materials to work with, 
 Smith, by good words, fair promises, and his own exam 
 ple, succeeded in setting some to build, some to mow, 
 others to bind, and others again to thatch always, how 
 ever, tasking himself beyond any of the rest. In this way 
 he managed to provide comfortable dwellings for all but 
 himself, and to give to Jamestown, for the first time, the 
 appearance of a decent hamlet. In these labors he seems 
 to have met with little resistance, if he found but little 
 sympathy and succor. The council, in consequence of 
 the death of Gosnold, the departure of Newport, and the 
 expulsion of Kendall who had been concerned in tha 
 schemes of Wingfield consisted only of RadclifFe, Martin, 
 and Smith ; and of these Radcliffe and Martin were still 
 upon the sick-list, neither of them being very much be 
 loved or very competent. It happened fortunately for the 
 colony that Smith s exertions were seconded by the favora 
 ble aspect of the Indians, who, with their usual caprice of 
 chararter, suddenly laid aside their bows and arrows, and 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 123 
 
 brought supplies of maize, greatly needed, to barter with 
 the Europeans. This supply lasted for some time. With 
 out waiting to see it all consumed, Smith prepared to 
 provide against that event. And here our adventurer 
 takes occasion to meet the complaints of those who were 
 disposed to blame the company in England for sending 
 forth a colony with inadequate provision. The manly 
 sense of justice, which makes so fine an element in his 
 character, strikes the murmur at its root. He tells them 
 they are " ill advised to nourish such ill conceits. * * * 
 The fault in going was our own ; what could be thought 
 fitting or necessary we had ; but what we should find, or 
 want, or where we should be, we were all ignorant. * 
 Supposing to make our passage in two moneths, with vic- 
 tuall to live, and the advantage of the spring to worke, 
 we were at sea five moneths, where we both spent our 
 victuall and lost the opportunitie of the time and season 
 to plant, by the unskilful presumption of our ignorant 
 transporters, that understood not at all what they under- 
 tooke." 
 
 This is laying the blame on the right shoulders. The 
 true evil was in the vanity, the worthlessness, and utter 
 selfishness of those to whom so much of the power had 
 been intrusted. Our author proceeds in a general reflec 
 tion, which, even were it not that of Smith himself as 
 we believe it to be is. worthy to be preserved in this 
 connection. 
 
 " Such actions have, ever since the world s beginning, 
 beene subject to such accidents, and everything of worth 
 is found full of difficulties ; but nothing so difficult as to 
 establish a commonwealth, so farre remote from men and 
 meanes, and where men s minds are so untoward as nei 
 ther doe well themselves nor suffer others." Truth in 
 itsolf, but here a history, which accounts for all the mis- 
 
124 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 haps of the colony to the present moment, and makes tht 
 merit so much the greater on the part of him by whom aL 
 obstacles of untoward minds and inferior means were finally 
 overcome. 
 
 A few months have made a surprising alteration in his 
 own and the fortunes of the colonists. His enemies are 
 deposed. The prisoner is taken from his cell and placed 
 at the head of affairs. The spirit of exulting selfishness 
 is humbled into silence crushed down with conscious 
 humiliation, while it beholds the noble forbearance of him 
 whom it has injured to exult in turn. His revenges 
 are of the kind commanded by Scripture. He heaps fire 
 on the head of his foes, by deeds of manliness and mercy 
 He interposes for their safety, and with success. They 
 are soon made to see that he alone can be successful, that 
 he is the king-man of the expedition, a sovereign by the 
 appointment of nature. No one looks to Radcliffe or to 
 Martin ; Wing-field goes out of sight, remembered only as 
 a poor thieving mercenary, from whom no man has any 
 thing to hope. Smith is master. He has compelled the 
 tasks of labor ; he has done the work which no man had 
 thought, or perhaps knew how to do before ; and now, as 
 he sees the provisions of the Indians running low, he 
 has measured out the allowances, and finds the supply suf 
 ficient for only eighteen days he prepares to go in search 
 of their granaries. He fits out the shallop, takes with 
 him a select crew of seven men, and, with a store of Euro 
 pean commodities hatchets, and beads, and bells, and 
 glasses he sets forth on a cruise. Ignorant of the Indian 
 language, with seamen who neither know nor love the 
 use of the oar, his men wanting in apparel, and few in 
 number compared with the multitude of savages they 
 must meet these, he tells us, are impediments in his 
 \ay, but do not discourage him. Descending the river to 
 
T.IFE OP CAPTAIN SMITH. 125 
 
 its mouth, he reaches the hamlet of Kecoughtan, where 
 Hampton now stands. Here he found the natives too well 
 acquainted with the condition of the colony to treat hina 
 with respect. They deride his offers of barter, and taunt 
 his poverty with scraps of bread, tendered for their swords 
 and muskets. The arts of trade are exercised in vain. 
 They regard the fate of the colony as in their hands, and 
 are not tc be tempted with the toys and trifles which are 
 spread before them. Courtesy finds nothing but inso 
 lence ; and the necessities of Smith are such as will not 
 suffer him to return with empty hands. " Though con 
 trary to his commission," he " makes bold to try such con 
 clusions as necessitie inforced." His true commission is 
 to see that the people do not starve, and to this all other 
 commissions must give place. But, though determined 
 to obtain by force what he cannot get by trade, he is yet 
 willing to "do his spiriting gently." He suddenly gives 
 Jhem a volley, directed so as to do no hurt, and then boldly 
 runs his boat upon the shore. At this decisive movement 
 the savages betake them to the woods, and, marching upon 
 the hamlet, Smith finds their houses well stored with 
 maize. It is with difficulty that he can restrain his hungry 
 companions from seizing at once upon the prize ; but he 
 is too good a soldier to suppose that his enemy will suffer 
 this. He keeps his men together and prepares them for 
 the assault, which follows almost immediately. The 
 savages, recovered from their panic, to the number of 
 sixty or seventy, painted in a variety of styles and colors 
 equally hideous and fantastic, came darting from the 
 woods in order of battle, timing their movement with 
 songs and dances, after the manner of the ancient Spar 
 tans. They brought with them their Okee, or goct, a 
 monstrous image made of skins, stuffed with moss, painted 
 like themselves, and decorated with rude and uncouth 
 
126 LIFE OF Cy. PTAIN SMITH 
 
 ornaments. They were well armed with clubs and ar 
 rows, bows and targets, and charged the Knglish withou 
 hesitation. Smith requites them, still disposed to pity 
 even w r here he must chastise, with pistol-shot only. These 
 answer the purpose. The idol is the first, and perhaps the 
 principal victim, it falls into the hands of the whites, 
 while the red men again fly to the shelter of the woods. 
 Some of them are hurt, but none, it would seem, severely. 
 At all events these hurts provoke no anxiety, while all 
 the apprehensions of the tribe are awakened for the fate 
 and captivity of their god. He must be recovered He 
 has to be ransomed. They understand and comply with 
 the conditions ; load the boat of the colonists with maize, 
 and bring them besides a bountiful tribute of venison, tur 
 keys, and wild-fowl. Smith not only restores their Okee, 
 but takes them to his friendship and protection. He has 
 shown them that he can be a destroyer : he seeks to show 
 them that he can be a benefactor also. He bestows upon 
 them beads and hatchets, and they celebrate the recon 
 ciliation with songs and dances. His return to Jamestown 
 infuses new life into the despairing settlers. But no 
 increase of providence on their part follows his enterprise 
 and industry. Their late miseries teach them no useful 
 lesson. They waste as fast as he supplies, and his voy 
 ages require to be frequently repeated. In these voyages 
 he is not only successful in procuring the necessary pro 
 visions, but he makes frequent discoveries of new towns 
 and tribes ; forms their acquaintance, becomes known and 
 remarked by them in turn, and notes the resources of the 
 country, and the manners, habits, and numbers of the peo 
 ple. The Chickahominy was penetrated in this way, and 
 a trade opened with the people of that river. The tribes 
 of Wanasqueak, of Tappahannock, and of Paspahegh, fur 
 nished ample markets. The latter he styles a churlish 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. V2 f 
 
 and treacherous people, jealous of their acquaintance with 
 other tribes, yet not themselves loving them who set 
 spies upon their movements, and, but for the vigilance of 
 our Captain, would have possessed themselves by steakh 
 of the weapons of the Europeans. Smith travels amoLg 
 them by night and day, is always vigilant, yet never be 
 trays apprehension. He treats them with kindness always, 
 and is entertained in like manner. So anxious do they 
 become to trade, that they will give the grain to him if 
 he will not buy it, and they follow him in their canoes for 
 this purpose. But he must let them hear his musketry , 
 and to oblige them he gives a volley to the wild fowl upon 
 the river, the Indians much fearing and wondering to be 
 hold the feathers fly. 
 
 Thus indefatigable, our hero is yet doomed to discover 
 that his toil consists in drawing water in a sieve. He toils 
 for the worthless and the ungrateful. The malcontents, 
 now that they have recovered from their illness, have 
 resumed all their evil nature. VVingfield and Kendall 
 engage in a conspiracy, to which they persuade certain of 
 the sailors, to seize upon the pinnace which Smith has 
 kept in order for his domestic enterprises, appropriate the 
 provisions which he has brought, and steal away for Eng 
 land. The conspiracy is fairly a-foot, when it is discover 
 ed by one of the mechanics. This man, showing some 
 insubordination, was chidden by the President, whom he 
 defied and assaulted with his smith s implements. For 
 this act the offender is tried by a jury, and sentenced to 
 be hanged. It is only when he is actually upon the gal 
 lows that he can be persuaded that he will not be rescued 
 by those comrades whose secret practices hav^ l^d to his 
 mutiny. When actually assured of his fate, he revealed 
 the secret of the conspiracy. This premature discovery 
 urged the conspiiators into instant activity. They seized 
 
128 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 upon the pinnace, and would have made off, but tha 
 Smith turned the guns of the fortress upon them, and 
 forced them to remain where they were, or he sunk in 
 the river. They chose the more prudent course, and the 
 only victim to their insanity was Captain Kendall, the 
 chief conspirator, who was tried by a jury, condemned, and 
 shot to death.* 
 
 Here it was Smith s energy again that interposed for 
 the safety of the colony. It was his timely return that 
 baffles the conspiracy, and saves the pinnace. His prompt 
 decision, that, training the guns of the fort upon the con 
 spirators, compels the surrender of their chief, and brings 
 the rest back to their duty, without rendering necessary 
 any lavish sacrifice of life. 
 
 The conspiracy is no sooner quieted than our sleepless 
 adventurer embarks upon a new voyage of track- and dis 
 covery. His course is up the Chickahominy, which the 
 council desires him to follow to its source. He finds 
 several new towns ; finds the store of gram in the country 
 somewhat diminished, but procures a good supply, and 
 returns to Jamestown, just in season to prevent another 
 effort on the part of the malcontents to abandon the colony 
 and return to Europe in the pinnace. But this attempt 
 
 *This fact is thus distinctly stated in the narrative of Smith him 
 self, professing to be written by Tho. Watson, Gent., entitled, " A 
 true relation of such occurrences and accidents of noate as hath hap 
 pened in Virginia since the first planting of that colony," fcc. Lon 
 don. 1G08. According to Stith, Kendall is slain in Vie action -, but 
 this mistake seems to have arisen from the vague manner in which 
 the facts are given in the third oook of the " proceedings and acci 
 dents," where it is said that he (Smith) ".with store of sakre and mus 
 ket-shot forced them stay, or sink in the, river, which action cost the 
 life of Capt. Kendall." In other words, the movement, the seizure 
 of the boat, the overt act of treason, cost him (the chief conspirator"*, 
 hi* life. 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 129 
 
 was after due form of law a resolution submitted in coun 
 cil, and sustained by Captain Archer and the President -, 
 Martin and Smith opposing it. It might have been diffi 
 cult to arrest this new movement, thus legitimate in form 
 and appealing to the home-sickness of all parties, but for 
 an agreeable change in the circumstances of the colony. 
 The winter was approaching, and had covered the rivers 
 with wild fowl in abundance. Ducks and geese were to 
 be had for the gathering ; wild beasts, as fat as they could 
 be eaten, drew near to the settlement, as if seeking to be 
 slain ; and the prudence of Smith, his ample provision of 
 the commodities furnished by the Indians maize, pease, 
 pompions, fish, and poultry giving assurance of abun 
 dance through the winter, did more to quiet the discon 
 tents than any argument. Smith knew his countrymen 
 well, and knew through what medium in especial it was 
 required to approach their intellects. " The Spaniard," 
 he himself remarks, " never more greedily desired gold 
 than he victuall, nor his souldiers more to abandon the 
 country than he to keepe it." The living was so good, 
 " thatnone of our Tufftaffaty* humorists desired to goe 
 
 * This is not a coinage of our author. He has authority for it 
 among the poets. The allusion is to the condition of the velvet 
 habits of our gentlemen colonists. These were worn into tufts. The 
 Taffeta or Taffaty had become tufty. The word is a compound of 
 Tuft and Taffata. Beaumont and Fletcher write "Ta/aties, silk 
 grogans, sattins, and velvets are mine." But Donne is more explicit, 
 and applies directly to onir case : 
 
 " Sleeveless his jerkin was, and it had been 
 Velvet, but twas now (so much ground was seen) 
 Become tuff toffaty." 
 
 The word not being in common use in Smith s time in England, 
 nor indeed at anv time, the effort will not be great to fancy that out 
 Indian trader was a t^quent reader of the poets. His prose, indeed, 
 20 i*r o un . -ne fact. 
 
130 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 for Englande." With returning health and vigor, life in the 
 forests of America, with so much game around them, was 
 a long day of pleasure, and, so long as it lasted, no more 
 discontents or vain repinin^s after the mother-land were 
 to be apprehended. The riant spirit which now filled 
 their bosoms was that of Jcshurun. Having waxed fat, 
 they kicked. Smith s enterprises, which had saved them 
 from perishing, did not now meet the general expectation. 
 His associates in council reproached him with not having 
 explored the Chickahominy to its sources. This river, it 
 was absurdly fancied, would conduct them into the South 
 sea, then the great object of European discovery. It was 
 in vain that he urged the greater importance to their pre 
 sent objects and necessities of laying in the winter supplies 
 of maize when it could be procured from the Indians, and 
 before the improvident savages became conscious of any 
 scarcity. The river could always wait. He was told 
 that he was slow. He might have answered " I am 
 sure ; and always fast enough for the necessity." But 
 contenting himself with declaring the motives by which 
 he had been governed, in forbearing the contemplated 
 exploration and with which we are perfectly satisfied 
 he chose the most effectual mode of silencing the murmurs 
 of the council, by withdrawing himself from sight, and by 
 going upon the proposed expedition. 
 
 The winter of 1607, remarkable for an extraordinary 
 frost in Europe, was extremely cold in Virginia ; but no 
 seasons seemed to discourage the enterprise of our hero. 
 He penetrated the Chickahominy for fifty miles in his 
 barge, cutting his way through trees where they had fallen 
 across the stream, and pressing on, from point to point, 
 with all the diligence and address which marked his char 
 acter. At length, the shoals becoming such as to endan 
 ger his vessel, he procured a canoe from the Indians, two 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 131 
 
 of whom were engaged as oarsmen. Having put the 
 barge in security, and given express charge to his men not 
 to go ashore, he took with him two of his people, and 
 with the two Indians continued his further voyage in the 
 canoe. 
 
 At this place in his narrative Smith deems it necessary 
 to apologize for the extreme risk which he incurred by 
 this proceeding. a Though some wise men," he remarks, 
 " may condemn this too bould attempt of too much indis 
 cretion, yet if they will consider the friendship of the 
 Indians in conducting me, the desolateness of the country, 
 the probabilitie of some lucke, and the malicious judges 
 }f my actions at home as also to have some matters of 
 worth to encourage our adventurers in England might 
 well have caused any honest minde to have done the 
 like, as well for his own discharge, as for the public good." 
 
 These, we may remark, are the suggestions of a very 
 noble mind. It is the probable " lucke" of the colony 
 that moves him to risk his life, and the anxiety to u en 
 courage other colonists from England ;" even the errors 
 of judgment, which we find in this apology, are proofs of 
 a high and generous sp rit, superior to the exactions of a 
 petty self. He confides in the friendship of the Indians, 
 which the cowardly and jealous nature will seldom do ; 
 and he has " malicious judges at home," whom he would 
 silence and disarm for ever by deeds of courage, which not 
 one of them has the soul to emulate. If the argument of 
 Smith does not wholly prove the correctness of his policy, 
 it proves his own worth and manliness of character his 
 courage, and the honesty of his ambition. He thinks that 
 his motives might well cause any " honest minde to have 
 done the like." So they might; but " honesty," Cap 
 tain, is scarcely the sufficient word in this connection 
 Let it remain, however, as it is written. 
 
.32 LIFE 0} CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 Smith had learned many admirable lessons in foreign 
 warfare, but he was yet to learn the subtlety of those 
 tribes whose forests he had begun to subdue. The proba 
 bility is, that every footstep which he took from the 
 mouth of the Chickahominy was noted by the spies of 
 Powhatan. Whether the two Indians who rowed his boat 
 were faithful to him is quite questionable. He himself 
 was without suspicion, as he was without fear. He 
 ascended the river in the canoe some twenty miles above 
 the spot where his barge was anchored. Here, as the 
 river was cumbered with trees and foliage, though still 
 keeping sufficient depth for his progress, he let t the canoe 
 in the charge of the two Englishmen and one of the In 
 dians. The other he took with him, and went ashore " to 
 see the nature of the soil," and to head or cross the tribu 
 tary branches of the strenm. On leaving the canoe, he 
 instructed his followers to keep their matches alight, and 
 to discharge a piece at the first appearance of danger. 
 With these precautions, deeming himself tolerably secure, 
 he passed with his guide into the forests. 
 
 A quarter of an hour had not ^lapsed, after his leaving 
 the canoe, when he was starth d by the war-whoop of 
 the savage. No warning matchlock apprised him of the 
 proximity of any enemy, and believing that the two whom 
 he had left with the canoe had been betrayed and mur 
 dered by his Indian guide, with the prompt decision of 
 hi-s character, he at once grappled with the Indian, his 
 companion. The stern resolution of our adventurer, with 
 the suddenness of his movement, disarmed the savage and 
 subdued his spirit; and Smith, with his garters, bound the 
 arm of the savage tightly to one of his own ; thus prepar 
 ing to use him as a buckler. He had scarcely taken this 
 precaution, when he felt himself struck with an arrow 
 upon the thigh. This shaft did no hurt, b^iug; discharged 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 133 
 
 from a respectful distance ; but a moment after the vigi 
 lant eyes of our hero discovered two other Indians about to 
 draw their bows upon him. He anticipated them by a 
 discharge Of his pistol, the effects of which they already 
 knew. This sent them Hying for a while, and enabled 
 him to reload his weapon. But they soon returned to the 
 conflict, and Smith, retreating with his face toward them, 
 and his fettered Indian who proved quite submissive 
 still as a buckler between their darts and his bosom, slowly 
 aimed to make his way backward to the canoe. But the 
 sudden appearance upon the ground, of Opechancanough, 
 one of their greatest chiefs, at the head of more than two 
 hundred warriors, soon lessened, if it did not utterly de 
 stroy his hopes. But Smith was not to be subdued. He 
 knew too much of the barbarian nature to exhibit any 
 apprehensions; and, steadily continuing to retire, answered 
 some twenty or thirty of their arrows with four or five pis 
 tol-shots. To approach him closely while possessed of 
 these formidable weapons was no part of the Indian policy, 
 and to do him much hurt at a distance, while he so adroit 
 ly interposed their comrade between him and their shafts, 
 was soon discovered to be no easy matter. A conference 
 took place between the parties. Smith was told that his 
 two followers were slain, but that his life would be spared 
 if he would yield himself. But he must have better terms 
 than this. He must be permitted to retire in safety to the 
 boat. He will not deliver up his arms. He will use 
 them, and shoot with them famously, though his Indian 
 buckler-man importunes him not to do so. This confer 
 ence was carried on with less formal state than is custom 
 ary on such occasions, as well in barbarous as in Christian 
 countries. It was a sort of running conference-r-a running 
 fight at the same time ; Smith backing regularly as he 
 argued, and draw/ng his tethered Indian along with him, 
 
134 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 very awkwardly placed, no doubt, between two fires, and 
 anxious to get away ; Opechancanough pressing upon him 
 within treating and fighting distance, unwilling to provoke 
 the pistol, but resolved that the Captain shall not get away. 
 It is ifficult to say how long this curious sort of strife 
 could Imv^ been maintained, and what would have been 
 its final issue, had not a mishap befallen our adventurer, 
 against which he had made no provision. Retreating still, 
 with face averted from the path which he treads, he walks 
 suddenly into a morass, into which he drags perforce his 
 unwilling companion. This morass alone had protected 
 him from assault in the rear. But he was too busy with 
 his foes in front to think of any other danger, and, up to 
 his waist in bog,he cannot extricate himself without assist 
 ance. The hope of escape is at an end. He flings away 
 his pistols, and makes signs of submission ; and he who 
 has tasted of the perils of Turkish bondage will now 
 have an opportunity of comparing it with that of the 
 Apalachian. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE misfortune of Smith seems to have been due entirely 
 to the misconduct of his followers, whom he had left be 
 hind him in the canoe and barge. Had they not in both 
 cases disobeyed his orders, neither they nor himself would 
 have suffered harm. But, scarcely had he gone from 
 sight, when the people in the barge determined to enjoy 
 their freedom on the land. They, too, in all probability, 
 had some vague notions of coming upon the great river 
 leading from the northeast into the South Sea the vain 
 desire, built upon gross ignorance, which possessed many 
 of the adventurers in that age ; or, seeing at a distance 
 some headland of shining earth, they had brighter fancies 
 of gold and silver ore to be gathered by the bucket. With 
 vague appetites like these, or possibly only with the boy 
 ish desire to run and leap among the seemingly quiet 
 woods, they drew nigh to the shore in their barge, and 
 leaving her to the care of fortune, straggled off into the 
 forests. They had not gone far, when they were surpris 
 ed by Opechancanough, with three hundred warriors. 
 They succeeded in escaping to the barge, and in saving 
 her, though not without great difficulty. One of their 
 number, George Cassen, fell into the hands of the savages, 
 and was made to suffer the miserable penalty of death for 
 all the rest. In the hope to save his life, the captive 
 revealed the secret of Smith s progress into the interior. 
 The secret obtained, the poor wretch was despatched by 
 the most cruel tortures dismembered limb by limb, and 
 cast into the fire. After this, Opechancanough hurried 
 upon the trail of our adventurer. The men left in the 
 
136 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH 
 
 canoe were equally remiss of duty with those in the barge 
 but paid more heavily for their error. They, too, had 
 left the vessel, had gone ashore, built a fire, and were shot 
 to death while they slept before it. Every step which 
 Smith had taken was then followed, until he fell into the 
 bog, and into their hands. The treacherous morass which 
 enmeshed him, seems to have been one of the numerous 
 swamps from which the river takes its rise. He had, 
 therefore, involuntarily pushed the exploring survey much 
 more deeply than was at all needful in discovering its 
 sources. But he had been no such easy victim as his 
 besotted followers three of them had he siain in the 
 struggle, and " divers others had he gall d." His skill 
 and valor, while compelling their fears, commanded their 
 respect and admiration. 
 
 These he was careful not to forfeit. Drawn from the 
 morass, cold and nearly frozen, he showed no signs of 
 fear, and behaved with the most intrepid spirit. Brought 
 before Opechancanough, he presented him with the pocket- 
 compass with which he travelled, and showed him the 
 uses of the instrument Great was the marvel at the 
 play of the needle, which he could see through the glass, 
 but never touch ; and when Smith proceeded to explain 
 to him, by mingled sign and speech, its \vonderful pro 
 perties how it would follow sun, moon, and stars, indi 
 cate his route on earth, and guide him to realms, and con 
 tinents, and seas, of which our savages now heard for the 
 first time, they were struck with amazement and silent 
 wonder. This toy amused them for an hour, and when 
 it ceased to do so, they fastened the captive to a tree, 
 grouped themselves around him, and placing each an arrow 
 on his bow, they prepared to shoot him. It is probable 
 this was only an experiment upon his courage. He was 
 a Captain a VVerowance or Chief of whom much curi 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 137 
 
 osity was entertained, and from whom much ransom might 
 be expected. At a signal from their king, their weapons 
 were dropped, and leading him to the fire where he be 
 held the body of one of his men, Thomas Emry, stuck full 
 of arrows they suffered him to warm himself, chafed his 
 limbs, which were nearly frozen, gave him food, and treat 
 ed him with kindness. He had occasion to remark, that 
 though they fed him bountifully, not one of them would 
 eat with him ; a forbearance which reminds us of the 
 reluctance of the Arabs and other Eastern nations to par 
 take of food with those to whom they intend evil. 
 
 He was reserved to grace the triumph of Opechanca- 
 nough. This sagacious savage was the King or Chief of 
 Pamunkee is styled one of the brethren of Powhatan ; 
 but subsequent narratives for he made a figure in after 
 events not less distinguished than that of Powhatan repre 
 sent him not to have been considered by the Indians a rela 
 tive of Powhatan in any degree. Indeed, they describe 
 him as being a foreigner, the Prince of a distant people in 
 the southwest, who was adopted into the nation ; probably 
 having been taken from his own while yet in his infancy.* 
 He was a man of large stature, of noble presence and 
 extraordinary parts, and a dignity of thought and carriage 
 which might honor the highest places of Christian civili 
 sation. His treatment of Smith while his captive, making 
 due allowance for his own wild training, was creditable to 
 his delicacy and humanity. That his captive should min 
 ister to his triumph, was due to the customs of his coun 
 try ; and the practice does not seem to have discredited 
 any of the Roman conquerors. It has policy for its justi 
 
 * See Beverley, Hist. Va., 51, 52; and Burke (Hist. Va.), vol. iii. 
 pages 57-8-9, for an interesting account of the capture of this chief 
 tain, under the English colonial administration of Sir W. Berkeley 
 and of his brutal assassination while in captivity. 
 
138 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 fication, and infuses courage into a people, and strengthens 
 and confirms their patriotism. 
 
 The procession which conducted Smith through the 
 Indian towns, was one of rude state and ceremonial. He 
 himself was guarded on either side by a sturdy savage, 
 who kept fast hold upon his wrist. Opechancanough 
 moved midway in the column, and the guns, swords, and 
 pistols, which had been taken, were borne before him. 
 Their approach to a settlement or hamlet was distinguish 
 ed by the wild songs and dances of the warriors, their 
 yells of death and victory first bringing out the women 
 and children to behold their spectacle of triumph. 
 
 His first resting place in this humiliating progress was 
 at Orapakes,. where he was taken to a house and closely 
 guarded by eight warriors. Here he was so well fed, 
 with venison, and other food, that he began to be troubled 
 with misgivings that their purpose was to fatten him for 
 the table. To go to a feast, not to eat but to be eaten, 
 was an event in prospect, not more agreeable to Smith 
 than to Polonius. But this fear was only momentary, 
 and proved to have been groundless. It does not appear 
 anywhere that the North American savage was a cannibal 
 At Orapakes one of the Indians to whom Smith had made 
 some small present when he first came to Virginia, re 
 membered the gift with gratitude, and brought him his 
 gown, which he seems to have discarded when first assail 
 ed by his captors. The gift was a grateful one, as the 
 weathei was intensely cold, and his condition was one to 
 demand every possible consolation. 
 
 Some delay was made at Orapakes. It was one 01 the 
 favorite residences of Powhatan, and here it may have 
 been expected to meet him. It is probable that his captors 
 waited here for instructions from their err.peror. This 
 detention increased the intimacy between Smith and the 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 139 
 
 savages, of which he contrived to avail himself in getting 
 a letter to Jamestown. In this letter, which was written 
 on the^ leaf of an old table-book, he wrote his wishes to 
 the people at the fort ; described his condition exactly, 
 instructed them to do all that they could to terrify the 
 messengers, who were in fact spies, and upon whose re 
 port would depend their decision whether to assault the 
 fort or not a measure greatly urged by the King of Pas- 
 pahegh ; who sagaciously insisted upon the moment the 
 great werovsance of the whites was in their power, and his 
 people in consternation, as being particularly suited to the 
 attempt. The letter also counselled certain things to be 
 sent him, of which an inventory was given. His messen 
 gers three in number took the letter in weather so bit 
 ter and cold, with frost and snow, " as in reason were im 
 possible by any naked man to be endured." 
 
 But they returned in three days, having faithfully exe 
 cuted their commission. The reports which they brought 
 of the terrors by which the fort was environed, confirm 
 ing the dreadful accounts of mines, great guns, and engines 
 of such dread, that no proper names for them could be 
 found, determined them to forego the attempt upon the 
 colony ; and then it was that the triumphal progress was 
 resumed. But before this could take place, and, indeed, 
 before Smith s dispatches had been written, an incident 
 occurred which had nearly rendered unnecessary any 
 further negotiation. 
 
 It appears that, soon after he had reached his present 
 resting-place, he was summoned to the assistance of one 
 of the men whom he had wounded with his pistols. 
 Looked upon as a conqueror as a great medicine, at least 
 it was taken for granted that he could heal as well as 
 hurt ; and nothing seemed to them more natural and pro 
 per, than that he should do so where he himself had inflict- 
 
140 L I F OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 ed the injury. But Smith found the wounded man in the 
 last extremity, and declared frankly he could do nothing 
 for him. Something, he said, might be done, could he 
 procure a certain medicine which he had at Jamestown ; 
 and a requisition for this medicine was actually made in 
 the letter which w r as sent. But the savage dying soon 
 after, his father set upon our adventurer to revenge his 
 death ; and would have slain him with his sword, but for 
 the timely interposition of the guard. Baffled in this way, 
 he endeavored to effect his object by shooting at him in 
 his prison, but was again arrested in his designs before any 
 injury had been done. So intense was this \vild passion 
 of revenge, which the practice among the savages made 
 justifiable, that, to defeat the purposes of his fury, they 
 were compelled to remove the object of his pursuit and 
 hate to other places of security. This, indeed, is given as 
 one of the reasons for resuming the triumphal progress. 
 
 The route of the procession was a circuitous one. The 
 real object seems to have been to gratify the curiosity of 
 as many townships as possible ; and possibly the vanity 
 of his captors, before taking him to YVerowomoco, where 
 Powhatan at this time resided. First, they carried him 
 among the people _who dwelt on the Youghtanund, or 
 Pamunkee river. From the Youghtanund they led him 
 to the Mattaponies, the Piankatanks, the Nantaughtacunds, 
 or the Rappahannock, and the Nominies, on the Potomac 
 river. These rivers being passed, they showed him to 
 numerous other tribes, w-ith names equally barbarous. He 
 was then brought back to the habitatio-n of Opechanca- 
 nouo-h, at Pamunkee, where a wild and singular species 
 of incantation was destined to take place ; the object of 
 which is stated to be to ascertain by magical orgies what 
 had been and were his real purposes towards them. In 
 other words, the priests and conjurors of the nation were 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH 141 
 
 disposed to show themselves necessary to its safety, and 
 to avail themselves of a novel circumstance to strengthei 
 those vulgar superstitions by which they lived. For three 
 days they conjured him by the rudest sort of ceremonials, 
 Smeared with oil and paint, begrimed with black and red 
 garbed in the skins of wild beasts, and shaking their gourd 
 rattles over head, they danced around him, with shriek* 
 and bowlings, from the rising to the setting ot the sun ; 
 then fed themselves and him, for neither had been suffered 
 to partake of food while the day lasted ; but they took 
 especial care not to eat with him a circumstance which 
 still serves to keep up in our hero s mind a lively anxiety 
 with regard to their cannibal appetites. Three days were 
 thus spent in these and similar orgies ; the details of which 
 could not enlighten, and would scarcely please the reader. 
 These over, he was removed to the dwelling of Opitcha- 
 pam,* the brother of Powhatan, who afterwards succeed 
 ed to the empire. Here he was still well treated, that is, 
 well fed ; his imagination, as he tells us in doggerel verse 
 in which he not unfrequently deals conjuring up 
 " hydeous dreames," in his waking moments, of " won 
 drous shapes," "strange bodies," " huge of growth," 
 "And of stupendous makes ;" 
 
 the effects probably of over feeding, an inactive condition 
 of body, and a mind full of active apprehensions. But his 
 spirits do not fail him, nor his courage. His aspect is 
 still such as to command the respect of the savages. 
 They seek to persuade and to intimidate him. They offer 
 him " life, liberty, land, and women," if he will only show 
 them how to get possession of the fort at Jamestown 
 They exult in the possession of a bag of gunpowder, the 
 qualities of which they know ; and which, regarding it as 
 
 * Beverley calls him Itopatin. 
 10 
 
142 LIFE OF CAPTA.N SMITH. 
 
 a seed, they proposed to sow, in hope of future .- f * t b 
 which to retort the explosive missiles of the \ tie-face, 
 
 Smith loses no opportunity to impress them with a sens** 
 of the superiority of the whites ; of their wondrous re 
 sources, and unmentionable powers. He does not unde 
 ceive them with regard to the gunpowder, and we may 
 suppose that they sow the crop at the due season in 
 spring. He is equal to all their arts. They bring him 
 one of his pistols, requiring him to discharge it, in order, as 
 he perceives, that they may learn its use. But his subtlety 
 equals theirs. He adroitly breaks the cock of the weapon, 
 which he succeeds in persuading them is accidentally 
 done. They can make nothing of him, and he, if he 
 makes nothing of them, at all events maintains his man 
 hood in their eyes, and assumes the guise of cheerfulness, 
 though grief sits heavy at his heart. At length, after a 
 long delay, which was probably not without its object, 
 the captive is conducted to Werowocomoco,* the resi 
 dence of Powhatan, and into the presence of that despotic 
 chieftain. 
 
 Called Meronocomoco in the " Discoveries and Accidents," vot, 
 L, c. ii., p. 162, of the octavo edition printed at Richmond, Va. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 WE have now reached a period in the career of our hero 
 the events of which are much more, intimately associate* 
 with his memory in the minds of men than those of an\ 
 other in the whole of his long eventful history. Though 
 not more remarkable, perhaps, than many others not 
 more imposing or impressive than his three single combats 
 with the Turkish champions before Regall than his cap 
 tivity and escape from the bondage of the Bashaw of 
 Bogall, bearing with him the blood of that cruel despot, 
 and the tender affections of his gentle sister yet there is 
 something in the first appearance of the sweet forest dam 
 sel,- Pocahontas, upon the scene in which Smith is the 
 hero, and nearly the victim, which commends this part of 
 his story, more than any other, to the sympathies and 
 remembrances of our people. It is as the prisoner of Pow- 
 hatan^ the great Indian Emperor of Virginia a-s the cap 
 tive doomed to perish in the hands of savages by a sudden 
 and a cruel death, and rescued at the last moment by the 
 unexpectedjnterposition of the young and tender-hearted 
 child of the fierce old monarch that our hero fixes the 
 attention of the hearer when his name is but mentioned. 
 We have reached that point in his career upon which the 
 eye inevitably fastens, heedless of every.other, when he 
 becomes the subject ; that exquisite episode in the his 
 tory of the new world, which, appealing equally to the 
 affections and the imagination, has never lost the charm 
 of its original loveliness and freshness, even though a 
 thousand iterations have made it the most familiar of all 
 
146 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 ther of whom was more than eighteen years of age. 
 These were, in all probability, the favorites of our forest 
 sultan. On either hand, and ranging behind this group, 
 were the warriors and the women who formed the suite 
 of the Emperor. These were sitting or standing in alter 
 nate rows, and were all apparelled in such ornaments as 
 they could respectively command. Some had their heads 
 decorated with the white down, and the plumage of native 
 birds. Some wore strings of white beads upon their 
 necks and bosoms. Others were otherwise adorned ; and 
 all of them appeared with cheeks, brows and shoulders 
 thickly painted with a brilliant red. But the chief, as the 
 central figure of the group, was Powhatan himself; a man 
 who needed not the foreign aid of ornament to render him 
 conspicuous in any circle. This prince, at the period of 
 which we write, \vas fully sixty years of age. But time 
 had taken nothing from the intense fire in his eye, and in 
 no respect subdued the erect energies of his ample stature. 
 His aspect was severe and noble. His presence was ma- 
 jestical. His bearing was that of one to whom sway 
 was habitual, and the haughtiness of which seemed not 
 unnatural or improper to one accustomed to frequent con 
 quest. " He wore," says Smith, " such a grave and 
 majestical countenance, as drave me into admiration to see 
 such state in a naked salvage." Yet Powhatan was no 
 naked savage, and the rudeness of his state was by no 
 means inconsistent with its dignity. The " rich chaynes 
 of great pearles," which we are told encircled his neck 
 and the " great robe, made of rarowcun (racoon) skinnes, 
 which covered his person their tails all properly dis 
 posed and pendant were no doubt worn with quite as 
 much s;race and majesty as the most costly habiliments of 
 civilisation Vy the potentates of Christendom. Indeed, it 
 s not often that the dignitaries of the civilized world 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 147 
 
 the creatures of a capricious art, and an unstable conven 
 tion could compare in nobleness of bearing with the lords 
 of the American forest, taught by nature herself, and with 
 limbs rendered free and graceful in spontaneous movement, 
 by the constant exercises of battle and the chase. It is 
 certain, at least, from all accounts, that Powhatan needed 
 quite as little of dress and decoration for the purposes of 
 state as any hereditary prince in Europe. The face, the 
 air, the carriage of the Emperor, seemed fully to justify 
 the unlimited sway which he held over the affections of 
 his people. Whatever might have been the deficiencies 
 of our forest chieftain, it is very sure that the qualities of 
 a noble bearing, lofty demeanor, calm grave intelligence 
 of aspect, and free natural movements were not among 
 them. His grace in the management of ceremonial shows 
 him " to the manner born ;" and, subsequently, speaking 
 of him at another interview under less trying circumstances 
 to himself, Smith describes him sitting " uppon a throne 
 at the upper ende of the house, with such a majestic as I 
 cannot expresse, nor yet have often scene, either in pagan 
 or Christian ;" a brief but complete description, to which 
 farther details could give no efficiency. 
 
 There was one person in this assembly whom yet we 
 are not permitted to see. This is Pocahontas. That she 
 was present we know from the conspicuous share which 
 she took in the proceedings of the day. But no place has 
 been assigned her at the opening of the scene by any of 
 our narrators. It is very apparent that she was not seen 
 by Smith until the moment when she rushed forward to 
 his rescue ; and this exclusion may be easily accounted 
 for. At this period Pocahontas was a child of ten years 
 old. It has been the error to describe her as twelve or thir 
 teen. This is the statement in Stith, Burke, and other 
 writers, but it is without authority. Others have con- 
 
148 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 founded her with one of the two young women who sate 
 at the head and feet of Powhatan ; but Smith himself 
 describes them as " young wenches, of 16 or 18 years," 
 a phraseology which he never employs where Pocahontas 
 is concerned. In the narrative of Simons in Smith s his 
 tory, no allusion is given to her age. She is spoken of as 
 the " King s dearest daughter," always respectfully and 
 affectionately, but in no more definite manner. The de 
 ficiency is supplied, however, in the narrative entitled a 
 _" True Relation," &c.,* purporting to be written by Th. 
 Watson, Gent., but in reality by Smith himself. The 
 nternal proofs of this are quite conclusive, even if there 
 were no other. In this narrative we have this descrip 
 tion : u Powhatan, understanding we detained certain sal 
 vages, sent his daughter, a childe of tenne years old, which 
 not only for feature, countenance and proportion, much cx- 
 ceedeth any of the rest of his people, but for wit and spirit 
 the only nonpareil of his country, fyc." That the girl here 
 described was jPocahontas we know elsewhere from the 
 narrative of Simons, who makes full mention of the mis 
 sion upon which she is sent, the particulars of which we 
 shall reach hereafter. 
 
 That a child of ten years old should not be conspicuous 
 
 * " A true relation of Lach occurrences and accidents of noate as 
 hath happened in Virginia since the first planting of that collony, 
 which is now resident in the south part thereof, till the last returne 
 from thence. Written by Th : Watson, Gent., one of said cottony, 10 
 a worshipfull friend of his in England. London : Printed for John 
 Tappe ; and are to be sold at the Grey-hound in Paule s Church 
 yard, by W. W. 1608." The copy before us is an excellent reprint, 
 made by the publishers of the Southern Literary Messenger, and in 
 connection with that excellent periodical. A preface to this pamph 
 let, signed L. H., and purporting to be written while Smith is still 
 one of the council in Virginia, asserts him to be the author of it, and 
 ascribes the alias to the blander of a printer. 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 14^ 
 
 
 
 at such a scene as that to which Smith is conducted, in 
 natural enough. She may have been concealed in one of 
 the troops of damsels that stood behind or beside the 
 couch of her father; she might have been sitting, timidly 
 crouching, on some low rock at his feet. That she was 
 present, and destined to exercise a vital influence upon 
 the events which were to follow, we already know. 
 
 The appearance of the captive before the king was 
 welcomed by a shout from all the people. This does not 
 appear to have been an outbreak of exultation. On the 
 contrary, the disposition seems to have been to treat the 
 prisoner with becoming gravity and consideration. A 
 handsome young woman, the Queen of Apamattuck, is 
 commanded to bring him water, in which to wash his 
 hands. Another stands by with a bunch of feathers, a 
 substitute for the towel, with which he dries them. Food 
 is then put before him, and he is instructed to eat, wl ile 
 a long consultation takes place between the Emperor and 
 his chief warriors as to what shall be done with the cap 
 tive. In this question Smith is quite too deeply interest 
 ed to give himself entirely to the repast before him. He 
 keeps up a stout heart and a manly countenance ; but, to 
 employ some of the lines quoted by the quaint narrator 
 whose statements he adopts, 
 
 " Sure his heart was sad ; 
 
 For who can pleasant be and rest, 
 That lives in feare and dread 1" 
 
 The discussion results unfavorably. His judges decide 
 against him. It is the policy of the savages to destroy 
 him. He is their great enemy. He is the master spirit 
 of the powerful and intrusive strangers. They have 
 already discovered this. They have seen that by his will 
 and energies, great courage and equal discretion, he has 
 kept down the discontents, disarmed the rebe.lio s and 
 
150 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 strengthened the feeble among his brethren; and they 
 have sagacity enough to understand how much more easy 
 it will be, in the absence of this one adventurous warrior, 
 to overthrow and root out the white colony which he has 
 planted. It is no brutal passion for blood and murder 
 which prompts their resolution. It is a simple and clear 
 policy, such as has distinguished the decision in like cases 
 of far more civilized, and even Christian communities ; 
 and the award of the council of Powhatan is instant death 
 to the prisoner. He is soon apprised of their decision by 
 their proceedihgs. Two great stones are brought into the 
 assembly, and laid before the king. " Then as many as 
 could lay hands on him, dragged him to them, and thereon 
 layd his head." " Being ready with their clubs to beate 
 out his braines/ it was then that u Pocahontas, the King s 
 dearest daughter," interposed for his safety It seems 
 that she first strove to move her father by entreaties, but 
 finding these of no avail, she darted to the place of exe 
 cution, and before she could be prevented, got the head of 
 the captive in her arms, and laying her own upon it, in 
 this way arrested the stroke of the executioner. And this 
 Was the action of a child ten years old ! We may imagine 
 the exquisite beauty of such a spectacle the infantine 
 grace, the feminine tenderness, the childish eagerness, 
 mingled with uncertainty and fear, with which she main 
 tained her hold upon the object of her concern and solici 
 tude, until the wild and violent passion of her father had 
 been appeased. This is all that comes to us of the 
 strange, but exquisite dramatic spectacle. Few details 
 ar& given us. The original narrators from whom we draw 
 are cold and lifeless in their statements. Smith himself 
 says little on the subject ; and in the narrative already 
 quoted that of Watson especially known as his, it is 
 curious to note that the whole event is omitted, not even 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 151 
 
 the slightest allusion being made to Pocahontas. But it 
 "IsTlibf denied that we may conceive for ourselves the 
 beauty and the terror of this highly tragic scene. Imagi 
 nation may depict the event in her most glowing colors 
 The poet and the painter will make it their own. They 
 will show us the sweet child of the forest clasping beneath 
 her arm the head of the pale warrior, while the stroke of 
 death, impending over both, awaits but the nod of the 
 mighty chieftain, whose will is law in all that savage 
 region. They will show us first the rage and fury which 
 fill his eyes as he finds himself baffled by his child, and 
 then the softening indulgence with which he regards that 
 pleading sweetness in her glance which has always had 
 such power over his soul. " She was the King s dearest 
 daughter :" this is the language of the unaffected and 
 simple chroniclers, and her entreaty prevails for the safety 
 of the prisoner. Her embrace seems to have consecrated 
 from harm the head of the strange intruder. The policy 
 of her nation, their pussion for revenge and blood, all yield 
 to the potent humanity which speaks in the heart of that 
 unbaptized daughter of the forest, and the prisoner is freed 
 from his bonds and given to the damsel who has saved 
 him. Henceforth he is her captive. That is the decree 
 of Powhatan. He shall be spared to make her bells and 
 her beads, and to weave, into proper form her orname its 
 of copper. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE effect of this timely interposition of Pocahontas was 
 not limited to the mere saving of our hero s life. The 
 results were highly advantageous in other respects to the 
 colony of the English. It secured for it the tolerance of 
 the Emperor, while it gained for Smith himself the special 
 favor and friendship of the savage. In all probability the 
 superstitious, not less than the human feelings of Pow- 
 hatan, were touched by the unlocked for interference of 
 his daughter in the bloody scene which he was preparing 
 to enact. Such a boldness at the perilous and precious 
 moment, in a child so young, might well awaken, even in 
 more sophisticated natures, an impression that the act was 
 of providential inspiration the work of a superior agency. 
 At all events, the benefits were soon apparent. Smith 
 was not only spared, but taken into immediate favor. The 
 Emperor assured him of his friendship, professed to regard 
 him as his own son, and promised him his liberty in a few 
 days. But these favors were coupled with conditiors. 
 Powhatan was ambitious of being the possessor of certain 
 of the great guns, of whose terrible powers vague accounts 
 had already reached his ears. The uses of a grindstone 
 were also known to him, and one of these was an object 
 of his desire To obtain these chattels, he promised his 
 captive the entire country of Capahosick ; a territory the 
 limits of which it would perhaps be somewhat difficult at 
 this day to define. 
 
 Smith was some\vhat cheered by these assurances, and 
 this display of kindness ; but he put little, faith in the sin- 
 
TIFB OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 153 
 
 cerity of ilits ravage monarch. He was conscious himself 
 of a certain uegree of practice in his own assurances, and 
 felt but little confidence, accordingly, in what was told 
 him. Their conferences together were very frequent, and 
 on the best footing of amity. What had been told of our 
 hero to Powhatan had evidently impressed him greatly 
 with his ability and courage. All that he had previously 
 related to Opechancanough was now to be repeated ; and 
 a thousand questions were asked with regard to the com 
 ing and objects of the English, which it required all the 
 prudence and subtlety of Smith to answer, without endan 
 gering the friendly relations between the parties. It need 
 not be said that our adventurer made no scruple of sup 
 pressing the truth where it served his purpose to do so. 
 He had discovered that the Indians of Powhatan had suf 
 fered some injuries from Spanish vessels, and he framed 
 his own story to suit the prejudices of his hearer. His 
 people had been overpowered in a fight with the Spaniards, 
 their enemies, and had sought shelter in the Chesapeake 
 The story was plausible, and the enmity of both to the 
 Spaniards was the source of a new tie between them 
 But his exploring voyage in a canoe to the heads of the 
 rivers of the country, suggested a new doubt to Powhatan, 
 and new, difficulties to his captive. But to his questions 
 on this head the ready invention of Smith found a prompt 
 answer. A brother had been slain by a people living in 
 the rear of the territories of Powhatan, who were suppos 
 ed to be the Monacans, his enemies also. The murder 
 of this youth it was his business to revenge. These mo 
 tives our savage found very good and justifiable, and led 
 Powhatan into a description of his territories and those of 
 his neighbors ; how they lay, and how they were water 
 ed ; what was the number, and what were the habits of 
 the Anchawaehucks -whom he assumed to be those by 
 
J 54 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 whom Smith s brother had been slain and the "Pocough- 
 tronacks, a fierce nation, who did eate men." Some of 
 these people were described as carrying " swords like 
 pollaxes," and wearing long hair on the neck, though their 
 crowns were shaven. Beyond the territories of these, 
 Powhatan described yet other tribes, some of whom wore 
 short coats, with sleeves to the elbows, and travelled the 
 seas in ships like those of the English. He had other 
 tales of yet other kingdoms and people vague outlines 
 which, when we consider the imperfect modes among the 
 savages of estimating time and distance, it would be quite 
 unprofitable to examine or review. Smith, however, 
 drank in his statements with attentive ears. A mighty 
 river was described by Powhatan, having numerous king 
 doms on its banks, which might be the Mississippi ; the 
 imperfect knowledge of the languages of the parties ren 
 dering doubtful between them, even matters the most 
 precise and natural. A clothed people, cities of walled 
 houses, a people having abundance of brass or gold ; 
 these were the wonders which the Indian Emperor related 
 to his European companion, expatiating upon his own and 
 the prowess of his tributaries and rivals. Smith was not 
 to be outdone in wonders. In requital for the geography 
 and history of Apalachia, he bestowed upon Powhatan a 
 comprehensive account of all the wonders of Europe ; 
 the multitude of ships and cities the thunders of their 
 wars the glories of their martial array and the ear- 
 piercing character of drums and trumpets. Our sagacious 
 adventurer knew well in what manner to awaken the 
 admiration, and compel the respect of the dusky chieftain. 
 He took care to impress him with the military powers U 
 the possession of Captain Newport, who was daily expect 
 ed with supplies from England ; and whom, adopting an 
 Indian title, the better to be understood, he called the 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 155 
 
 Werowance, or Prince, of all the waters of the sea. By 
 this timely suggestion he made it easy sailing for Newport 
 in after days. 
 
 These mutual communications greatly increased the inti 
 macy between the parties, though Smith does not seem 
 to have foregone his doubts of the good faith of Povvha 
 tan, until he was fairly beyond his power. His detention 
 lasted but a few days, which were naturally demanded by 
 the curiosity of the Indian monarch, and his people. In 
 deed, less time could scarcely have been yielded to the 
 immense amount of diplomacy which was required be 
 tween them. So . greatly did Powhatan come to admire 
 his European acquaintance in the sequel, that he desired 
 him to forsake the country of Paspahegh, where he had 
 settled, and to come more closely into the immediate 
 neighborhood of VVerowocomocco. He promised that the 
 English should lose nothing by it, but that he would supply 
 them with all necessaries with corn, venison, and all man 
 ner of food, and protect them against all enemies, for 
 which he should demand nothing but their labor in rinding 
 him in hatchets, and working copper for him according to 
 instructions. Smith gave him good words, and spoke 
 him fairly but evasively. He promised him his great guns, 
 and grindstones, as soon as he should get to Jamestown ; 
 and after being treated with a hospitality and kindness, 
 which Smith acknowledges without reserve, he despatched 
 him under the charge of twelve men* on his way to the 
 colony. 
 
 * Tirdxe guides" according to the " Discoveries " and "Accidents." 
 The " True Relation " says four, and with such detail that the sen 
 tence deserves to be given. " Having, with all the kindness hee 
 amid devise, sought to content me, he sent me home with 4 men, 
 one that usuallv carried my gowue and knapsack after inc. two 
 < 4- lr,ale with bread, and one to accompany me. ;> Bitb 
 
156 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 But the apprehensions of Smith were not to be lulled 
 into quiet, by all these shows of kindness, and one or more 
 little circumstances, while on the journey, kept him in a 
 state of lively apprehension. He still had his fears that 
 he was to be eaten, and that this was the true secret of 
 all their solicitude in feasting him. He was only to be 
 fattened, and decorated, like a lamb for the slaughter. 
 The distance, in a direct route, from Werowocomocro to 
 Jamestown, was only twelve miles, yet nothing could 
 persuade his guides to advance properly forward. "The 
 Indians trifled away that day, and would not goe to our 
 fort by any persuasions." The first night after leaving 
 Powhatan, they " quartered in the woods," so we are 
 told by one narrative ; another, more certainly his own t 
 says, " in certain olde hunting houses of Paspahegh, we 
 lodged all night." " He still expecting (as he had done 
 all this long time of his imprisonment) every houre to be 
 put to one death or other, for all their feasting." But 
 his apprehensions proved groundless. " Almighty God 
 (by his divine providence) had mollified the hearts of 
 those sterne barbarians with compassion." They neither 
 killed nor eat him ; but, whatever might have been their 
 m )tive for the unnecessary delay, u the nexte morning, 
 ere sunrise, we set forward for our fort, where we arrived 
 within an hour." 
 
 Here Smith found himself welcomed on every hand 
 with tne truest shows of friendship and satisfaction. He 
 
 narratives may be correct ; other Indians may have joined them en 
 route ; and when we recollect that grindstones, and great guns, were 
 to be carried back by the savages, twelve of them wi) 1 not be deemed 
 an excessive number for the escort. One would thirk too, that two 
 men to carnj the bread alone, would be a rather larp-e proportion to 
 the number which it was to feed, if these were limited to four. The 
 point, however, is of no great importance. 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH.. 157 
 
 was greeted as one from the dead ; it was as if the grave 
 had given up its prey ; and in his absence, and supposed 
 loss, the colonists, perhaps for the first time, began tc 
 feel how necessary he had been to their safety, and the 
 success of the settlement. Things had gone ill during his 
 absence, and there were some few exceptions to the al 
 most universal language of congratulation which hailed 
 his return. Captain Archer, who had been sworn of the 
 council, in his place, and while he was supposed to have 
 perished, was by no means glad to see him ; and there 
 were some two or three of his creatures, who suffered bin) 
 to see that he was much less likely to offend them while 
 he remained with the Indians, than when he came to thwart 
 their progress in the infant settlement. His return was ex 
 ceedingly opportune. He found a large party of discon 
 tents preparing once more to run away with the pinnace, 
 and to break up the colony. Their plans were laid, and 
 the appointed hour had arrived, and all was baffled again by 
 his providential coming. He soon fathomed their schemes, 
 and being rightly advised, with the soldier-like decision 
 that distinguished all his actions, he put the fort and his 
 chosen men in order, so that the mutineers could only suc 
 ceed in the teeth of " sackre, falcon and musket shot," in 
 getting off with the pinnace. " For the third time," at "the 
 hazzard of his life," Smith " forced them to stay, or 
 sinke." 
 
 Finding that they must submit, and that nothing could 
 be effected with such a " master of fence " at his own wea 
 pons, they had recourse to subtleties, under the nam-e of 
 law, for the better overthrow of their arch enemy. Hav 
 ing; laid their own heads together, and so confounded that 
 of the President, Captain Martin, as for the time to get his 
 sanction to their proceedings, they charged upon Smith 
 the death of the two men, Ernry and Robinson, who had 
 11 
 
1 58 LIFE OF C A P T A I N SMITH. 
 
 been slain by the Indians, at the time of his capture. 
 The Levitical law was applied to the case of our adven 
 turer, and, urging that it was by his fault or practice that 
 they had come by their death, they required that his life 
 should atone for his crime or error. The two persons, for 
 whose lives he was thus required to answer, had fallen 
 victims to their own imprudence, and the neglect of Smith s 
 especial orders. Upon this charge, so very absurd, they 
 built their hopes to take his life, or at all events to depose 
 him from his sway in the colony, and his seat at the coun 
 cil. But Smith was too much of a man and soldier to be 
 caught, and thrown upon his back, by such flimsy subtle 
 ties as this. He quickly took such order with these crude 
 colony lawyers, that he laid them by the heels, and had 
 them very soon as prisoners on the high road to England. 
 The timely arrival of Captain Newport enabled him more 
 effectually to triumph over his enemies. Newport saw 
 through their malice, and his support and sympathy served 
 for a time to silence and to subdue all disaffection to that 
 authority which it was in the nature of such a man as 
 Smith to exercise, in every situation of difficulty and dis 
 tress. The want of food which ensued upon his absence 
 from the colony, had given strength to the objects of the 
 malcontents, none of whom seems to have possessed the 
 ability, the courage, and the skill by which Smith had al 
 ways before succeeded in procuring the requisite supplies. 
 His failure and captivity served completely to discourage 
 their enterprise. His resolution, and determination to keep 
 the discontents from leaving the colony, were assisted by the 
 news he brought of the favor of Powhatan, and of the abun 
 dance of food which might be obtained from that savage 
 chieftain, in this season of his good humor ; and his story 
 of the rescue of his life by Pocahontas, " so revived theii 
 dead spirits," as to make almost all of them abandon thei 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 159 
 
 fears of famine. They saw in this alliance with the great 
 est potentate of the country, and in the affection which 
 he and his daughter had conceived for their favorite lead 
 er, a guaranty against all the privations of the future ; 
 and, as is usual with persons of such condition, were as 
 easily persuaded to the extreme of hope and exultation, 
 as, but a little while before, and with as slender reason, 
 they had been hurried to the verge of despair and mutiny. 
 " Now whether," writes John Smith, though his chapter 
 is claimed to be the production of three others* besides 
 himself, though his hand is clearly legible in every sen 
 tence ; " Now, whether it had beene better for Captaine 
 Smith to have concluded with any of those severall pro 
 jects, to have abandoned the countrey, with some ten or 
 twelve of them, who were called the belter sort, and have 
 left Mr. Hunt our Preacher, Master Anthony Gosnell, a 
 most honest, worthy, and industrious Gentleman, Master 
 Thomas Wotlon, and some 27 others of his countrymen, to 
 the fury of the savages, famine, and all manner of mis- 
 chiefes and inconveniences (for they were but fortie in all 
 to keepe possession of this large countrey), or starve him 
 self with them for company, for want of lodging ; or for 
 adventuring abroad to make them provision, or by his op 
 position to preserve the action, and save all their lives 
 (here the four writers dwindle into the first person singu 
 lar), " I," here Smith speaks out for himself " I leave 
 all honest men to consider," is the conclusion of the para 
 graph. Time has saved us the work of consideration. The 
 results have justified the proceedings of our hero. We 
 must not omit to notice his allusion here to the " ten or 
 twelve" called "the better sort." Smith, from the be- 
 
 * Written by Thomas Studlei/, the first cape merchant in Virginia, 
 Robert FtJitou, Edward Harrington, and /. S. (note, to Chap. & 
 Book 3, of the " True Travels." 
 
160 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 ginning, complains of the vast disproportion between the 
 workingmen and the gentlemen sent to the colony. The 
 passage which we have just quoted, is evidently meant as 
 argumentative and justificatory, and intended to neutralize 
 the opinions which the representations of these gentlemen 
 in England might provoke at his expense. 
 
 Smith did not suffer the commotions and strifes at 
 Jamestown to make him forgetful of his Indian guides, 
 and the promises he had made to Powhatan. Having 
 fed and housed them well, endeavoring as well as he could 
 to impress them equally with his magnificence and hospi 
 tality, he called them up on the morning after his return, 
 and placed the great guns and the grindstones hefore 
 them. The cannon proffered them w r ere two demi-cul- 
 verins. The weight of a grindstone, of ordinary size, may 
 be imagined. It is needless to say that a single tnai of 
 Indian strength upon these formidal:!-.- masses, soon put out 
 of their heads entirely, the notion that they couid he car 
 ried upon their shoulders ; and their reluctance to make 
 the attempt w r as greatly increased, when stuffing the bow 
 els of his cannon with a decent load of powder and stones, 
 Smith applied the torch, and allowed them to hear the 
 bellowing thunder, and see the wild lightning which is 
 sued from their jaws, And when they saw the effect 
 among the trees of the forest, their great boughs loaded 
 with icicles, torn away by the shot, and tumbling in all 
 directions to the ground, the trusty followers of Powhatan 
 took to their heels, half dead with fear. They could not 
 be persuaded to burd -n themselves with gifts, as terrible 
 as they were burdensome arid weighty. But our adven 
 turer did not send them away with empty hands. He 
 was not ungrateful to Powhatan, still less was he indiffer* 
 ?nt to the sympathies of the sweet forest damsel to whose 
 **arm humanities he was indebted for his life- For h* he 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN S M I 1 H . 161 
 
 felt a deep attachment, such, perhaps, as a father might 
 feel for a dear child, as precious to him by reason of her 
 own merits, as by blood. It is one of the vulgar errors of 
 modern times that Pocahontas felt for Smith a different 
 sort of attachment, and it is made his reproach, that he 
 showed himself insensible to her love. This is mere igno 
 rance and absurdity. By his own showing she was but 
 ten years old at this period, and he was near thirty. 
 He speaks of her always as a child as a dear child ; and it 
 is evident he thought her so, and her language for him is 
 that only of veneration. It is an erroneous notion of the 
 requisites of the romantic, to demand that a warmer senti 
 ment than that of father and daughter should spring up 
 between such parties. It is to this notion only, that we 
 owe the charge of ingratitude which has been made 
 against Smith, because of his supposed neglect of her af 
 fections. But of this hereafter. Enough that he sent away 
 his Indian guides well satisfied with the commodities sub 
 stituted for the great guns and the grindstone. Nor does 
 it anywhere appear that Powhatan was any whit less con 
 tented with what he received, than his messengers witfi 
 v hat they bore. 
 
BOOK THIRD. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE captivity ot Smith among the people of Powhatan 
 lasted for nearl) ceven weeks. Though painfully, this 
 time was not un^kofitably spent. Habitually a close 
 observer, he gathered a very large amount of useful know 
 ledge from the InuS^a ; learned to comprehend their 
 modes of thinking and oeling ; to trace their motives ; to 
 analyze their arts ; ami t> fathom, with great sagacity, 
 their general character. 1 tiat he mistakes frequently, and 
 misrepresents, is to be expected from his imperfect know 
 ledge of their language, and irom the policy of the savage, 
 who is cautious, circumspect, and peculiarly anxious to 
 avoid examination. Smith hhJs them brave, capable of 
 great endurance, a simple but d shrewd people, and cun 
 ning and treacherous, as all inferior people are apt to 
 prove themselves when brought into contact with a supe 
 rior. If anything, he undervalues them, and withholds a 
 proper acknowledgment of the^ virtues. He was quite 
 too much the soldier of that j>eriod to escape the usual 
 prejudices of the class, and cannot well be expected to 
 think well of a race by whom he expects momently to be 
 eaten sacrificed to their hideous god, with an unpro 
 nounceable name, Quioughquosickee ; their Devil, as Dr. 
 Simons writes, but most likely their god of physic. Set 
 ting forth with a notion very common at that time in the 
 
LIFEOF CAPTAIN SMITH 163 
 
 European world, that the savages of the unknown regions 
 are generally cannibals, he looks with a jaundiced eye, 
 and with growing suspicion of their objects, even when 
 they are practising the highest virtues of hospitality and 
 society. It is because of prejudices such as these, that 
 the mild European became himself so frequently a savage 
 when he found himself in contact with the wild and wick 
 ed inhabitants of the western world. Smith despised the 
 race because of their feebleness and unperformance ; and 
 feared and hated them because of their supposed indul 
 gence in habits and practices, from which subsequent 
 experience shows that they were perfectly free. But, in 
 their power, he was sagacious enough to betray none of 
 these prejudices or passions. He could play the politician, 
 when it served his turn, as well as the soldier ; and the 
 stroke of death once suspended by the interposition of 
 Pocahontas, he puts forth all the cunning of his right hand, 
 to maintain himself in the position of favor which he has 
 so unexpectedly w r on. He flattered the pride of Pow- 
 hatan, and conciliated the stranger chiefs around him. He 
 was soon enabled to observe what were the distinguishing 
 traits of the savage, and to ascertain in what respects they 
 were peculiarly susceptible. To their vanity, which is 
 strong in the Indian bosom, he made judicious appeals ; 
 and, while flattering their self-esteem, he contrived very 
 happily to impress them with admiration of his own won 
 derful resources. To make them feel and respect his 
 importance, without subjecting their own vanity to morti 
 fication, might be a matter of some difficulty ; but, as his 
 experience prove I. it was not an impossible one. 
 
 To us, with our better knowledge of the Indians and 
 the country than he could possibly have acquired then, 
 his description of these objects can possess but little value. 
 We refer to them now only to show how vigilant was his 
 
164 LIFE OF CAP IAIN SMITH. 
 
 observation, and how generally extensive and correct. 
 But the knowledge which he thus obtained was of vast 
 service in his day, to the colony, and of .verv consi 
 derable interest in Europe, in correcting the erroneous 
 mpressions which were generally afloat in regard to the 
 American aborigines. To the colony it came at an aus 
 picious juncture, as it occasioned renewed confidence in 
 an enterprise which, in the treaty of amnesty and amity 
 made with Powhatan, seemed to have received the last 
 essential and desirable sanction. Nor did events for some 
 time contradict the sanguine assurances of Smith, and the 
 eager hopes of his people. The Indians seemed all of a 
 sudden to have reformed the usual caprice of their charac 
 ter. The intimacy begun with Powhatan was kept alive 
 by a frequent interchange of good offices between the par 
 ties ; and the young maiden, Pocahontas, with her attend 
 ants, made frequent visits to Jamestown, bringing with 
 her such abundant supplies of provision, that hunger and 
 the dread of starvation was no longer the object of terror 
 among the doubting and the discontent. The visits of 
 Pocahontas are described, at this period, as occurring 
 every four or five days. Female, and childish, and sav 
 age curiosity were all no doubt combined in effecting this 
 intimacy, and the provisions were, in all probability, only 
 brought as a pretext for the visit. But other Indians 
 came daily, all bringing something in the shape of food, 
 either as gifts from Powhatan or Pocahontas, or as their 
 own tribute to the superior genius of the man, who, to 
 employ the language of one of the narratives before us, 
 "had so inchanted these pooresoules being their prisoner."* 
 The arrival of Captain Newport just about the time when 
 
 * Chap, iii., iv. and v. of the " Discoveries and Accidents," ascrib 
 ed to Walter Russell, Anas Todkill, and Thou^s Momford, 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 165 
 
 Smith had assured them he would come, increased their 
 confidence in his wonderful superiority ; and, regarding 
 him as an oracle, he brought them to such a degree of 
 submission that u he might command them at what he 
 listed ;" and in this deference they came habitually Vo 
 acknowledge the God of the Christians, whom they spoke 
 of commonly aS the "God of Captaine Smith." To Smith 
 indeed, and to him only, all their reverence was shown. 
 It was not until he made his appearance that they could 
 be persuaded to approach the fort ; but in the cover ot 
 the woods they remained, calling him by name, and com 
 ing forward as soon as he showed him.self at the entrance 
 Nothing would they sell till they had placed all that they 
 had at his discretion. He affixed the prices to their com 
 modities, and with these they always seemed very well 
 satisfied. This attachment, so confiding and extreme, on 
 the part of those who had always shown themselves so 
 jealous and suspicious in their intercourse with strangers, 
 became a new subject of annoyance to the vain men, the 
 malcontents within the fort, by whom the abilities of 
 Smith were always decried, and his power so frequently 
 resisted. His estimation among the savages was a sub 
 ject of envy among his Christian brethren in council, 
 some of whom were at the pains to labor diligently in 
 the endeavor to dispossess the Indians of their overween 
 ing attachment for their associate. In this labor of love 
 their objects were promoted greatly by the looseness and 
 indulgence which followed upon the arrival of Newport s 
 vessels. New faces from the mother country, with the 
 fresh supplies which they brought, occasioned such gene 
 ral gratification, that the mariners were suffered the free- 
 
 O 
 
 dom of the settlement. They soon ruined the market 
 with the Indians. Smith had prudently rated the wares 
 of the English at the values set upon them by th ? ndians 
 
166 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 themselves ; the desires of the purchaser constituting 
 the standard by which the worth of the commodity was 
 to be measured. By this means, maize, beans, and 
 venison, the usual articles brought for sale by the savages, 
 were easily procured with small quantities of European 
 goods. But the profligacy of the seamen soon defeated 
 all the prudent policy of Smith, and rendered it easy to 
 persuade the Indians of the mistake which they had made 
 in so highly esteeming his power. It was soon found that 
 a pound of copper could not now buy the grain which an 
 ounce could formerly procure ; and the greatness of Smith 
 sunk completely out of sight in the vast stature which 
 Captain Newport acquired among the traders of Powhatan. 
 Thus, says our author quaintly, " ambition and sufferance 
 cut the throat of our trade. * 
 
 Such being the condition of affairs, our hero persuaded 
 Captain Newport that a visit to Powhatan himself, at We- 
 rowocomoco, would be a proper and advantageous pro 
 ceeding. It was desirable to impress that savage chieftain 
 with a high idea of the power of the English people. It 
 was also highly important to confirm the good understand 
 ing, and to extend the intercourse which had been estab 
 lished between the parties. Newport concurred with 
 Smith in this policy, and sending certain presents to Pow 
 hatan, as from Newport, Smith advised the former of the 
 projected visit. For this, preparations were at once made 
 on both sides. The pinnace was prepared, and Smith and 
 Newport, with some thirty or forty chosen men, as a 
 guard, proceeded towards Worowocomoco, provided with 
 the usual articles of Indian traffic. As they drew nigh to 
 the immediate territories of Powhatan, the good Captain 
 Newport, who had no sort of experience as an Indian 
 fighter, or perhaps as a fighter of any kind, began to en 
 tertain some misgivings as to the prudence of the adven- 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 67 
 
 ture. He had heard a great deal of Indian treachery, and 
 his apprehensions of danger increased with his meditations 
 upon what he had heard. He soon suffered Smith to see 
 that he w r as exceedingly reluctant at being caught in a 
 predicament, such as that from which the latter had so re 
 cently and narrowly escaped. His knight-errantry was 
 not of a sort to be easily reconciled to the peril, by the 
 possible pleasant romance which might attend his rescue 
 from it ; and it tasked all the argument of Smith to per 
 suade him to a continuance of the project. There were 
 certain appearances about the shores of Werowocomoco, 
 which, in particular, alarmed his fears. The landing 
 was not a good one, creeks were to be crossed, and over 
 these the Indians had thrown some rude contrivances in 
 the fashion of a bridge, which, to the suspicious eyes of 
 Newport, seemed neither more nor less than traps, in 
 which, when his legs were once fairly entangled, his over 
 throw and execution were easy. We can very well fancy 
 with what difficulty a veteran like Smith concealed his 
 scorn at this show of imbecility. He, at length, as little 
 troubled by fears of personal danger, or of any sort, as any 
 man, dead or living, volunteered, at the head of twenty 
 men of the party, to go ahead, and " encounter the worst 
 that could happen." To this arrangement Newport con 
 sented, and \vhile he remained in the pinnace, with one- 
 half of the force, Smith set out with his " twenty shot 
 armed in Jacks,"* and going ashore, was met by a num 
 ber of the Indians, among whom was the king s son, Nan- 
 taquis, the chief by whom he had been captured, and many 
 other persons of distinction. These accompanied him on 
 his journey, though Smith so contrived to intermingle with 
 
 * Mail, or quilted jackets, generally in modern times a merely 
 padded garment, affording partial protection against Indian arrows 
 
168 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH 
 
 his own men, the king s son and their chiefs, as, in the 
 event of any mischief, to have them sufficiently in his 
 power to enahle him to control their followers through 
 their fears. His caution seems to have been unnecessary. 
 Their progress was unembarrassed, and the behavior of the 
 Indians was equally kind and unexceptionable. 
 
 Powhatan received our hero with a great show of re 
 joicing and state. " Sitting upon his bed of mats, his pil 
 low of leather imbrodered (after their rude manner, with 
 pearle and white beads), his attyre a fine robe of skinnes, 
 as large as an Irish mantell ; at his head and feete a hand 
 some younge woman ; on each side his house sat twentie 
 of his concubines, their heads and shoulders painted red, 
 with a great chaine of white beades about each of their 
 neckes. Before those sat his chiefest men, in like order in 
 his arbour-like house, and more than fortie platters of fine 
 bread stood as a guard in two fyles on each side the doore. 
 Foure or five hundred people made a guard behinde them 
 for our passage, and proclamation was made, none upon 
 paine of death to presume to do us any wrong or discour- 
 tesie." 
 
 This certainly shows well for the barbaric state of the for 
 est chieftain. It is not difficult to believe that Smith 
 spoke without exaggeration when, describing the noble 
 appearance of this proud savage, he says, " it is of such a 
 majestie as I cannot well expresse, nor yet have often- 
 seene, either in Pagan or Christian. V\ r ith a kind coun 
 tenance he bade all welcome^ and caused a place to bee 
 made by himselfe to sit." Smith presented him with a 
 suit of red cloth, a white greyhound, and a hat. These 
 were welcomed with an address, in which they were 
 kindly accepted, in proof of the perpetual friendship which 
 was to exist between the parties. Water was brought for 
 the ablutions of the guest, and food was set before him 
 
LIFE OK CAPTAIN SMITH. 169 
 
 " But where is your father ?" meaning Newport, was the 
 demand of Powhatan. Smith promised that he should see 
 him the next day. The next question was propounded 
 with a merry countenance. " Where are the great guns 
 which you promised me when you went to Paspahegh r" 
 Powhatan was prepared for the answer. He had heard 
 from his trusty messenger Rawhunt, what had been the. 
 difficulty in bringing them ; and when Smith told him that 
 his guns had proved too great for his people s shoulders, 
 he laughed heartily, but concluded with demanding, in 
 place of them, some of a less burthen. The twenty fol 
 lowers of Smith were then brought before him. They 
 had been well instructed by Smith .to maintain a vigilant 
 watch, even while making their obeisance. They re 
 ceived each of them an ample supply of food, and Smith 
 then reminded Powhatan of the corn and land which he 
 had promised him. " He tolde me I should have it, but 
 he expected .to have all these men lay their arms at his 
 feete, as did his subjects. I tolde him that was a cere- 
 monie our enemies desired, but never our friends." Smith 
 proceeded to exhort him not to doubt the friendship of the 
 English ; that on the ensuing day Captain Newport, his 
 father, would confirm his assurances to this effect, and 
 would bestow upon him a child of his own, in proof of 
 his sincerity ; and that whenever he, Powhatan, should be 
 prepared for the enterprise, he should put under his sub 
 jection the territories of his worst enemies, the Monacans 
 and Pocoughtronachs. These assurances highly delighted 
 the Emperor, who at once, in a loud oration, created the 
 speaker a Werowance or chief of Powhatan. The confer 
 ence was much rr\ore prolonged, but entirely to the same 
 effect, and, with the warmest assurances of friendship on 
 both sides, the parties separated. But the ebbing of the 
 tide preventing Smith from regaining the pinnace that 
 
170 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 night; he returned to the hospitalities of Powhatan, who 
 \vas again delighted to receive him, and their conference 
 was resumed " with many pretty discourses." The day 
 was fairly spent in speeches and feasting, interspersed with 
 sports, with dancing and singing, nnd such like mirth. U A 
 great house, sufficient to harbor the whole of his men," was 
 assigned to Smith, and a quarter of venison sent him "to 
 stay his stomache." His supper, which was taken at the 
 table of Powhatan, was a much more serious business. 
 " He set before mee meate for twentie men, and seeing I 
 coulde not eate, hee caused it to be given to my men ; for 
 this is a general custom, when they give, not to take 
 again, but you must either eate it, give it away, or carry it 
 with you." Two or three hours after supper were u spent 
 in our ancient discourses, which done, I was with a fire 
 sticke (pine torch) lighted to my lodgings." Early the 
 next day, Powhatan conducted Smith to the banks of the 
 river, and made a display to him of his numerous canoes, 
 a fleet of which the savage king thought quite as proudly, no 
 doubt, as our provincials before the American Revolution 
 thought of that of George the Third. The various uses 
 to which they were put, were detailed particularly to his 
 hearers. Some of them were especially employed in 
 bringing him tribute from the subject tribes along the 
 Chesapeake. Some countries paid him in beads, others 
 in skins, and others again in copper. While engaged in 
 this survey, they descried Captain Newport approaching 
 from the pinnace ; upon which, leaving Smith to conduct 
 his coadjutor to his royal presence, Powhatan retired, that 
 he might place himself in his usual state array for a 
 royal reception. 
 
 The English captain was no doubt exceedingly anxious 
 about the absence of Smith. How he himself had slept 
 was exceedingly doubtful. In all probability, a confused 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 171 
 
 murmur of Indian song and festivity had been ringing in 
 his ears and through his dreams all night, faint echoes of 
 the merriment which welcomed his comrade in the tents 
 of Powhatan. This, it is possible that he construed into 
 the song of sacrifice over the dismembered carcass of his 
 comrade. That he found him alive and in good spirits 
 when he came ashore, was no doubt a subject of equal 
 satisfaction to both. They approached the royal residence 
 to the sound of trumpets, and with as much state as they 
 could summon for the occasion Their appearance before 
 the king was hailed, as was that of Smith on the previous 
 day, with shouts and acclamations. Then followed 
 speeches from various chiefs, full of professions of good 
 faith and fellowship. Powhatan, in the language of one 
 of our authors, " strained himself to the utmost of his 
 greatnesse to entertaine his distinguished guests." The 
 proud savage was not to be outdone in bravery by the 
 more courtly Europeans. State and ceremonial were, 
 indeed, much more natural to him than to any of his 
 visitors. He was born " in the purple," and it appears 
 from all testimonies that his ordinary carriage would have 
 done honor to that of any of the oldest houses of Europe. 
 His manner of reception did not differ in any respect from 
 that of the preceding day. He occupied his place of state, 
 and was surrounded, as before, by his chiefs and an im 
 posing array of young women. His reception of New 
 port was frank and generous. Food and refreshments, 
 the song and the dance, were employed to grace the 
 favor which the Emperor vouchsafed to the strangers ; 
 and these civilities were followed by pledges of amity 
 which it would be difficult to persuade modern philan 
 thropy to sanction. A white boy named Thomas Salvage, 
 whom Newport did not hesitate to call his son, was pre 
 sented to Powhatan ; the Indian king, in return, bestowing 
 
172 LIFE OF CAPTAIN S M I T H . 
 
 upon the English captain a native lad named Namontack, 
 " tor his trustie servant ;" who is described as of "shrewd 
 and suhtill capacitie." 
 
 In this interchange of courtesies that day passed, the 
 English retiirning at night to their pinnace. The day 
 following, their conferences w r ere resumed. Powhatan 
 having entertained them with breakfast, reproached them 
 for bringing their arms to the interview. He pointed 
 them to his followers, all of whom appeared without wea 
 pons. Was he not their friend ? What did they doubt ? 
 What fear ? Why this distrust ? Smith answered, that 
 it was the custom of their country ; but to quiet his ap 
 prehensions, Newport caused his soldiers to retire to the 
 water side ; and, to prevent evil, Smith accompanied 
 them. But this did not satisfy Powhatan. He was not 
 disposed to suffer the absence of Smith from his immediate 
 scrutiny. To please him, Mr. Scrivener, one of the coun 
 cil, and an intelligent gentleman, who had arrived with 
 Newport from England, was sent to take Smith s place. 
 But such an arrangement was scarcely more satisfactory 
 to the w ily savage than the other ; and the attempt to 
 pacify him by such proceedings was suspended in order to 
 try the effect of a vigorous traffic, and by these means the 
 suspicions of Powhatan, if he really entertained them, 
 were baffled and diverted. Three or four days were con 
 sumed, and not unpleasantly, in this sort of intercourse. 
 Songs and speeches, feasting and dancing, with now and 
 then a little traffic, admirably relieved the monotony of 
 this state and diplomatic intercourse. In all this time, 
 says our author, u Powhatan carried himselfe so proudly, 
 yet discreetly (in his salvage manner), as made us all 
 admire his naturall gifts, considering his education." He 
 himself scorned to trade as did his subjects. 
 
 " It is not agreeable to my greatness," he said to New- 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 173 
 
 port, " to traffic for trifles in this peddling manner. You, 
 too, I esteem also as a great Werowance.* Therefore, 
 lay me downe all your commodities together. What I 
 like I will take, and in recompense give you what I thinke 
 their fitting value." 
 
 Smith was the interpreter between the parties, and it 
 speaks wonderfully for his great facility that so short an 
 acquaintance with the Indians had enabled him to be so. 
 He at once detected the cunning policy of Powhatan, 
 admirably disguised in this majestic carriage, and he 
 warned Newport that his purpose was only to cheat him 
 of his goods. But Newport, not to be outbraved in this 
 ostentation of magnificence, and thinking that he should 
 effectually bewitch the Indian Emperor by his bounty, 
 at once laid his stores before him as he had demanded. 
 The issue was just what had been predicted. Powhatan 
 took what he pleased ; and, in bestowing his recompense 
 in turn, valued his maize at such a price as to extort from 
 our Captain the opinion that the article was to be had on 
 better terms, " even in Spaine." Instead of twenty hogs 
 heads, which the same were expected to produce, the 
 stately monarch assigned to the astounded Newport some 
 thing less than four bushels. Newport could not conceal 
 his chagrin. He had been effectually outwitted. His 
 stores were exhausted, his supplies were yet to be pro 
 cured, and the savage chieftain was as insatiate in his 
 appetite as ever. The English captain lost his temper, 
 and some unkindness followed between Smith and him 
 self, in consequence, in all probability, of the reproaches 
 of the latter. But our adventurer, who better knew the 
 nature of the savage than Newport, had his revenge upon 
 Powhatan. He contrived, without seeming to design it, 
 
 * Prince, or Chie 
 12 
 
174 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 to suffer various trifles, which were novelties, to glitter ID 
 the eyes of the voracious savage. Among these were 
 certain blue beads, such as had never before been seen at 
 Werowocomoco. These caught the fancy of our forest 
 monarch. But Smith shook his head in denial. These 
 were very precious jewels, " composed of a most rare 
 substance, of the color of the skyes, and not to be worn 
 but by the greatest kings of the world." The pride of 
 Powhatan was piqued ; his passions excited ; and in due 
 degree with the reluctance of Smith to sell, was the in 
 crease of his importunacy to buy. The wary Captain 
 played with his game at his leisure, until it " made him 
 halfe madde to be the owner of such strange Jewells ;" 
 and he succeeded finally in procuring a pound or two of 
 them, but only at the expense of two or three hundred 
 bushels of corn. Blue beads rose prodigiously in value. 
 Opechancanough, one of the brothers of Powhatan, became 
 the purchaser of a small supply at the same royal prices ; 
 and such at length became the estimation in which they 
 were held, " that none durst weare any of them but theii 
 greate kings, their wives and children." 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 POWHATAN did not suffer the cupidity of the trader to 
 abridge the hospitalities of the prince. Though Smith 
 had driven a hard bargain with him in the matter of the 
 blue beads, he was yet particularly indulgent to that per 
 sonage, who sometimes lingered in his tents after night 
 fall, and long after the more nervous Newport had gone 
 aboard his pinnace. YVru n it so happened that the ebb 
 of the tide required the English to regain their pinnace 
 before the usual dinner hour, the savage monarch sent 
 their feast of bread and venison after them, in quantities 
 equal to the wants of thrice their number. To the last he 
 betrayed an impatience of their weapons. Whether it 
 was that he really distrusted them, or whether, as is more 
 probable, he designed to make himself master of their com 
 modities without being compelled to supply his own, and 
 could only hope to do so in the absence of the murderous 
 instruments of war that the English carried, is matter for 
 conjecture. Smith invariably contrived, without directly 
 showing his apprehensions, to thwart his wishes in this 
 particular. On one occasion, that of the last day of the 
 visit, Powhatan sent his son on board the pinnace at an 
 early hour, to entreat that they would not bring their 
 pieces with them, lest his women should be frightened 
 But Smith, even against Newport s opinion, contrived to 
 carry with him twenty-five shot. Powhatan took a spe 
 cial dislike to Smith s sword and pistol, and importuned 
 him, in particular, to leave them in the pinnace. " But 
 these," said our hero, significantly, " were the very terms 
 of persuasion employed by those who afterwards betrayed 
 
1 76 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 us ? and slew my brother." The women do not seem te 
 have been frightened ; and the day passed as before. The 
 trade in blue beads was as lively as ever : large quantities 
 speaking with due regard to the extreme value, and 
 great rareness of the article changed hands, and the 
 barge of the English was nearly freighted with provisions. 
 The weather became unfavorable ; and it was midnight, 
 and after great exposure to wind and rain, besides being 
 nearly swamped in the oozy embraces of a marsh, before 
 Smith, and the parties under his immediate command, 
 could regain the vessel. The next morning was given to 
 their parting interview. At their meeting, Powhatan, 
 u with a solemne discourse," dismissed all his women and 
 the ordinary attendants, suffering none to remain but his 
 principal chiefs. He then referred to what Smith had 
 hinted of thfir purpose to invade the Monacans, his ene 
 mies, lie informed them that he was not openly the 
 enemy of this people ; that there was peace between 
 them ; but that he was not unwilling to do a little towards 
 giving them trouble and discomfort. He would first send 
 out his spies to see in what condition the Monacans stood ; 
 what was their strength and ability ; and how far prepared 
 against invasion. 
 
 Politicians seem to be pretty much the same persons in 
 all countries. Metternich and Talleyrand, Peel or Guizot, 
 could not have declared themselves in more diplomatic 
 language. 
 
 " You and I," he said to Captain Newport, " cannot be 
 seen in the business. We are great chiefs, and must stay 
 at home. But Smith and Scrivener on your bide, and 
 Opechancanough and my two sons on mine, can manage 
 all this business." This, if not the language of the old 
 despot, was pretty much what he meant to say. We 
 have quoted in our own terms the very substance of his 
 
LIFE OF CAP IAIN SMITH. 177 
 
 speech. He added, that the King of Pamaunkeeshould 
 have from him one hundred of his warriors to commence 
 the campaign. They should set forth as upon a hunting 
 expedition, advising the English at what proper time to 
 strike the blow. One hundred, or one hundred and fifty 
 of the white soldiers, he judged would be sufficient for the 
 exploit. For his own part, his desires for the spoils were 
 moderate. He was content to have the women and the 
 young children who were made captives. The men were 
 to be slain. 
 
 His fair assurances, and the vague particulars which he 
 gave of great seas in the rear of his immense territories, 
 with other details which Newport linked with a partial 
 knowledge already in his own mind, persuaded that excel 
 lent person to believe, that, by this famous scheme for 
 the overthrow of the Monacans, he was destined to pene 
 trate, by a short cut, to the waters of the South Sea ; an 
 object, at that time, the great maritime passion of Europe. 
 
 From Werowocomoco the English proceeded to the 
 domains of Opechancanough, where they were welcomed 
 with a courtesy like that which had hitherto attended their 
 progress. To this place Powhatan sent to solicit their 
 return. He had received tidings that new supplies had 
 reached them from Jamestown, and he was anxious to 
 make a second princely bargain with his brother Wero- 
 wance, Newport. But Opechancanough was not willing 
 to give them jap. As one likely to have more influence 
 than any other messenger, Powhatan sent a second 
 entreaty by his daughter Pocahontas. Of her nothing has 
 been seen or said in either of our narratives, during the 
 late stay of the English at Werowocomoco. Doubtless 
 she was with the women in immediate attendance upon 
 the king ; but her extreme youth might have kept her out 
 of sight. For the same reason she may have been chosen 
 
178 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 as his messenger. Had she been older, her father would 
 scarcely have perilled her charms, remote from his own 
 protection, in the rude contact with a strange people. As 
 it was, she probably came well attended. Her presence 
 had the desired effect ; and after staying two days with 
 Opechancanough they returned to Werowocomoco, ex 
 changed .new courtesies with Powhatan probably made 
 new bargains, but of these we have no mention and 
 receiving from him a present of another Indian, took their 
 departure, after exchanging many protestations of friend 
 ship and fidelity. The Indian thus given by Powhatan 
 was intended to be sent to England. His private instruc 
 tions from Powhatan were to report the strength in people 
 of that country, and the wealth and magnitude thereof. 
 In attempting this, at a subsequent period, the poor Indian 
 procured himself a stick the moment he arrived in Lon 
 don, and a notch in the stick was made at every new face 
 he met. But he soon gave up the task in despair ; assur 
 ing Powhatan on his return to Virginia, that the English 
 were as numerous as the leaves on the tree, and the sands 
 on the sea shore. 
 
 Some little time was spent on their return, in diving 
 into the bowels of a rock, the appearances about which 
 led them to conjecture that it contained a mineral trea 
 sure. Though Smith dug in compliance with Newport s 
 wishes, he yet discouraged the labor as perverse and fruit 
 less. It seems to have been worse than useless. " Our 
 guilded refiners," says one of our narratives, u with their 
 golden promises made all men their slaves, in hope of re 
 compenses ; there was no talke, no hope, no worke, but 
 dig gold, wash gold, refine gold, loade gold ; such a bruit 
 of gold that one mad fellow desired to be buried in the 
 sands, least they should, by their art, make gold of his 
 bones." " Were it that Captain Smith would not ap- 
 
L i F K OF 1? A I t A I N ai M I T H . 17& 
 
 plaud all these golden inventions, because they admit 
 ted him not to the sight of their trials, nor golden consul 
 tations, I know not, but I have heard him oft question 
 with Captaine Martin, and tell him except he could show 
 him a more substantiall triall, he was not inamoured willf 
 their durty skill, breathing out these and many other pas 
 sions, never anything did more torment him than to see 
 all necessary busines neglected, to fraught such a drunken 
 ship with so much guilded durt." 
 
 To a man of experience and good sense, certainly, no 
 thing could have been more annoying than to witness the 
 fruitless labors of these grown children, prosecuted with so 
 much confidence and zeal, at the expense not only of their 
 own, but of the vital interest of the colony. But he was 
 compelled to groan in secret at this folly. Captain New 
 port himself was caught and deluded by this insane passion, 
 though, says our author, with a sly sarcasm, " we nevei 
 accounted Captain Newport a refiner." But this was not 
 the whole of the evil which just then afflicted the colony, 
 and the resolute heart which we have learned to regard as 
 its real founder *and support. His trading voyage for corn 
 to Werowocomoco was, soon after his return, shorn of all 
 its fruits by improvidence and accident. The grain thus 
 procured was stored away with the rest in the common 
 granaries. The winter (1607) was one of extreme seve 
 rity. The ample forests around our colonists made them 
 profligate in the use of fire. The consequence was, that 
 the town, the houses of which were wholly of wood, and 
 thatched with reeds and brush, was set on fire, and the 
 flames raged with such rapidity as to destroy their dwel 
 lings. Their granary, with all their provisions, was consum 
 ed ; the fire even seized upon, and destroyed their palisa- 
 does. Among the sufferers, u Good Master Hunt, our 
 Preacher, lost all his library, and all he had but the cloathe 
 
180 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 on his backe ; yet none never heard him repine at his 
 losse." This worthy clergyman, of whom such good re 
 port is made, was the same, who, it will be remembered, 
 exerted himself so worthily to compose and subdue the 
 discontent which prevailed among the colonists on ship 
 board during the first voyage out. The testimony is uni 
 formly in his favor, as a wise and pious Christian. The 
 loss of his books, in such a region, was one of those trials 
 of the soul which Providence employs for its better 
 strength and purification. That none should ever hear 
 him repine is sufficient proof that the ends of punishment 
 had been obtained. 
 
 Smith was a less patient man. His vocation was that 
 of the reformer rather than the preacher. He could better 
 scourge than entreat or expostulate, and his temper was 
 in no respect improved while Newport and his mariners 
 remained in the colony. The wretched passion after gold 
 dust detained the ship fourteen weeks, when she should 
 have been despatched in fourteen days. The consequence 
 was, that the seamen consumed the provisions which were 
 provided for the colony, and required to be supplied be 
 sides for the return voyage. Other evils had followed 
 from its presence. " Those persons," says Stith, u who had 
 either money, spare clothes, credit for bills of exchange, 
 gold rings, furs, or any such valuable commodities, were 
 always welcome to this floating tavern. Such was their 
 necessity and misfortune, to be under the lash of those vile 
 commanders, and to buy their own provisions at fifteen 
 times their value ; suffering them to feast at their charge, 
 whilst themselves were obliged to fast, and yet dare not 
 repine lest they should incur the censure of being factious 
 and seditious persons. By these means and management 
 the colony was rather burdened than relieved, by the vast 
 charges of the ship ; and being reduced to meal and water, 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 181 
 
 and exposed, by the loss of their town, to the most bitter 
 cold and frost, above half of them died. Smith indeed, and 
 Scrivener, endeavored to correct all abuses, and to put 
 things into a better posture ; but they could do nothing to 
 effect, being overpowered by the President and his party, 
 who had lono- before this laid their difference to Smith s 
 
 O 
 
 judgment and management." It was some consolation to 
 our adventurer that he could send off with the vessel for 
 England, those lawyers whom he had " laid by the heels " 
 for seeking to circumvent and make him liable under the 
 provisions of the Levitical law. " We not having any 
 use of Parliaments, Plaises (pleadings perhaps), Petitions, 
 admiralty Recorders, Interpreters, Ckronologert, Courts of 
 Pleas, nor Justices of the Peace, sent Martin Winyfield 
 and Captain Archer home with him, that had ingrossed all 
 these titles, to seeke some better place of imployment." 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 NEWPORT at length took his departure, to the relief of 
 some and disquiet of other parties. Smith, in his shallop, 
 accompanied him to the mouth of the Chesapeake. A 
 parting gift for the voyager came from Powhatan, in the 
 shape of twenty fat turkeys, for which, however, he claimed 
 as many swords, by way of remembrance and considera 
 tion. This demand Newport imprudently complied with. 
 Powhatan soon discovered the superior value of the Eng 
 lish weapon to his own, and this knowledge was the 
 source of much evil to the colonists at a later period. 
 Newport fairly at sea, Smith returned to Jamestown, 
 stopping for a brief period on his way at the territories of 
 the king ofNansemond, who had been hitherto hostile, 
 and making a treaty with him. The prospect at James 
 town was little encouraging. The hamlet was in great 
 part in ruins, and the coercive mind of Smith was not in 
 the ascendant. The president, Radcliffe and Captain 
 Martin, supported by a strong and wily faction, carried 
 things after their own fashion. The public stores were 
 withheld from public use, and made the subject of private 
 barter for the benefit of these parties. They used the 
 common stock as if it were so much personal revenue. 
 Doubtless, if there had been any prospect of success in op 
 position, Smith was the man to have tried his strength 
 against these profligates. We have seen sufficient proof 
 uf his resolute will and fierce determination to effect the 
 right, whenever the probabilities were at all favorable to 
 his endeavors. But he had also the admirable judgment 
 which declares the proper time to strike ; and yielding the 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 183 
 
 struggle for the present, he contented himself, supported 
 by Mr. Scrivener and others, in amending the evils of the 
 existing government so far as lay in his power. With the 
 approach of spring, he took charge of the corn-fields, pre 
 pared them, and set a crop. This done he applied him 
 self to the rebuilding of thetown,restoring first the church, 
 the storehouses and the fortifications. While thus en 
 gaged, the colony was excited anew by the arrival of the 
 Phoenix, a barque commanded by Captain Nelson, which 
 had been separated from Newport in a storm, driven to 
 the West Indies, and given up for lost. This vessel 
 brought supplies of provisions for six months, and, an ac 
 quisition equally important, an addition to the force of the 
 colony of no less than one hundred and twenty persons. 
 It is to be remembered, however, that the disproportion of 
 gentlemen to workingmen, which had always been a source 
 of discomfort to Smith, was again unprofitably large 
 " This happy arrival of Maister Nelson in the Phoenix, 
 having been then about three months missing, did so lav 
 ish us with exceeding joy, that now we thought ourselves 
 as our harts could wish, both with a competent number 
 of men, as also for all other needful provisions," and it en 
 couraged Smith to plan a journey of exploration into the 
 surrounding country. The Monacans, into whose weak 
 ness Powhatan was willing to spy, previous to any attempt 
 upon their territories, were objects of great curiosity to 
 our English, and seventy men being selected for the pur 
 pose, Smith proceeded to train them for the adventure ; 
 in six or seven days practice, teaching them " to march, 
 fight and scirmish in the woods, their willing mindes to 
 this action so quickened their understanding in this exer 
 cise, as in all judgments wee were able to fight w r ith 
 Powhatan s whole force." Here our hero was at home. 
 His mind resumed its ancient vivacity in this military em- 
 
1 84 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 ploy. Already had he prepared his plans of progress 
 assigned the proper defences to the fort, arranged for his 
 supplies of food on the inarch, and put all things in order 
 to his purpose, when circumstances, perverse men, and 
 perverse fortune, combined to defeat the scheme. Fears 
 and scruples beset the president and others in council. 
 Such a progress would be an indiscretion, would be an en 
 croachment upon the rights of Newport to whom only the 
 right to prosecute such discoveries belonged. These scru 
 ples and objections discouraged Nelson, who was to have 
 assisted in the expedition with certain volunteer marines, 
 and he withdrew from the adventure. The enterprise 
 miscarried in spite of all the hopes and energies of our 
 Captain ; and instead of going upon the conquest of Mona- 
 can, he was compelled to remain at the fort, contending 
 with the follies of the council on the one hand, and the 
 Indians of Powhatan on the other. Smith was for filling 
 the Phcenix with cedar on her return voyage, \\ hile 
 Captain Martin " was opposite to anything, but onely to 
 fraught this ship with his phantasticall gold ;" and though 
 the more sensible suggestion prevailed, yet it called for all 
 the resolution and diligence of Smith, seconded by Nelson, 
 Scrivener, and others, to carry their object, and to make 
 the lading of a commodity, which we are told " was a 
 present despatch" of ready sale " than either with 
 durt, or the hopes and reports of an uncertaine discovery 
 (the gold mine), which he woulde performe when they 
 hadde less charge and more leisure." 
 
 While our Captain was thus busy in freighting the 
 Phojnix, and rebuilding the settlement, a surprising change 
 took place in the behavior of the Indians. This capri 
 cious people, late so friendly, began to show themselves 
 troublesome at first, and finally hostile. The first signs of 
 this change took place in consequence of a disappoint- 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 185 
 
 ment of Powhatan. Finding it so easy to procure English 
 swords from Newport in exchange for the fat turkeys of 
 Werowocomoco, he tried Smith in the same manner ; 
 sending him twenty of these fowls, and demanding certain 
 weapons for them in exchange. But Smith was not the 
 man to respect the error of Newport. He paid for the 
 turkeys in any coin but that which the savage chief de 
 sired. Powhatan had set his heart upon these weapons 
 and his people, whether positively instructed, or simply 
 anxious to serve their master in a manner that would 
 please him, undertook by twenty characteristic devices to 
 obtain them. First they resorted to simple thieving, a 
 method which seems to have been practised more or less 
 by every primitive people from the beginning of time. 
 They were frequent visitors at Jamestown, and bore away 
 with them whatever they could secrete. Impunity made 
 them bolder. The tools of the workmen disappeared, and 
 the same thief who had been caught one day in the act, 
 was neither afraid nor ashamed to make the same attempt 
 the next. What they steal, says Smith, " their king 
 receiveth." This high sanction increased their audacity. 
 Too closely watched for their wonted sleight of hand, they 
 grew bold to take by violence what they could not obtain 
 by skill. " By ambuscadoes at our very ports, they would 
 take them perforce, surprise us at worke, or any way ; 
 which was so long permitted, they became so insolent there 
 was no rule ; the command from England was so strait 
 not to offend them, as our authoritie-bearers (keeping 
 their houses*) would rather be anyming than peace- 
 breakers This charitable humor prevailed, till well it 
 chanced they meddled with Captaine Smith, who, without 
 farther deliberation, gave them such an encounter" as soon 
 
 * In saii tv theiuselvg* 
 
186 L I * E OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 brought a remedy for the mischief. Two swords ha^ //g 
 been stolen, he caught the offender and clapt him in the 
 bilboes When let out he disappeared for a time, but soon 
 returned with three others armed with wooden swords. 
 Smith ordered them to depart, but, flourishing their swords 
 in his face, they bade him defiance. Without waiting for 
 them to strike, our ready soldier answered their flourish 
 with a blow. This the others offered to revenge, but 
 Smith fell upon them, and, smiting hip and thigh, drove 
 them from the premises, Then getting together half a 
 dozen soldiers, without asking or waiting for orders, he 
 sallied forth, and drove their lurking parties entirely from 
 the island. 
 
 This decision produced for the time an excellent effect. 
 The Indians became modest and conciliatory. The King 
 of Nansemond, who lived thirty miles from the settlement, 
 sent back a hatchet that had been stolen ; and such Indians 
 as had been employed upon the wears (fish traps) of the 
 .English, but had temporarily abandoned them for the 
 more honorable business of stealing, voluntarily came 
 back, made their submission, and resumed their labors. 
 But the caprice of the savages would not allow them to 
 remain pacific long. They soon put themselves in suspi 
 cious attitudes, and renewed their peculations. One of them 
 having stolen a hatchet, and being pursued by Scrivener, 
 drew his arrow to the head upon him ; and two of them, 
 well armed and painted for war, made an attempt upon 
 Smith, " circling about mee, as though they would have 
 clubbed me like a hare ;" but lacking boldness, they suf 
 fered him to reach the fort in safety. Followed by these 
 and several others within the enclosure, and proceeding 
 to offer violence, Smith had the ports closed, and took 
 them into custody. Sixteen or eighteen were seized in 
 this manner. This brought therri to a parley. Ambassa- 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 187 
 
 dors came to treat for the delivery of the prisoners. The 
 answer was, that they should only obtain their freedom 
 upon the restoration of all the swords, spades, shovels, 
 and other tools which they had stolen. Failing in this, 
 the ambassadors were told that the captives should ^e 
 hung. This, of course, was a threat only. Meanwhile, 
 two of the Englishmen fell into the hands of the natives,* 
 who at once returned in numbers to the gates of James 
 town, and boldly threatened retaliation upon their prison 
 ers if any of their people suffered harm. This threat was 
 answered by a sally from Smith, who, " in lesse than an 
 houre, so hampred their insolencies, they brought then 
 his two men, desiring peace without any further compo 
 sition for their prisoners." 
 
 But peace was not so easily granted. The prisoners 
 were subjected to a searching examination, and, under the 
 terror of death, they revealed the scheme of a conspiracy 
 against the colony, which involved Powhatan and all his 
 tributary kings. This conspiracy had been maturing for 
 some time, and had its birth before Smith himself had 
 been taken prisoner. His arrest had been in consequence 
 of this combination. Their plan had subsequently aimed 
 to surprise them while at work. " Powhatan, and all his, 
 would seeme friends till Captaine Newport s returne," 
 that he might recover his man Namontack in safety. 
 Then he was to invite Newport to a great feast, and take 
 advantage of the occasion to make him prisoner. Like 
 devices were to involve other parties of the whites in a 
 like predicament. 
 
 Such was the amount of the confession made by Maca- 
 nor, the counsellor of Paspahegh ; a confession which was 
 
 * " Ranging in the woods whic i mischief e no punishment wil] 
 t but hanging." 
 
188 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 confirmed only in part by the statements, similarly extort 
 ed,* of other Indians. By these it was learned " that 
 Paspahegh and Chickahammania did hate us, and intended 
 some mischief, and who they were that tooke me, the 
 names of them that stole our tooles and swords, and that 
 Powhatan received them they all agreed " 
 
 The tidings of the seizure of his subjects, their deten 
 tion, their confession, and the constant exercise by Smith 
 of his armed men, reached Powhatan, and rendered it 
 necessary that he should be at some pains to disabuse the 
 English of the unfriendly impressions which they had 
 received of his own hostility. His safety, not his charac 
 ter, was the source of his solicitude. Accordingly, he 
 despatched the boy Thomas Salvage, who had been given 
 him by Newport, with a present of turkeys, especially 
 to Smith and Scrivener, who, the sagacious old savage 
 had already discovered, were the two master spirits of the 
 settlement. The boy thus opportunely placed in his 
 hands, at a moment when there was good ground for sus 
 pecting the intentions of the Emperor, Smith resolved to 
 keep, and this increased the anxieties of the former. His 
 next messenger betrayed the extent of his fears and his 
 cunning. This was the young damsel Pocahontas. " Yet 
 he sent his messengers, and his dearest daughter, Poca- 
 hontaSj with presents to excuse him of the injuries done by 
 some rash untoward captaines, his subjects, desiring their 
 liberties for this time, with the assurance of his love for 
 ever. "| Smith s own narrative J is more explicit, and 
 
 * " I bound one in hold to the maine-mast, and presenting six mus 
 kets with match in the cockes, forced him," &c. * * * Alter each 
 examination, " certaine vollies of shot wee caused to he discharged, 
 which caused each other to thinke that their fcllowes had been slainx*." 
 
 Smith. 
 
 t " The true Travels," &c. Richmond ed. Vol. i., p. 171. 
 
 " A true Relation," dec. Richmond ed. Page 81. 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH 189 
 
 more ambitious, though to the same effect. " Powhatan 
 understanding we detained certain salvages, sent his 
 daughter, a child of ttnne years old, which not only for 
 feature, countenance and proportion, much exceedeth any 
 of the rest of his people, but for wit and spirit the only 
 nonpareil of his country : this he sent by his most trustie 
 messenger, called Rawhunt, as much exceeding in defor- 
 mitie of person, but of a subtill wit and crafty understand 
 ing." Through these, the Emperor assured Smith that 
 he greatly loved and respected him that he must not 
 doubt his affection in proof of which he had sent his 
 child, whom he most esteemed, to see him. Such was the 
 message borne by Pocahontas. She brought from her 
 father, as a present, a supply of bread and a deer. She 
 entreated that the captives might be spared and set free. 
 She also entreated that the boy might be sent back to her 
 father, as he loved him exceedingly. 
 
 Pocahontas might well urge such a prayer to the man 
 whom her own entreaties had saved from death. It was 
 with a happy policy that Powhatan made her his ambassa 
 dor. If anything could touch the soul of Smith, at any 
 moment, it must have been the presence of such a pleader : 
 and how much must there have been of the pleasing and 
 the tender in the interview between that young Indian 
 child and the stern warrior, whose heart, in frequent trials 
 of the world s strife, had perhaps grown somewhat callous 
 against most human weaknesses ! Yet he betrays none of 
 .this callosity while he treats with Pocahontas. Her gen 
 tle virtues, her eager, earnest interest in his behalf, her 
 extreme youth and wonderful beauty, which made her the 
 nonpareil of her race and country these seem to have 
 always had their influence over his soul, when she is the 
 subject of consideration. He speaks of her as the dearest 
 daughter, the little daughter of Powhatan ; and in such 
 13 
 
190 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 tender diminutives sufficiently declares the feelings of a 
 man who was but too commonly accustomed to conceal 
 them. That he holds her as a thing almost perfect, we 
 gather from his passing and unaffected utterances. He 
 does not speak of her ostentatiously. It is only when it 
 helongs to the absolute business of the narration that he 
 employs her name, and then only in such manner as to 
 make us regret that he does not use it more frequently. 
 A few more passages of this description, and the charnctei 
 of Smith, which must be allowed to have suffered some 
 what from a certain harshness and hardness of outline, 
 would have had the requisite softening, and we should 
 then have been at some loss to discover its deficiencies. 
 But Pocahontas has her influence upon him, and it is one 
 of no equivocal character. For the power of the Indian 
 sovereign, her father, his own fierce courage did not allow 
 him to entertain much respect ; and, seeing through his 
 faithlessness, he already half despises him. Opechanca- 
 nough has his entreaties also, for some of the prisoners 
 are his friends and subjects ; and sending his presents, 
 seeks an interview himself with Smith, to disarm his 
 suspicions and hostility. But the latter smiles grimly 
 and scornfully, and yields nothing. It is only to Poca 
 hontas that he accords his prisoners. When Opechanca- 
 nough and his attendants had gone, the prisoners were 
 conducted to the church, and then, after prayer, bestowed 
 upon Pocahontas. It is to her only that they are given ; 
 their bows, arrows, and all that they had when taken, are 
 surrendered at the same time without conditions, " to the 
 king s daughter, in regard of her father s kindness in send 
 ing her." She herself was presented with certain trifles, 
 which, we are told, contented her. She was probably 
 contented easily. Her actions do not seem to have need 
 ed any less noble impulse than the native goodness, gen 
 tleness, and benignity of her character. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 IN these decisive proceedings Smith had trespassed fat 
 beyond the limits of his authority. He had usurped the 
 powers of the President and council in Virginia, and had 
 disobeyed the mild instructions which had been sent out 
 by the proprietors in England. His mind was not of a 
 sort to submit easily to commands which were obviously 
 founded in ignorance of the facts, and to restraints which 
 did not regard their necessity ; and just as little was he 
 disposed to yield implicit obedience to a present authority 
 which had always shown itself so impotent, at least, for 
 good. His proceedings, though resulting in advantage to 
 the colony, and though not a life of the Indians was taken, 
 were met with rebuke and dissatisfaction among his 
 brethren. " The patient councell, that nothing would 
 move to warre with the salvages, would gladly have 
 wrangled with Captaine Smith for his crueltie ;* yet none 
 
 * Take a sample of these cruelties, which will at the same time 
 give a lively picture of the life at Jamestown. It is from the " True 
 Relation," by Smith himself: " Two daies after a Paspeheyan came 
 to show us a glistering minerall stone ; and with signes demonstrating 
 it to be in great aboundance, like unto rockes ; with some dozen more 
 I was sent to seeke todigge some quantitie, and the Indian to ccnduci 
 mee ; but suspecting this some trick to delude us, for to get some cop 
 per of us, or with some ambuscado to betray us, seeing him falter in 
 his tale, being two miles on our way, led him ashore, where abusing 
 (misleading) us from place to place, and so seeking either to have 
 drawn us with him into the woods, or to have given us the slippe : I 
 shewed him copper which 1 promised to have given him, if he had 
 performed his promise, but for his scoffing and abusing us, I gave 
 him twentie lashes with a rope, and his bowes and arrowes, bidding 
 
1 92 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 was slaine [of the savages] to any man s knowledge, b& * 
 it brought them in such fear and obedience, as his very 
 name would sufficiently affright them ; where before, wee 
 had sometime peace and warre twice in a day ; and very 
 seldome a weeke but we had some treacherous villainy or 
 other."* It was perhaps fortunate for Smith that the mis- 
 
 Iiim shoote if he durst, and so let him goe." It was rather danger 
 ous to trifle with our Captain. He was very much the soldier, and 
 the word and blow very frequently went together. But we suspect 
 that such cruelties as this would be practised by Christian soldiery of 
 modern time*., under the same provocation, to a still greater extent. 
 At least, we are accustomed to hear of much worse in the wars of 
 Christian Europe. 
 
 * Here we lose all farther assistance from the narrative of Th. 
 Watson, Gent., otherwise Smith himself, entitled, " A true relation of 
 such occurrences and accidents of noate as hath happened in Virginia 
 since the first planting of that oollony, which is now resident in the 
 south part thereof, till the last return from thence." This narrative, 
 published at the time (1608), brought np th.- proceedings of the colony 
 to the very moment when it was written. It was probably snt hom^ 
 by the Pjuouuix., aud bears all the marks of being a very hurried per 
 formance. The style is very confuted arid cumbrous the particulars 
 not always given in due order, and we find a very remarkable 
 omission no mention made of the manner in which he was rescued 
 from the executioner Powhattan by the intervention of Pocahontas. 
 Indeed, there appears to be some solicitude that Captain Smith should 
 not become too conspicuous in this narrative, and hence, possibly, the 
 notion of making the publication appear as the work of Tho. Watson 
 a nom <h plume, for which we now find it difficult to discover a necessity 
 or motive. All reproaches of his colleagues and associates are spared in 
 this performance. It was the policy to make the settlers appear very well 
 contented in Virginia as in this way only could others be persuaded 
 to adventure. Hence, at the conclusion, we have a picture of felicity at 
 Jamestown, very far from the truth, which must have brought them 
 to believe in England that Astraa was once more about to make he 
 home an earth " We, now remaining, being in good health, all our 
 men well contented, free from mutinies, in love one with another, and 
 as we hope in a continuall peace with the Indians, where, we doubt not, 
 but by God s gracious assistance and the adventurers willing mindesand 
 
LIFE & F CAPTAIN S iM I T H . 193 
 
 conduct of the President himself, in matters which touched 
 more certainly the safety and well-being of the colony, 
 afforded a more legitimate subject for the indignation of 
 their little community. The President who had succeeded 
 upon the deposition of Wingfield, was Captain John Rad- 
 cliffe. This man was totally unequal to the situation, is 
 described as being little beloved of weak judgment in 
 time of danger and of no industry in time of peace. He 
 was sickly besides, and freely committed the responsible 
 duties of his office to the hands of others. At first, a por 
 tion of this trust was given to Smith ; but Smith lost favor 
 in his sight, and he then united himself with creatures 
 who hated and dreaded the vigilance of our Captain, -and 
 had been his enemies from the outset. Radcliffe himself 
 had been one of these, and only yielded to the influence 
 of Smith when the courage and peculiar energy and ability 
 of our hero were necessary to the common safety. With 
 the disappearance of the danger came a forgetfulness of 
 his worth ; and the President sank back into the control 
 of those who were willing to pander to his appetites. We 
 have seen this man, assisted by others, converting the 
 stores of the community into a source of revenue for him 
 self; continuing this practice, as if the stock were wholly 
 his own. So deeply did his rapacity trench upon the 
 resources of the colony, as to force upon Smith and Scriv 
 ener the necessity of taking such order with him as to put 
 a stop to his prodigality. Measures were accordingly 
 adopted, by which to limit him and his satellites to a cer 
 tain allowance, rated proportionally with what was accord- 
 
 speedie furtherance to so honorable an action in after times, to see OUT 
 nation to enjoy a country not only exceeding pleasant for habitation, 
 but also veiy profitable for commerce in generall, no doubt pleasing 
 Almightie God, honorable to our gracious sovereign and commodious 
 to the whole kingdome." 
 
194 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 ed to the rest. This difficulty being adjusted, the town 
 rebuilt, the Indians quieted, the corn crop nearly made, 
 and all through the strenuous exertions and manly courage 
 of our Captain, his eager and impatient spirit began to 
 look around him seeking proper employment. He was 
 not the man to rest upon his oars, his cruise being over, 
 but to plan other voyages, and shape out new enterprises, 
 in which his genius could find fitting exercise. Denied tc 
 explore the interior, and penetrate to those wondrous ter 
 ritories of which Povvhatan had given such glowing des 
 criptions, it was still within the province of the settlers tc 
 explore the region contiguous to that in which they had 
 pitched their tents. Accordingly, he meditated the explo 
 ration of the Bay of Chesapeake. To this no objection 
 seems to have been made. The President was probably 
 only too well pleased to be relieved from the vigilance of 
 his eye, and the unbending rigor of his justice. His de 
 sign was less adventurous, less perilous than that which 
 he most eagerly desired. We have seen him training 
 seventy men, with which he felt himself equal to the 
 whole nation of Powhatan. He might have made his 
 way with such a force across the Apalachian summits, 
 descending to the waters of the Mississippi. With seventy 
 men Pizarro first penetrated the great empire of Peru. 
 Our Captain was compelled to content himself with a more 
 moderate ambition. His seventy men were reduced to 
 fifteen persons, himself included. One of these was a 
 physician, six were gentlemen so rated, though we cannot 
 well conceive their uses in such an expedition and seven 
 were soldiers. He left the fort on the second of June 
 (1608), in an open barge of less than three tons burthen, 
 and made his way, in company with the Phoenix, to Cape 
 Henry, at which place he parted with h.er. Crossing the 
 bay from this point to the eastern shore they made the 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 195 
 
 isles which still bear the name of their first discoverer. 
 Two stout savages at Cape Charles stood armed with 
 lances headed with bone, and seemed prepared to do battle 
 with our explorers, demanding who they were and whence 
 they came. The reply of Smith disarmed them, and they 
 civilly directed him to Accomac, the habitation of their 
 Werowarce. Here they were received kindly. This 
 chief is described as one of the most comely and affable 
 savages they had ever met. He told Smith, among other 
 things, ot an event which had lately happened, which 
 belongs to that class of wonders of which a superstitious 
 people always make large account. Two children dying, 
 u some extreame passions, or dreaming visions, phan 
 tasies, or affection," moved their parents to revisit them 
 at their place of sepulture. To their wonder, the faces 
 of the children " reflected to the eyes of the beholders such 
 delightful countenances, as though they had regained their 
 vitall spirits. This, as a miracle, drew many to behold 
 them." The consequences were fatal to all who did so. 
 A plague seized upon the spectators, and but few escaped 
 the mortality. In this way did the chief of Accomac 
 account to Smith for the sparseness of his population. 
 What effect this superstition had upon his character, in 
 producing that dignity and courtliness which we are told 
 distinguished him, is matter for conjecture. He spoke the 
 language of the Powhatanese, and spoke so agreeably 
 always while describing the country, that Smith acknow 
 ledges it gave him exceeding pleasure to hear. The 
 domain of this chief lay within the southwestern part of 
 Northampton county. 
 
 From Accomac our Captain proceeded along the coast, 
 " searching every inlet and bay fit for harbours and habita 
 tions." He was baffled by a thunderstorm in an attempt 
 to reach certain isles which he discovered in the bay, and 
 
196 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH 
 
 had a narrow escape from the " unmercifull raging of thai 
 ocean-like water." To isle and headland, names were 
 given in this progress, mostly chosen from the companions 
 of our adventurer. Thus one day was spent. A difl> 
 culty in procuring fresh water caused them to turn into 
 the next eastern channel, which brought them into the 
 river Pocomoke, then called Wighcomocco. Here tin y 
 were at first threatened by the savages with shows of 
 war, but the pacific aspect of the white men, and the 
 judicious management of Smith, converted the fury of their 
 assault into songs and dances, and a reception full of kind 
 ness and good feeling. But they got no good water here, 
 turning with loathing from such puddle as was offered 
 them for drink. " But before two daies were expired we 
 would have refused two barricoes of gold for one of that 
 puddle water of Wighcomocco." The next water they 
 found was a pond, which proved to be a natural hot bath, 
 sufficiently fresh, but rather too warm for drinking pur 
 poses. This was upon the main, upon a highland, which, 
 in compliment to an honorable house in France, was call 
 ed Point Ployer. Resuming their progress, they encoun 
 tered a second thunder-storm, if possible more terrible 
 than the first ; lost mast and sails, and were so " over- 
 racked" by such u mightie waves," that with great diffi 
 culty they kept their barque above the water. They 
 succeeded in making a port among certain uninhabited 
 isles, where they were kept two days by the continuance 
 of the storm. They called this harborage Port Limbo. 
 Repairing their sails with their shirts, they resumed their 
 voyage and fell in with the river which is now called 
 Corghcomocco, but which then bore the name of Cuscar- 
 rowack. Here their presence was a novelty and terror. 
 The people ran in troops along the shores as the barque 
 pressed forward, many getting into the tops of trees 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 197 
 
 to see and oppose the strangers. They were not sparing 
 of their arrows, and declared their hostility with the most 
 passionate shows of violence. But, lying at anchor beyond 
 the reach of their darts, our Captain contented himself 
 with making them signs of friendship. These did not appear 
 to produce the desired effect, and the day passed in con 
 tinued demonstrations of hostility on the part of the natives. 
 The next day they came to the river side unarmed, and 
 bringing with them baskets of corn and dancing in a ring, 
 the wily savages endeavored in this way to beguile the 
 Englishmen ashore. But, detecting an ambush in a neigh 
 boring cane-brake, Smith answered their devices with a 
 volley of musket-shot, which sent them tumbling in every 
 direction. Then approaching the shore, after another 
 volley had drilled the place of ambuscade, our Captain 
 penetrated their habitations. Here he left some of the 
 usu al trifles, but not a savage was to be seen. The next 
 day four of the Indians who had been fishing in the bay 
 and knew nothing of what had happened, came to him 
 in a canoe and had a conference. They disappeared and 
 soon brought others, the number gradually increasing to 
 two or three thousand, men, women, and children, each 
 bringing a present, and each so gratified with the merest 
 trifle in return, that a friendship was struck up between 
 the parties, of such a zealous nature, that the Indians strove 
 with one another who should fetch water for the pale 
 faces, become their hostages, guide them through the" 
 country, or most content them in whatever they desired. 
 Here dwelt the people of Sarapinagh, Nanse, Arseek, and 
 Nantaquak tribes of which there now remain no ves 
 tiges. Smith describes them as the best merchants among 
 the Indians. They were the manufacturers, and carried 
 on the commerce. They had the finest furs and made 
 .arge quantities of the best Roanoke. This was a sort of 
 
1 98 LIFEOF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 white bead wrought from shells, which served with the 
 savages of the whole country as a circulating medium. 
 It was, with copper, their substitute for gold and silver. 
 These people were small of stature. They arousec 
 Smith s curiosity in relation to a people called the Massa- 
 womekes, a masculine and valiant race, very numerous, 
 and very powerful ; who possessed in Large degree the 
 amiable faculty of keeping their neighbors in constant 
 apprehension. These people are supposed to have been 
 those afterwards so famous in Knglish annals as the six 
 nations, and among the French as the Iroquois the great 
 confederacy of the north, whose claims to conquest 
 claims which we suspect were only partially founded in 
 the truth have procured for them the title of the Romans 
 of America. It is very sure that their neighbors gave a 
 formidable account of them. If Powhatan did not abso 
 lutely fear, he greatly respected them ; and what was 
 said of them, their valor and resources, by the Powhatan- 
 ese, provoked the curiosity of our Captain, and determined 
 him, very much against the wishes of his companions, to 
 make the discovery of their territories one of the grand 
 objects of his expedition. His adventurous spirit panted 
 to make the acquaintance of a nation sufficiently power 
 ful to make their conquest equally honorable and de 
 sirable. 
 
 From the eastern shore, which he found broken with 
 uninhabited islands, and for the most part without fresh 
 water, he stood westward across the bay arid made the 
 mouth of the Patuxent. For thirty leagues sailing north 
 ward no inhabitants were found. In place of these, how 
 ever, there were wolves, bears, deer, and other wild 
 beasts in abundance, and an ample supply of water. Pass 
 ing many shallow streams, the first they found navigable 
 was one supposed to be the Patapsco, to which, on ac- 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 199 
 
 count of the appearance of the clay along the cliffs, resem 
 bling bol ammonia, they gave the name of Bolus. But 
 that Smith himself has provided us with this derivation, 
 we might have ascribed this infelicitous title to the work 
 ing of a mutinous spirit among the gentlemen of the expe 
 dition, which broke out at this place. It was thought, 
 when the voyage was begun, that it would be only too 
 ghort a one to gratify the eager curiosity of those who 
 were about to embark that Smith would be in too great 
 a hurry to get back to the colony, supposing his presence 
 to be necessary to the proper management of affairs with 
 such a person as Radclifte in the presidency. But the 
 notion of these gallants, who were none of them accustom 
 ed to hardships, soon began to change when, at the end of 
 twelve or fourteen days, spent in an open barge, weary of 
 the oars, bread soaked with wet and much of it decayed, 
 yet still susceptible of digestion by hungry stomachs 
 they found him meditating a visit to the Massawomekes, 
 and other tedious and dangerous adventures. Their dis 
 contents grew at length to such importunancy, as to pro 
 voke our Captain to declare himself in the following 
 manner : 
 
 " Gentlemen, if you would remember the memorable 
 history of Sir Ralph Sayre, how his company importuned 
 him to proceed in the discovery of Moratico, alledging 
 they had yet a dog, that being boyled with saxafras leaves 
 would richly feede them in their returnes ; then, what a 
 shame would it be for you (that have bin so suspitious of 
 my tendernesse) to force me returne, with so much pro 
 vision as we have, and scarce able to say where we have 
 beene, nor yet heard of that wee were sent to seeke ? You 
 cannot say but I have shared with you in the worst which 
 is past ; and for what is to come, of lodging, dyet, or 
 whatsoever, 1 am contented you allot the worst part to 
 
200 LIFE OP CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 myselfe. As for your feares that I will lose myself ir 
 these unknowne large waters, or be swallowed up in some 
 stormie gust, abandon these childish feares, for worse than 
 is past is not likely to happen, and there is as much dan 
 ger to return as to proceede. Regaine, therefore, youi 
 old spirits, for returne I will not (if God please) till I have 
 seene the Massawomekes, found Patawomek, or the head 
 of this water, you conceit to be eridlesse." 
 
 This firm expression of his resolve silenced the discon 
 tents, but circumstances helped their entreaties. Three 
 or four of them fell sick, and this, with a continuance of 
 adverse weather for several days, determined Smith, how 
 ever unwillingly, to forbear for the present the prosecution 
 of the voyage. He left the bay where it was some nine 
 miles wide, with a draught of nine or ten fathoms, and on 
 the 16th of June fell in with the mouth of the Potomac 
 
 The sight of this noble river cheered the drooping spi 
 rits of his men, and their health being somewhat restored, 
 it was determined to explore it. For thirty miles no 
 inhabitants were seen. At length they met with two, who 
 conducted them up a little creek towards Onanomanient, 
 and into an ambuscade. Here the English found them 
 selves surrounded by savages to the number of three or 
 four thousand ; " So strangely paynted, grimed and dis 
 guised, shouting, yelling arid crying, as so many spirits 
 from hell coukl not have showed more terrible." But 
 Smith cared little for their bravados Still, it was deemed 
 necessary to scare them a little, and, training his guns so 
 as to allow the stroke of the bullets to be seen by the 
 savages upon the water, he gave them a few volleys, 
 which soon brought them to their senses. Down went 
 
 O 
 
 bows and arrows, and all was peace between the parties, 
 and wonderment at least with one of them. They sur 
 prised Smith with some of their statements. They did 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 201 
 
 not hesitate to declare that they had been commanded to 
 destroy the English by Powhatan, who had heard of this 
 expedition. This was not so much calculated to provoke 
 his astonishment as what they told him farther, to the 
 effect that Powhatan had been advised by certain of the 
 settlers at Jamestown of all Smith s proceedings, and had 
 been encouraged by them to put him to death, as he kept 
 them in the country against their will. The reckless 
 manner in which men were gathered up in England for the 
 purposes of colonization is matter of history. We know 
 very well that the profligate and criminal but too com 
 monly furnished the chief materials for such enterprises. 
 But it is not easy to yield our faith to such desperate 
 wickedness as this, and we should be now inclined to 
 withhold it, and to ascribe it to some imperfect under 
 standing of what was said by the savages, but that subse 
 quent circumstances, absolute facts, and the commission 
 of particular deeds on the part of some of the wretches 
 thus characterized, go fully to confirm the statement. 
 
 Their farther progress up the river found the people at 
 all places, with few exceptions, armed and ready in the 
 same spirit and under the same instructions to assail them. 
 The Moyaones, Nacotchtants, and Toays heathen of 
 whom we have no farther traces alone received them 
 with hospitality. Having gone as far as they could go in 
 their vessel, they commenced their return, and were for 
 tunate in meeting with numerous savages ;n canoes well 
 stocked with the flesh of slaughtered bears, deer, and 
 other beasts, of which they received liberal portions. 
 The aspect of the shores, with great rocks towering above 
 the trees, commanded their attention, more particularly as 
 the progress of water down the sides had left " a tinc 
 tured spangled skurfe, that made many bare places seeme 
 as guilded." Dreams of gold and gold mountains were 
 
202 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 ever working in the brains of the voyagers of those days. 
 Smith himself seems to have been superior to the various 
 delusions by which they were mocked. But not so his 
 companions. They clambered up the rocks, and burrow 
 ed in the earth among their highest cliffs. The ground 
 was so sprinkled with yellow spangles as to seem " halfe 
 pin dust." Conducted by Japazaws, King of Patawo- 
 meke, still under the belief that they were on the tracks 
 of a gold mine, they ascended one of the tributaries of the 
 Potomac as far as the depth of water would suffer the boat 
 to go. Here Smith left her, taking with him six men, and 
 surrounded by divers savages, some of whom, to be sure 
 of their fidelity, he carried in the twofold character of 
 guides and hostages. These he adroitly decorated with 
 chains which, if they conducted him in safety, they were 
 to keep as ornaments. The temptation was too great to 
 suffer them to feel the weight or the restraint of their 
 decorations. They meant him fairly, and conducted him 
 to the foot of a mountain, the substance of which seemed 
 to be antimony. The tribes had burrowed in its bowels 
 before. Their shells and hatchets had long been familiar 
 with its treasures. Washed of its dross " in a fayre 
 brooke of christel-like water," which " runneth hard by 
 it," it is put into little bags, and made an article of trade 
 of ready sale throughout the country. It had no use bu 
 as a paint. With this they paint the images of their gods 
 and their own bodies and faces, " which makee them 
 looke like blackmoores dusted over with silver " Re 
 warding his guides, and the king to whom they belonged, 
 our Captaine obtained u supply of this precious commodity. 
 This was sent to England ; was represented by Newport 
 to be half silver, and new supplies were, procured, which 
 proved to oe of no value. IVo minerals were discovered 
 in this search. Some furs were gathered, the best of 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SiMITH. 203 
 
 \vhich were found among the Indians of Cascarawaoke, 
 that merchant tribe which did so much of the manufactur 
 ing and trading of the country. Beavers, otters, bears, 
 martens, and minkes, rewarded in some slight degree their 
 search ; and fish were in such abundance, " lying so 
 thicke, with their heads above the water, as for want of 
 nets (our barge driving amongst them) we attempted to 
 catch them with a fryingpan !" But this was found, drily 
 remarks our narrative, " a bad instrument to catch fish 
 with." They succeeded better with their swords, foUow- 
 ing the example of Smith, who, whenever at ebb tide their 
 boat chanced to ground upon the shoals at the entrances 
 of rivers, would amuse " himselfe by nayling them to the 
 ground with his sword." Thus sporting, more fish would 
 be taken in an hour than would suffice the party for a 
 day. 
 
 On one occasion this amusement had nearly proved fatal 
 to our hero. Taking from his sword a stingray a fish 
 the character of which he did not know " being much of 
 the fashion of a thornback, but a long tayle like a riding 
 rodde, whereon the middest is a most poysoned sting, of 
 two or three inches long, bearded like a saw on each side" 
 it struck its weapon into his wrist to the depth of nearly 
 an inch and a half. No blood or even wound was per 
 ceptible at first, with the exception of a slight blue spot ; 
 but the torment was extreme and instantaneous. In four 
 hours such was the swollen state of his arm and shoulder, 
 and such the condition to which the patient was reduced, 
 that his companions concluded he must die. Such was 
 his own conviction, and with that exercise of firmness and 
 will which seemed to distinguish equally all his actions, 
 ne chose his place of burial in a neighboring island, 
 and there his comrades, with heavy hearts, proceeded to 
 prepare his grave. But it was not the will of providence 
 
204 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 that he should perish thus. There was still work for his 
 hands. " It pleased God, by a precious oyle," that Dr. 
 Russell should finally give relief to the agonizing pain of 
 his limb and reduce its swelling, and so far from being 
 buried, he survived to revenge himself upon the fish by 
 partaking heartily of it that night for supper. The island 
 where this occurred, at the north of the Rappahannock, 
 still bears, in the name of the fish, the memory of the 
 event. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE hurt under which our Captain still suffered in some 
 degree contributed to the return of the voyagers. But 
 for this they mi^nt still have loitered along the route tor 
 further discoveries. Once fairly under weigh, Smith con 
 trived to extract from his men all the services of which 
 they were capable. 
 
 Their arrival at the Indian settlement of Kecoughtan 
 (Hampton) was a subject of surprise to the savages, who 
 "seeing our Captain hurt, and another bloody by break 
 ing his shinne, our number of bowes, arrowes, swords, 
 mantles and furrs, would needes imagine we had beene at 
 warres." The simple statement of the truth would not 
 satisfy them, and finding them resolved on believing no 
 thing less than they fancied, they were fooled by our 
 voyagers to the top of their bent, " Finding their apt- 
 nesse tobeleeve, we fayled not (as a great secret) to teli 
 them anything which might affright them, what spoyle 
 we had got and made of the Massawomeks." In the 
 same spirit, disguising their bark with painted streamers 
 and other devices, our voyagers appeared before the peo 
 ple of Jamestown as a Spanish frigate, and filled them 
 with terror for a season. They reached the colony on 
 the 21st of July, having been absent twenty days 
 
 Smith s return to the colony was always seasonable. 
 As usual he found things in evil condition. The last 
 comers from Europe were all sick ; of the rest some were 
 lame and bruised, and all unhappy all complaining of the 
 President. That weak and vicious person had resumed 
 14 
 
206 LIFE OF CAPTAIIf SMITH. 
 
 his evil practices, had riotously consumed the publit 
 stores, had been guilty of needless cruelties, and had 
 completed the measure of his follies and offences by task 
 ing the labor of the people in building a sort of pleasure- 
 house in the woods for his personal indulgence. But fot 
 Smith s return, the discontents of the country would have 
 summarily revenged themselves upon \he offender. Their 
 apprehensions were relieved, but their fury scarcely les 
 sened, by the coming of our Captain. The news he 
 brought, the supplies, and in particular his own presence, 
 which always had the tendency to reassure the timid and 
 desponding, enabled them to forgive the offences of the 
 President. But they insisted upon his deposition, and 
 required Smith to take upon him the government, " as by 
 course it did belong to him." But the mere name of 
 office was not a temptation to one who sought to perform 
 and to achieve, rather than to rule. He preferred the 
 more active toils of exploration ; and, resolutely denying 
 their entreaties, substituted Mr. Scrivener, whom he calls 
 his " deare friend," for himself in the Presidency. Then, 
 " in regard of the company, and heate of the yeare, they 
 being unable to worke, he lefte them to live at ease, to 
 recover their healths," and re-embarked on the 24th of 
 July after a rest of two days only to finish his dis 
 coveries, taking with him nearly the same persons as 
 before. Contrary winds kept them two or three days ai 
 Kecoughtan, where the king feasted them with much 
 satisfaction ; the more particularly as the Indians per 
 suaded themselves that Smith was going on an expedition 
 Hgainst the hateful Massawomeks. A few rockets which 
 ne fired in air convinced the terrified savages that their 
 new allies were irresistible, and they saw them depart on 
 the supposed invasion -with the happiest hopes and rejoic 
 ings The first night, Smith anrhor^d at Stingray Islft, 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 20? 
 
 place memorable in his late experience. The next day 
 crossing the Potomac, he made for the river Bolus, other 
 wise Patapsco. This stream, as our voyagers pursued it 
 to its sources, was found to divide itself into four heads. 
 These they separately followed, exploring them as far as 
 tb^ir boat could penetrate. Two of these tributaries, the 
 Sasquesahanock (Susquehanna) and the Tockwogh (since 
 called the Sassafras), they found to be inhabited. In cross 
 ing the bay, they unexpectedly encountered seven or 
 eight canoes filled with the renowned Massawomeks, so 
 much feared by the Powhatanese, and whom Smith so 
 much desired to see. The bold savages prepared at once 
 for a conflict, and our Captain was no less prompt and 
 decisive. He drew in his oars, and made all sail in pur 
 suit. Some of his men, unaccustomed to the climate, had 
 fallen sick " almost to death," since leaving Kecoughtan. 
 These were " all of the last supply." They were made 
 to lay themselves down in the boat, and were covered 
 with the tarpaulin out of all danger. Their hats only 
 were made use of. Raised on sticks, a hat between every 
 two men, the force of Smith was doubled to the eyes of 
 their enemies. He had need of some such rase de guerre 
 to impress the warlike savages with any respect. His 
 men able to do battle were but five in number. His bold 
 ness had its effect. Supposing his hats to be men and 
 white men, too, of whom probably vague and very terrible 
 accounts had already reached their ears the formidable 
 Massawomeks took to flight, and made with all possible 
 speed to the shore. Here they drew up, watchful of all 
 the movements of the barge, until she anchored right 
 against them. It was difficult to persuade them of the 
 pacific intentions of the strangers. There were no Indian 
 words known to Smith which they seemed to comprehend 
 > me of theirs could be understood. But perseverance 
 
COR LIFE OK CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 and patience produced their usual effects, and two of the 
 Indians were moved by signs to approach the whites 
 unarmed in a canoe. The rest all followed in their sup- 
 port. A present of a bell to each of the first comers, 
 brought the rest aboard in the most pacific moods am 
 attitudes. They brought venison and bear s ilesh to pre 
 sent to the strangers, and even gave them of their bows 
 and arrows, their clubs, targets, and bear skins. Smith 
 requited them with gifts quite as valuable to them or more 
 so. They gave him to understand that they had just been 
 fighting with their enemies the Tockwoghs, and showed 
 him their green wounds in proof of the seriousness of the 
 encounter. The interview was friendly throughout. The 
 night separated the parties, and with the morning the 
 Massawomeks were nowhere to be seen. 
 
 The next day the English proceeded to the country ot 
 the Tockv- wghs. Entering the river of that name, they 
 found themselves environed by the savages in a fleet of 
 canoes. They were all armed, and had prepared them 
 selves, in all probability, for the enemies from whom 
 Smith had just separated. His policy was to conciliate 
 this people, and he did not scruple to shape his story for 
 this purpose. He displayed the weapons obtained from 
 the Massawomeks, and claimed to have taken them in 
 battle. The Tockwoghs recognized the spears and the 
 shields, the bows and arrows of their most formidable 
 opponents, and they welcomed the whites with acclama 
 tions. Conducting them to their hamlet, which was 
 palisaded and otherwise strongly fortified, they spread 
 their furs and fruits before the. strangers. The women 
 and children hailed them with songs and dances, and all 
 parties strove in every possible way to express the warmth 
 and the extent of their gratification. They saw hatchets, 
 krrVoq, fragments of brass and iron ain*n these people, 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN S M I T H 209 
 
 who said they obtained them from the Sasquesahanocks 
 a nation of Indians who dwelt at the sources of the river 
 which bore their name. These they described as a very 
 mighty people, and the mortal enemies of the Massawo- 
 meks. Smith was curious to see this people. He per 
 suaded his hosts to send a dispatch and invite them to an 
 interview. This was done, and after a few days they 
 came down, sixty in number, bringing with them gifts of 
 venison, tobacco pipes three feet in length, and worthy of 
 a sultan, baskets, targets, bows and arrows all the speci 
 mens of native production which they had to offer. Smith 
 describes th^m as very noble specimens of humanity. He 
 speaks of them as a* race of giants. u Such greate and 
 well proportioned men are seldome seene, for they seemed 
 like giants to the English, yea, and unto their neighbours." 
 He speaks of them as in other respects the " strangest 
 people of all those countries." They were of n simple 
 and confiding temper, and could scarcely be restrained 
 from prostrating themselves in adoration of the white 
 strangers. Their language seemed to correspond with 
 their proportions, " sounding from them as a voyce in a 
 vault." They were clad in bear and wolfskins, wearing 
 the skin as the Mexican his poncho, passing the head 
 through a slit in the centre, and letting the garment drape 
 naturally around from the shoulders. " Some have 
 cassocks made of beares heads and skinnes, that a man s 
 head goes through the skinne s neck, and the eares of the. 
 beare fastened to his shoulders, the nose and teeth hano-- 
 
 O 
 
 ing down his breast, another beare s face split behind him, 
 and at the end of the nose hung a pawe ; the halfe sleeves 
 comming to the elbowes were the necks of the beares, 
 and the armes through the mouth with pawes hanging at 
 their noses. One had the head of a wolfe hanging in a 
 chaine for a Jewell,, his tobacco pipe three quarters of a 
 
21U LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH 
 
 yard long, prettily carved with a bird, a deere, or some 
 such devise at the great end, sufficient to beat out one s 
 braines." 
 
 Such details will be hereafter valuable to the students 
 of American art. The masquerader, whose ambition it 
 will be to simulate the barbarous fantasticalities of the 
 Sasquesahanocks, need not blunder in his costume. Smith, 
 who was a good draughtsman, the circumstances of his 
 education considered, has given us a spirited sketch of one 
 of these gigantic warriors, " the greatest of them," thus 
 attired : " The calfe of whose leg was three quarters of 
 a yard about, and all the rest of his limbes so answerable 
 to thai proportion, that he seemed the goodliest man we 
 ever beheld. His hayre the one side was long, the other 
 shore close, with a ridge over his crowne like a cock s 
 combe. His arrows were five quarters long, headed with 
 the splinters of a white chrystall-like stone, in forme of a 
 heart, an inche broad, and an inche and a halfe or more 
 long. These he wore in a wolve s skinne at his backe for 
 his quiver, his bow in the one hand and his club in the 
 other, as is described." 
 
 It is seldom that we have reason to suspect or accuse 
 Smith of exaggeration. For a traveller he is exceedingly 
 circumspect. We see no reason to question the perfect 
 correctness of this description. In respect to the costume, 
 we have abundant proofs of its singular propriety and 
 truth. His example here is taken from a remarkable 
 instance, even among his people. The Sasquesahanocks 
 are all described as above the ordinary size a very supe 
 rior race of men ; but this, their chief, is great even 
 among them. He is as Saul among the Israelites as 
 Goliath among the people of Gath. Pursuing the trade 
 of war, in a climate at once mild and invigorating, fed on 
 vhe simplest fruils of the earth, enslaved by no intoxicat- 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 211 
 
 ing or enfeebling habits, and constantly exercising in the 
 dangers of the field or the sports of the chase all the mus 
 cles of manhood, we must not wonder that the warrior of 
 Virginia towers above the feebler race, whom luxuries 
 circumvent and overthrow, as the lap of Dalilah robs the 
 son of Manoah of all his strength. Individuals may be 
 seen even now, who would compare with our Sasquesa- 
 hanock giant. 
 
 Smith seems never to have neglected the duties of 
 religion. His reverence naturally belonged to, and was 
 in some measure the source of his earnestness of charac 
 ter. His enterprises did not interfere with the daily rites 
 of worship. On the ocean, in the deep forests, his daily 
 order was to have prayer and psalm, such as the Christian 
 manuals have afforded for a thousand years, suited to all 
 the situations and conditions of mankind. This service 
 was not foregone because of the presence of the savages. 
 Perhaps it was more fervently insisted on for this very 
 reason. The Tockwoghs and Sasquesahanocks, much 
 edified and wondering, looked on in respectful silence, 
 then followed up the holy proceedings by something of 
 their own, after a similar fashion. Their hands were 
 lifted in a passionate manner to the sun, the visible source 
 of energy with all barbarous people. Then followed a 
 most " fearefull song." The American Indians are not, 
 like the Africans, a musical race, though it is very possible 
 that our stout Sasquesahanocks sang very nearly as well, 
 though perhaps not in so artistical a manner, as rn Eng 
 lish. It was the ear of the latter which was not attuned 
 to the " native wood-notes wild" of their tawny com 
 panions, In all probability the Tockwogh critics had 
 something disparaging to say of the English music, after 
 the latter had departed. The song of the savages was 
 succeeded bj a general embrace of " our Captaine," whom 
 
212 LIFE OP CAPTA1IS SMITH. 
 
 they would have proceeded to worship as a being of supe 
 rior order but for his decided opposition. Denied to 
 worship, they were yet suffered to apostrophize their 
 guests, and " with a most strange furious action and a 
 hellish voice," they made him an oration, expressive of 
 their friendship. Then followed the symbolical proceed 
 ings, by which their sentiments were better conveyed than- 
 through their speeches. They seized upon our Captain, 
 covered him " with a great painted beare s skin," hung 
 about his neck u a great chayne of white beads, weighing 
 at least six or seven pounds, and laid eighteen mantels, 
 made of divers sorts of skinnes sowed together," with 
 many other toys, at his feet. Then while their ceremo 
 nious hands stroked his neck, they tendered him support 
 and tribute, and implored him to remain their governor 
 and protector. They gave him descriptions of their own 
 and the neighboring countries ; " of Atquanachuck, Mas- 
 sawomek, and other people," whom they described as 
 living " upon a great water beyond the mountains, which 
 he understood to be some great lake or the river of 
 Canada." 
 
 The Sasquesahanocks were a populous nation, using the 
 standards of tribes equally wandering and sterile. They 
 could muster six hundred righting men, and dwelt in 
 hamlets which were palisadoed. They were scarcely 
 known to Powhatan,* yet were mortal enemies to the 
 
 * And yet, adopting the statements of the Six Nations themselves, 
 the latter are assumed to have been the conquerors of the whole 
 country, and to have swept with their arms the vast Atlantic ranges* 
 of the Apalachian chain from Maine to Florida. The pretensions of 
 the Six Nations were greatly misunderstood at first; and they derived 1 
 jieir titles (by conquest) from the representations of the whites, to 
 whom they were required to give titk-s. The Indian tribes have 
 nus repeatedly sold territories oa which they themselves had nev* 
 tared to sei; a foot. 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 213 
 
 Massawomekes. From the French of Canada they pro 
 cured their hatchets and other European commodities 
 It was with much difficulty that Smith tore himself away 
 from this hospitable and simple people. He left them, 
 promising to visit them again next year. 
 
 Returning down the bay to the Rappahannock, our 
 party explored every river and inlet of any consequence 
 along the route, giving English names to stream and head 
 land, boring holes in trees, in which they left notes or 
 memoranda, and raising crosses of wood, and sometimes 
 of brass, to signify that possession had been taken of the 
 country by English authority. In penetrating the Rappa 
 hannock they were kindly entertained by a people called 
 the Moraughtacunds, iniluenced probably by the presence 
 of an Indian named Mosco, whom Smith styles an old 
 friend, and who claimed to be a countryman of the whites. 
 Unlike the savages, Mosco luxuriated in a fine, black, 
 bushy beard, of which he was not a little proud. Upon 
 this peculiarity he built, in ranking himself with the 
 English. Smith supposed him to have been the son of 
 some Frenchman. Mosco took great pride in entertaining 
 his countrymen ; brought them wood and water, procured 
 them the services of the Indians, and was himself their 
 guide throughout the neighborhood. At parting he coun 
 selled them not to visit the Rappahannocks, whom he 
 described as hostile to the Moraughtacunds, and would be 
 to the English when they knew of their friendship with 
 the latter. Smith, suspecting that this representation 
 sprung from a desire to secure all their trade for his 
 friends, gave it no heed, and crossed the. river to the terri 
 tories of the tabooed people. But Mosco w r as honest. 
 Some twelve or sixteen Indians along the shore directed 
 the English to the mouth of a creek where there was a 
 good landing. Here they found three or four canoes, in 
 
214 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 which they had put, as so much bait, certain of the 
 commodities which they gave in barter. But Smith was 
 not so easily caught. His custom was, wherever the 
 parties were of doubtful faith, to exchange a man as a 
 hostage " in sign of love" and until they complied with 
 this requisition, our Rappahannocks could not persuade 
 him to come within their clutches. At length, after some 
 consultation, some four or five of them darted up to their 
 middles into the creek, bringing with them their hostage. 
 They showed our Captain that they had no weapons, but 
 he was still distrustful, and while detaining their man, 
 sent one of his own, Anas Todkill, ashore to look about 
 for " ambuscadoes." Todkill was not suffered to advance 
 far, nor did he need to do so, for in a stone s throw from 
 the landing he discovered some two or three hundred 
 savages in ambush among the trees. His hasty movement 
 to return to the boat was intercepted. The Rappahan 
 nocks, perceiving that their design was discovered, 
 attempted to carry him off perforce ; and in the same 
 moment the Indian left as a hostage in the boat sprang 
 overboard, but was slain the next moment in the water. 
 A volley from the barge scattered the savages, and Tod 
 kill escaped their clutches. Several of the Indians were 
 hurt, some slain ; but though more than a thousand arrows 
 were sped from their bows in an inconceivably short space 
 of time, none of the English were hurt. The targets of 
 the Massawomeks were found eminently useful for their 
 protection. But for the timely employment of these they 
 might have been far less fortunate. 
 
 These targets are described as " made of little smaP 
 sticks woven betwixt strings of their hempe and silke 
 grasse, as is our cloth, but so firmly that no arrow can 
 pierce them." The canoes and arrows captured in this 
 conflict were reserved for Mosco and the Moraughtacunds 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 by whom the return of the English was hailed with a 
 trumpet. The targets of the Massawomeks had served 
 such an admirable purpose, that Smith fastened them 
 around the sides of the barge, so that they might afford a 
 permanent protection in like dangers hereafter. The con 
 ception was a fortunate one. The very next day, in their 
 progress up the river, Mosco being at his own request one 
 of their company, they passed an ambush of thirty or 
 forty Rappahannocks, who, taking advantage of the shelter 
 of a marsh, at a spot where the river was particularly 
 narrow, " had so accommodated themselves with branches 
 as we tooke them for little brushes growing among the 
 sedge." The arrows flew from invisible hands against 
 the Massawomek targets, and but for Mosco our English 
 would have been at a loss to guess whence they issued. 
 Hiding his favorite whiskers in the bottom of the boat, he 
 told them where to look for their subtle enemies, who 
 were again the Rappahannocks. With the discharge of 
 the first volley from the barge, the green bushes fell down 
 among the sedge, and the ambush disappeared. " When 
 we were neare halfe a myle from them they showed 
 themselves, dancing and singing very merrily." 
 
 They met with nothing but kind treatment from the 
 several tribes whom they encountered in their farther 
 progress up the river. But their company was lessened 
 by the death of Richard Featherstone, who sunk under 
 the fever of the climate. He w r as buried, with a volley 
 of shot, on the shores of a small bay, which was called by 
 his name. Smith speaks of him as a worthy person, who 
 had behaved himself " honestly, valiantly, and industri 
 ously," while he had been in the country. The other 
 members of the expedition, who had been taken sick after 
 leaving Kecoughtan, had all recovered their health. The 
 toil, exposure, and trouble of such an enterprise as that 
 
216 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 in which they were engaged at the hottest season of th( 
 year, in a close vessel, would seem to be unfavorable t( 
 the convalescence of the sufferer, or even to the continu 
 ance in health of those not sick ; but they suffered fa: 
 less from disease than those who remained at Jamestown 
 as probably would always be the advantage of those wh( 
 lead an active life, over those, who indulge in one of indo 
 lence. 
 
 There was no indolence where Smith had command 
 The next day, urging their boat as far up the river as th< 
 stream would carry it, he went ashore, set up crosses 
 and cut their names upon the trees. While thus engagec 
 the sentinel was astonished by an arrow falling besid< 
 him. Yet where a savage could hide himself they knev 
 not, for an hour had been spent in examining the spot 
 groping in the earth, gathering herbs and stores, and seek 
 ing for springs of sweet water, But instantly taking th< 
 alarm, they found themselves assailed by no less than ; 
 hundred savages, who, skipping nimbly from tree to tree 
 kept up an incessant flight of arrows. The assailant: 
 were too timid, and shot too wildly to do much injury 
 and, after a skirmish of half an hour, they disappeared a: 
 suddenly as they came. Mosco played the hero on thii 
 occasion, emptying his quiver, flying to the boat for fresl 
 supplies, and gallantly leading off the pursuit against th< 
 fugitives. But it was w r ith some difficultv that he couh 
 
 O ^ 
 
 be kept from playing *he savage also ; for, coming upoi 
 one of their enemies who had been wounded by a muske 
 bullet in the knee, " never was dog more furious agains 
 a beare, than Mosco was to have beate out his braines. 
 This was not approved of, as scarcely a Christian process 
 The wounded savage was dressed by the surgeon of th< 
 English, and so recovered as to be able to give an accoun 
 of himself and people. He belonged to the Hassinninga 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMTTH. 217 
 
 was a brother of the chief of that tribe, which, with three 
 others, made up the nation of Mannahock. He had heard 
 that the English were a people come from under the 
 world to take their world from them. Some of this was 
 certainly true, and possibly the whole. When asked how 
 many worlds there were, he answered that he knew of 
 none but that which lay under the sky above them, of 
 which he had been taught to believe that the Powhatan- 
 ese, the Monacans, and the Massawomeks, were the sole 
 inhabitants. The Monacans, he said, were the neighbors 
 and friends of his people. They dwelt in hilly countries, on 
 the banks of small rivers, and lived upon roots and fruits, 
 but chiefly by hunting. The Massawomeks dwelt upon a 
 great water, had many boats, and so many men that they 
 made war with all the world. When asked what was 
 beyond the mountains, he replied, " The sun !" Other 
 questions of the sort he answered in like manner. It was 
 evident he knew little of such unimportant matters. This 
 prisoner was named Amoroleck not a bad name for a 
 romantic story of the school of Chateaubriand. They per 
 suaded him to go with them, rather than kept him ; though 
 he earnestly desired them to remain where they were, that 
 they might make, on better terms than before, the acquaint 
 ance of his people. 
 
 But all this was opposed by Mosco. He was impatient 
 of the dialogue, which to his ears was no doubt tedious 
 Bat he better knew the savage nature than the English, 
 and warned them that their delay would endanger their 
 safety. He described the Mannahocks as a naughty race, 
 as troublesome and treacherous as the Ilappahannocks. 
 Still, they lingered until night; then embarked, and look 
 their way down the river. It was not long before- iht 
 arrows of the Indians were heard rattling upon the Massa- 
 v <>m-k shields, and dropping into the barge. The stream 
 
218 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 was narrow, the land on one side high, and but for the 
 darkness, our English might have suffered seriously from 
 this mode of assault. It was in vain that Amoroleck 
 called to his countrymen. The yells of the assailants 
 silenced all other sounds, except that of the musket, which 
 every now and then Smith caused to be discharged against 
 the quarter whence the clamor rose most loudly. So 
 tenacious were they of the conflict, that they followed the 
 course of the boat in this manner for nearly twelve miles. 
 By daylight the English, emerging into a spacious bay, 
 dropped anchor, and fell to breakfast, being only then out 
 of arrow-shot. The savages, four or five hundred in num- 
 
 O / 
 
 her, crowded the banks, but the party was quite too hun 
 gry and too tired to notice them till after breakfast. Then 
 taking down their shields, they showed themselves with 
 their prisoner, between whom and his countrymen follow 
 ed a long discourse. This led to a proper understanding 
 between the parties. The Indians hung their bows and 
 arrows upon the trees, while two of them, their bow r s and 
 quivers upon their heads, swam off to the barge, bringing 
 these as tributes and in proof of friendship. Smith 
 promptly went ashore, and bade them summon their kings. 
 These were at no great distance. The word King, as 
 employed by our author, must be understood in the sense 
 of chief. The chiefs were the captains of tens, and hun 
 dreds, and thousands, and led the several war parties of 
 the nation under the rule of sorm one great master like 
 Powhatan. 
 
 These soon made their appearance, four in number, 
 according to the requisition of Smith. They received 
 Amoroleck at his hands with great rejoicing. They ten 
 dered their bows, arrows, tobacco-pipes, and pouches, 
 refusing nothing that was demanded. They, in turn ; 
 asked for nothing but the pistoll of the English, which 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 219 
 
 they took to be pipes of a highly improved fashion. But, 
 with less dangerous commodities, Smith left them per 
 fectly happy in their new allies ; singing, dancing, and 
 making merry as they went. 
 
 The victory of our captain over the Mannahocks, and 
 the subsequent pacification with them, highly delighted 
 the Moraughtacunds ; who were a feeble race, of smaller 
 persons, and fewer numbers. They entreated him to 
 endeavor to bring the Rappahannocks to their senses also ; 
 a benefit in which, as the allies of the English, they must 
 necessarily share. Smith needed no entreaties to this 
 effect. Though by no means wanton in the exercise of 
 power, by no means blood-thirsty, but, indeed, singularly 
 indulgent and forbearing, though decisive with the sava 
 ges he yet felt the necessity of making his power res 
 pected by all the tribes in the neighborhood. He sum 
 moned the Rappahannocks, accordingly, to a conference, 
 at which several of the Indian kings attended ; and giving 
 them a judicious preliminary hint of his power to burn 
 their hamlet, destroy their corn, and prove in other res 
 pects a very troublesome enemy to deal with, he demand 
 ed that they should bring him in proof of friendship and 
 by way of tribute the bow and arrows of their king ; 
 should leave their arms on coming into his presence ; 
 make a treaty of peace with his allies, the Moraughta 
 cunds ; and as a guaranty for the faithful keeping of these 
 pledges, bring him the son of the king as a hostage. 
 Rappahannock for the name of the people seems to have 
 been that of the king objected to the last condition. He 
 had but one son and could not live without him ; but in 
 lieu of the son, he was not unwilling to give up to the 
 Moraughtacunds certain women of his whom the latter 
 had stolen a proceeding which had been at the bottom 
 
220 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 of their recent wars Our Captain was indulgent, and 
 readily accepted the substitute. 
 
 Having returned to Moraughtacund, he had the three 
 women brought before him, and put a chain of beads upon 
 the neck of each. Then calling up the king Rappahan- 
 nock, he bade him choose her whom he most desired ; the 
 second choice was accorded to the king of the Moraugh- 
 tacunds, and the thii;d woman was allotted to Mosco with 
 the whiskers, the suspected Frenchman. The parties 
 were all apparently well satisfied with this mode of dis 
 tribution. The proceedings finished only with the night. 
 The next day the people of both the tribes, or nations, tc 
 the number of six or seven hundred, assembled to cele 
 brate the triple peace which had thus been established by 
 means of the stranger. Not a bow nor arrow was to be 
 seen amongst them : all the shows and images of war 
 were studiously kept from sight. They pledged them 
 selves to perpetual friendship with the English ; volun 
 teered to plant corn for them , and were delighted with the 
 promise that, in return, they should receive ample sup 
 plies of hatchets, beads, and copper. Mosco, whom 
 these proceedings had greatly distinguished, in the heat 
 of his exultation, repudiated that inexpressive name, and 
 adopted that of Ullasantough, which, in his dialect, sig 
 nifies " stranger ;" and the supposed son of the French 
 man became the subject of the English Solomon.* 
 
 From the Rappahannocks our Captain steered his ves 
 sel to the Piankatank, which he explored as far as it was 
 navigable. This river seems to have been sparsely set 
 tled. Smith describes it as being able to bring into the 
 field but fifty or sixty serviceable men. At the period of 
 his visit, however, the people were mostly absent on a 
 
 King James the First , 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 221 
 
 hunt. He saw but a few old men, women, and children, 
 in the cornfields, from whom he obtained a promise of 
 supply whenever he should come for it. 
 
 He now took his way home ; and on his returning pro 
 gress was destined to encounter a more narrow peril than 
 any he had yet escaped on the expedition. While in the 
 direction of Point Comfort, he anchored in a bay called 
 Gosnolds, a little to the south of York River. Here, in 
 *n instant, a sudden gust changed a fair calm sky into one 
 af night and tempest. So terrible was the storm, with 
 rain and thunder, that our Captain confesses for the party 
 they never more expected to see Jamestown. Running 
 before the wind, they could sometimes see the land by 
 the fiery flashes from heaven ; and by this light only were 
 they saved from splitting upon the shores, and finally con 
 ducted the storm and blackness still prevailing in find 
 ing their way to Point Comfort. Verily, it deserved the 
 name in the regards of our voyagers. There> having 
 refreshed themselves, and the skies becoming clear, they 
 once more set out, resolved to finish their adventures by 
 visiting the Chesapeakes and Nasemonds tribes of 
 which they had only heard, but which, as among their 
 near neighbors, it was deemed more proper they should 
 know than those which were more remote. Steering for 
 the southern shore, they penetrated the river now called the 
 Elizabeth, upon which the town of Norfolk now stands, 
 and sailed some six or seven miles into the territories of 
 the Chesapeake. But they saw none of the inhabitants ; 
 nothing more imposing than a few houses and garden- 
 plots, and forests, " overgrowne with the greatest Pyne 
 and Firre trees we ever saw in the country." Returning 
 to the main stream, they coasted the shores to the mouth 
 of the Nansemond, where they came upon half a dozen 
 savages mending their fish-traps. These fled at sight of 
 lo 
 
222 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 the strangers. The English landed and left some trifles, 
 as a peace-offering, where the Indians had been working. 
 They had not gone far, when the Indians returned, found 
 the toys, and with great gladness and good humor invited 
 the strangers to come back. They did so, and thus began 
 an intimacy which ended in our voyagers turning their 
 prow into the river, which they penetrated some seven or 
 eight miles, the Indians keeping pace along the shore with 
 the progress of the vessel. One of the savages freely 
 entered the boat, and the rest made an abundant display 
 of good feeling. The sight of large cornfields on the 
 western shore rewarded our explorers with the prospect 
 and promise everywhere of great plenty of provisions. 
 Their Indian companion invited them to his habitation on 
 a little islet in the river, where they saw his wife and 
 children, to whom they gave such presents as greatly con 
 tented them. Thus far all things looked smilingly enough. 
 But when their companion had left them, and they had 
 left his islet, and in a farther progress up the stream, they 
 found it became exceedingly narrow, things began to look 
 suspiciously, and our voyagers prepared for the worst. 
 They soon found themselves followed by seven or eight 
 armed canoes, full of people, and this discovery was fol 
 lowed by flights of arrows from the shores on each sidy 
 of the river, as rapidly shot as two hundred practised bow 
 men could send them. The canoes opened upon our 
 English at the same moment. Smith addressed most of 
 his muskets to the assailants on the river. It was more 
 immediately necessary to remove them from his path. A 
 volley soon drove them from their canoes most of them 
 taking to the water and swimming to the shore. A few 
 shot forced those upon the banks into the cover of the 
 woods, and the English took possession of the canoes 
 vliich tney had abandoned. These they drew with them 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. , 223 
 
 down the river, where it was sufficiently wide to put them 
 out of reach of arrow-shot. Here they proceeded to cut 
 the captured canoes to pieces ; at sight of which the 
 Indians supposed to be the Chesapeakes and Nansemonds 
 together by whom the shores were crowded, threw down 
 their weapons, making signs of peace and entreaty. To 
 this our Captain had no objections. But he had condi 
 tions. He required the bow and arrows of their king, a 
 chain of pearls, and four hundred full bushels of corn ; and 
 upon their rejection of these conditions, he threatened not 
 only the destruction of their canoes, but of all their houses 
 and possessions. Their compliance was prompt. "Away 
 went their bows and arrowes, and tagge and ragge came 
 with their baskets." The English took as much as they 
 could carry. They had suffered no injury in the contest, 
 thanks to the targets of the Massawomeks. These were 
 pierced by more than one hundred arrows. Parting with 
 these cunning savages on friendly terms, our Captain now 
 made his way to Jamestown, which he reached on the 
 7th of September, having been more than six weeks 
 absent. 
 
 In these two voyages he had explored the whole Bay 
 of Chesapeake ; an excellent map of which he construct 
 ed, which still remains to us. Upon his own computa 
 tion he had traversed more than three thousand miles 
 He had incurred a thousand perils, and passed through 
 them all in safety ; had suffered with his men a thousand 
 hardships and privations, which were all endured with 
 patient courage and uncomplaining fortitude. We must 
 not undervalue these expeditions because they are asso 
 ciated with no event of singular magnitude ; the slaughtei 
 of no multitudes, and the sacking of no glorious city. In 
 the absence of all those startling catastrophes, which tow 
 much make and characterize the renown of conquerors 
 
224 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 the achievements of our hero, on these occasions, were 
 not less remarkable. By none but a very remarkable 
 man could they possibly have been done. No disaster 
 marks his progress. He sheds no unnecessary blood ; 
 but wins his followers along through all difficulties, among 
 a barbarous people, neither vexing or fatiguing the one, 
 nor provoking the hate and jealousy of the other. The 
 vulgar captain, conscious of the superiority of his muskets 
 over the naked savages, would have tracked his way 
 in slaughter. As prompt in danger as the bravest, Smith 
 rather draws off from the strife, and folds his arms until 
 he finds conflict unavoidable. He prefers the milder 
 course of treaty and expostulation, and gives the ignorant 
 natives time to discover for themselves the superior power 
 which he possesses. His courage and moderation the 
 skill and ingenuity with which he works himself into the 
 confidence of the simple Indians the good nature with 
 which he smiles upon and sanctions their sports the 
 curiosity with which he listens to their histories, and 
 studies their character and the felicity and great correct 
 ness with which he notes all their peculiarities these 
 proofs alone of the great strength of his natural judgment 
 and genius, and the extent of his experience and resources, 
 shown on this single progress, should sufficiently entitle 
 him to rank among the distinguished men of modern 
 times. No man was ever more successful with the 
 Indians. He admirably understood their character, and 
 treated it with equal firmness and forbearance. To deal 
 with them, as w r ith his own followers, required the hap 
 piest discretion. The latter, sick and suffering, strangers 
 in a strange land ; sometimes refractory and unwilling, 
 and always inferior to himself in ability and spirit ; requir 
 ed equally to be subdued and soothed ; to be restrained 
 and goaded ; to be upheld by his courage, and stimulated 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 225 
 
 by his enterprise. The successful termination of the 
 adventure is in proof of the excellence of his manage 
 ment ; while the details of his daily progress sufficiently 
 show that this success was due, not to mere luck or blind 
 fortune, but to the admirably executive mind by which 
 the whole progress was conceived and counselled 
 
CHAPTER /L 
 
 THE return of Smith to the colony was always seasonable. 
 The withdrawal of his stern authority and undiscriminat- 
 ing justice, was always sure to result in evil. Nothing 
 had been done in his absence. The crop haJ been gather- 
 d by the diligence of Scrivener, but the provisions in 
 store had been suffered to spoil with rain. Captain Rat- 
 cliffe, the late President, had not borne with becoming 
 meekness his exclusion from office, and was now laid up 
 for mutiny. The summer had been a sickly one. Most 
 had been sick, many had recovered, some were still sick, 
 and many were dead. Nothing had been done, except by 
 the small party under Smith. 
 
 Three days after his return he was elected to the Presi 
 dency, having received the letters patent from the coun 
 cil. He had hitherto refused this office, in the teeth of 
 frequent importunacy on the part of his friends. He could 
 refuse it no longer. His authority was no less necessary 
 to the success of the settlement than his courage and 
 enterprise. This conviction being forced upon him by a 
 succession of proofs, Smith entered upon his duties with 
 becoming resolution. The church and storehouse were 
 repaired ; new buildings raised for the supplies momently 
 expected from England ; the fort strengthened and altered 
 into " a five square forme ;" the watch renewed ; and the 
 whole company was drawn out every Saturday and drilled 
 in military exercises, " in the plane by the west bul- 
 warke," which was prepared for that purpose, and called 
 Smithfield. On such occasions the Indians would gather 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 227 
 
 around in great numbers to witness the display, standing 
 " in amazement to behold how a fyle would batter a tree." 
 Nor did Smith confine his regards wholly to the strength 
 ening and improving of the immediate settlement. He 
 repaired his boats, and sent forth a trading party under 
 Lieutenant Percy, with instructions to seek the country 
 of the Monacans. But Percy had not gone far before he 
 met Captain Newport, just from England, with fresh sup 
 plies, and came back with him to the fort. Newport 
 brought with him about seventy individuals ; two of 
 whom, Captain Richard Waldo, and Captain Wynne, u two 
 ancient souldiers, and valiant gentlemen, but yet ignorant 
 of the businis," were appointed members of the council. 
 In this ship came also the first Englishwomen that ever 
 were in Virginia, Mrs. Forrest, and Anne Burras, her 
 maid. A few more women had been a more judicious 
 contribution to the wants of the colony than some that 
 were made. But the Company were unwisely counselled, 
 and the new supply, instead of bringing with it comfort to 
 our Captain, brought with it little else than annoyance 
 The instructions given to Captain Newport were of a son 
 to offend the common sense of any man having the expe 
 rience and the knowledge of Smith. They betrayed a 
 singular degree of ignorance as to the nature of the defi 
 ciencies, the feebleness, and the true wants of such a 
 colony. A special commission was confided to him, 
 authorizing him, in certain circumstances, to act inde 
 pendently of the council in Virginia. By this commission 
 he was instructed not to return without a lump of gold, a 
 certainty of the South Sea, or one of the lost company 
 sent out by Sir Walter Raleigh.* Requisitions, a rigid 
 
 * The lost colony of Captain White, which had been left on the 
 island of Roanoke, had disappeared, leaving 10 traces, and was 
 piobably cut off by the Indians. 
 
228 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 endeavor to comply with which might hav^ kept, the 
 worthy mariner going to and fro through the territories 
 of Powhatan to the present day. These instructions were 
 probably of his own head. He had obtained the ear of 
 the Company in England, and originated all these inven 
 tions. We have heard and seen something of this per 
 son before, in his visit to Powhatan. He is described, 
 and seemingly with great justice, as an empty, idle, and 
 selfish adventurer ; very great in his own conceit, and 
 swelling in his talk at ordinary seasons, but timorous and 
 suspicious in moments of danger, and totally unequal to its 
 exigencies. " How or why Captaine Newport obtained 
 such private commission, as not to returne without a 
 lumpe of gold, a certaintie of the South Sea, or one of 
 the lost companie sent out by Sir Walter Raleigh, I know 
 not ; nor why he brought such a five peeced Barge, not 
 to beare us to that South Sea, till we had borne her over 
 the mountaines, which how farre they extend is yet unknowne." 
 Such, indeed, had been one of the ridiculous projects of 
 Newport and the Company, the absurdity of which our 
 Captain exposes in a single sentence. A barge had been 
 actually constructed and sent out in pieces from England, 
 to be carried upon men s shoulders over the mountains of 
 Virginia, to the waters of the South Sea. The idea was 
 taken from the proceedings of Cortes, in manufacturing 
 his brigantines at Tlascala, and sending them on the backs 
 of tamanes to the Mexican lakes. But Cortes, before he 
 did so, knew where to seek for his lakes, and just how far 
 they were distant from his brigantines. But our Virginia 
 Company knew no mv re of the space between the domi 
 nions of Powhatan and the South Sea, than they did of the 
 mountains in the moon. This was not the only absurdity 
 Some score of foreigners, Poles and Dutchmen, were sent 
 out on wages, for the purpose of manufacturing pitch a tar, 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 229 
 
 glass, milles, and soap-ashes ; objects, says Smith, which, 
 " when the country is replenished with people and neces 
 saries, would have done well,, but to send them and sea- 
 ventie more, without victualls, to worke, was not so well 
 advised nor considered of as it should have beene." The 
 folly of the company and their adviser did not stop here ; 
 and the next proceeding of which Smith justly complains 
 was one likely to be productive of a great deal of mis 
 chief, as tending to elevate the self-esteem of those very 
 persons who were already proud enough, and whom it 
 was the English policy to make subordinate. Certain 
 expensive presents were sent out for Powhatan, and orders 
 were issued for his formal coronation as a Prince, after 
 the European fashion. This was a mischievous, as well 
 as ridiculous mummery, and vexed the good sense and 
 solid understanding of our hero. " As for the coronation 
 of Powhatan," says he, " and his presents of bason and 
 ewer, bed, bedstead, clothes, and* such costly novelties, 
 they had much better well spared than so ill spent, for 
 wee had his favour much better onely for a playne peece 
 of copper, till this stately kind of soliciting made him so 
 much overvalue himselfe, that he respected us as much as 
 nothing at all." 
 
 But Newport had his commission and his crown, and 
 the coronation and all other follies were to be achieved or 
 attempted. He accordingly summoned the council toge 
 ther, and unfolded his powers and his schemes together. 
 It is needless to say that Smith opposed them as equally 
 unwise and impracticable. He urged his views of the 
 impolicy of all these projects with his wonted force and 
 earnestness. His objections have already in part been 
 given. There were others which he urged before the 
 council. It was sufficiently hard, he argued, to feed twc 
 hundred additional mouths, with the provisions obtained 
 
230 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 with difficulty for one hundred and thirty only ; but even 
 this was comparatively a small objection to that which 
 could be urged against the great loss of time consumed in 
 these idle performances. " For wee had the salvages in 
 that decorum (their harvest being newly gathered) that wee 
 feared not to get victuals for 500. Now was there no 
 way to make us miserable," he asks, " but to neglect that 
 time to make provision whilst it was to be had, the which 
 was done by the direction from England, to performe this 
 strange discovery, but a more strange coronation, to loose 
 that time, spend what victualls wee had, tyre and starve 
 our men, having no meanes to carry victuals, munition, the 
 hurt or sicke, but on their own backs ?" 
 
 But the arguments of Smith were unavailing The 
 majority of the council were against him. Scrivener him 
 self desired to see new countries ; Waldo and Wynne, the 
 newly arrived, were anxious to carry out the wishes of the 
 Company in England ; and even Ratcliffe, who had been 
 laid by the heels for mutiny, was permitted to have a 
 voice on the occasion, which was naturally adverse to the 
 suggestions of Smith. Captain Newport, whom our Cap 
 tain charged with the conception of all these projects, " so 
 guilded men s hopes with great promises," that his reso 
 lutions were adopted. Smith, in language almost borrow 
 ed from divine lips, exclaims mournfully, " God doth 
 know they little knew what they did, nor understood theii 
 owne estates," to a lopt his conclusions. To Smith s 
 objections about wasue of time and lack of provisions, 
 Newport pledged himself to freight the pinnace with 
 twenty tons of corn while going on and returning from 
 his discovery, and to procure a similar supply from Pow- 
 hatan at Werowocomoco. He promised also to divide 
 with them the ship s stores ; and when Smith shook his 
 head with doubt at these fair promises, he meanly insinu- 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 231 
 
 ated that the opposition of our Captain arose only from a 
 selfish wish to undertake the adventure himself to the 
 exclusion of others ; and, seizing upon an old charge 
 which had been made against him in the time of Captain 
 Martin, said that nothing, indeed, could prevent the suc 
 cess of the expedition but the desire of the savages to 
 revenge the cruelties which Smith had practised upon 
 them. To this the answer of our Captain was sufficiently 
 conclusive ; not only as showing his innocence of this 
 charge in particular, but to prove that he was in every 
 respect willing to facilitate the enterprise, the moment it 
 was fully resolved upon. He was not the man to throw 
 any obstacles in the way of a scheme, which he yet felt 
 himself compelled to disapprove ; and exhibited none of 
 that sullen inactivity, by which inferior men passively 
 retard what they can no longer actively oppose. He 
 volunteered to visit Powhatan with only four companions 
 " where Newport durst not goe with less than 120" 
 to entreat the Indian monarch to come to Jamestown to 
 receive his presents, and undergo the ceremonial of coro 
 nation. His offer was accepted. The small party went 
 over land to Werowocomoco, but Powhatan was some 
 thirty miles distant. He was immediately sent for, and 
 Pocahontas, in the meantime, undertook to entertain the 
 guests of her father. 
 
 She did this after a fashion of her own, and which, for a 
 moment, proved rather startling to some of the English. 
 Conducting the party to a " fayre plaine" in the woods, 
 they were placed upon mats around a fire. This done, 
 Pocahontas disappeared, and suddenly a hideous shrieking 
 arose from the woods, which caused the party to leap 
 to their feet, prepare their weapons, and seize upon two or 
 three old men who had remained with them as securities 
 for their safety. They looked morr ently to see Powhatan 
 
232 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 and all his power emerge from the woods upon them. In 
 place of these, however, Pocahontas showed herself, to 
 reassure them. She was gieatly discomposed that her 
 sports, innocently meant, should have caused alarm, and 
 placing herself among the English, she bade them kill 
 her if any evil was intended. Men, women, and children, 
 flocked around them at the same time, to confirm the assur 
 ances of the sweet forest damsel whom they served. Our 
 Captain was soon satisfied that there was nothing to be 
 apprehended. But his companions were mostly fresh from 
 England, and his seizure of the old men as guaranties and 
 hostages was most probably an act meant only to give 
 them confidence. They resumed their places upon the 
 matting, Pocahontas placing herself among them, while 
 a pageant after a primitive fashion a masque, shall we 
 call it, of the Powhatanese? took place, sufficiently new 
 to the strangers, but one which did not greatly delight 
 their tastes. We are reminded, as we read, of some of 
 the orgies of nymphs and satyrs, such as the old drama 
 tists used to exhibit in their " daintie devises." The 
 scene was opened by the appearance from the woods of 
 thirty young damsels, who, clad only in green leaves, 
 came boldly forth as from the hands of original nature 
 with the single exception, that where their skins were 
 visible through the leaves they were decorated with paints 
 of various colors. The style of costume in each, not to 
 fall into an Hibernianism, differed from that of her com 
 panions. No two of them were painted alike. " Their 
 leader had a fayre payre of buck s homes on her head, 
 and an otter s skinne at her girdle, and another at her 
 arme, a quiver of arrowes at her backe, and a bow and 
 arrowes in her hand." How easy to fancy this the Diana 
 of Werowocomoco ? Others carried other implements 
 and ornaments, all of which may have been emblematical, 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 233 
 
 but all were alike horned, and, to our English companions, 
 horrible. The language in which our author speaks of 
 their exhibition smacks of the puritan rather than the 
 gallant or the adventurer. He calls them " fiends," and 
 describes their shrieks and shouts as " hellish." They 
 darted headlong from among the trees, cast themselves 
 frantically in a passionate set of antics about the fire, and, 
 according to our narrator, played the part of Bacchantes 
 to perfection. In such maddening manner did the light- 
 heeled and light-handed damsels of Cyprus hail the ascent 
 and approach of their reeling deity. u Singing and daunc- 
 ing with most excellent ill varietie, oft falling into their 
 infernall passions, and solemnly againe to sing and daunce," 
 they consumed about an hour in their fantastic exhibi 
 tion, then disappeared among the trees as suddenly and 
 strangely as they had entered. But this scene did not 
 end the " Mascarado." Having invited Smith and the 
 rest to their lodgings, our masquerading dames changed 
 the character of their sports, and from being wild and 
 furious before, they became fender and solicitous. But 
 the proceedings in the latter were not more grateful than 
 in the former character, and our Captain complains that 
 he was now more than ever tormented by their fondling 
 and embraces. They hung upon him, crowding and press 
 ing, as do the nymphs who would tempt Robert le Diable 
 in the opera, crying out " most tediously," says our 
 hero " Love you not me ? Love you not me ?" 
 
 Poor Pocahontas ! little did she fancy that her primitive 
 forest fancy would have had so unpleasing effect upon her 
 English favorites. Whether our courtly Captain allowed 
 her to see or to suspect his own, and the annoyance of his 
 companions, is not stated. At all events, she continued 
 her efforts, in the absence of her father, to amuse and 
 to delight her guests. The masque being over, the 
 
234 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 feast was set " consisting of all the salvage da nties they 
 could devise : some attending, others singing and dauncing 
 about them, 1 the whole mirth and festival being ended 
 by their seizing upon blazing firebrands, and conducting 
 them, in a sort of royal state, to the lodgings which had 
 been prepared for them. The scene, making allowances 
 for the ruder tastes of a savage people, was perfectly 
 feminine, and is not without its sweetness and its charm. 
 A little subdued by the hand of art, the poet may yet 
 weave it into some lovely native fabric. Pocahontas does 
 not appear to have engaged in this frolic, except to com 
 mand it, and she commanded only such pranks as they 
 were no doubt accustomed to practise in the presence of 
 their noblest guests. 
 
 Powhatan made his appearance the next morning, and 
 Smith apprised him of the presents and the honors that 
 awaited him at Jamestown, desiring him to return with 
 him, and receive them at the hands of Father Newport. 
 The answer of Powhatan was becoming equally the mon 
 arch and the man. It betrayed also something of the 
 sagacity of the politician. A natural and proper caution 
 was no doubt busy with the self-esteem and pride of cha 
 racter of the haughty savage, in prompting his reply. 
 
 " If," said he, " your king has sent me presents, I also 
 am a king, and this is my land. Eight days will I stay to 
 receive them. Your father is to come to me, not I to 
 him, nor yet to your fort. I will not bite at such a 
 bait." 
 
 To some suggestions which Smith had made, touching 
 a concerted operation between them against the Monacans, 
 and in respect to the meditated journey over the mountains 
 to the South Sea, he answered with equal decision : 
 
 " As for the Monacans, I can revenge my own injuries. 
 As for Atquanachuck, where you say your brother was 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 235 
 
 slain, it is a contrary way from those parts you suppose it. 
 For any salt water beyond the mountains, the relations 
 you have had from my people are false !" 
 
 Could any answer from any monarch have been more 
 frank and manly, and characterized by more dignity of 
 character ? To illustrate the truth of his disclaimer on 
 the subject of the salt water beyond the mountains, he 
 drew upon the ground a rude outline of the countries of 
 which himself and his people had spoken. He was by 
 no means churlish or reserved, though decisive in his 
 answers. On the contrary, the discourse between the 
 parties, which was protracted, was marked throughout by 
 courtesy and kindness on both sides ; both Smith and 
 Powhatan being pretty equally skilled in the arts of diplo 
 macy. 
 
 The arguments of our Captain failed to procure any but 
 the one answer from the Virginian Emperor, on the subject 
 of the coronation presents. They were accordingly sent 
 by water, while Smith and Newport, with an escort of 
 fifty men, went across by land to Werowocomoco. Here 
 Powhatan awaited them in all his state, and the next day 
 was appointed for the performance of the ceremony which 
 had been the occasion of the interview. We can readily 
 conceive the importance which such a man as New 
 port attached to these proceedings, and with what state the 
 guards were arranged, and the several marshals appointed 
 to their places ; with what solemn dignity -the presents were 
 brought forth; the bason and ewer, the bed and its royal 
 furniture set up, and the scarlet cloak, apparel and crown, 
 got in readiness to invest the tawny limbs and forehead of 
 the forest chieftain. Our authorities afford us but few 
 details, but these give a sufficient clue to the imagination 
 of the reader. Powhatan seemed somewhat suspicious of 
 these presents. The bason and ewer looked innocent 
 
236 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 enough ; so perhaps did the bed and furniture ; but the 
 scarlet cloak had something in its aspect which he did 
 not so much relish. He had never heard of the fate of 
 Hercules, but he evidently had some notion of the dangers 
 which might accrue from wearing the cast off clothes of 
 Nessus ; and it required all the assurances of Namontack, 
 the faithful Indian whom he had entrusted with Newport 
 to visit England, and who had just returned, to persuade 
 him that there was nothing deadly in the garment. It w r as 
 w r ith much ado they succeeded in getting the scarlet 
 robe over his shoulders. But as for kneeling to receive 
 the crown, that he could not do. He was not used to 
 such humiliation, and no argument could reconcile him 
 to it. He neither knew ." the majesty nor meaning of a 
 crowne," and after " a foule trouble" which they had, 
 and which " tyred them all," they only succeeded in their 
 object at last " by leaning hard upon his shoulders," so 
 that u he a little stooped," and this gave them a moment s 
 opportunity to place the kingly circle over the unwilling 
 brows. When this curious operation in crowning a king 
 had reached this stage of the business, a pistol-shot gave 
 the signal to the boats, which poured forth a volley of 
 musketry in honor of the event. Newport, as we see, 
 had arranged the details with great regard to the solemnity 
 and state of the occasion But Powhatan, suspecting 
 danger at every step in the affair, was prepared to find 
 anything but compliment in this salute, and behaved, when 
 the shot struck upon his ears, in a most unroyal manner 
 starting to his feet, and, until the matter was explained, 
 showing no small degree of apprehension. Reassured by 
 our Captain, he recovered himself sufficiently to perform 
 an act which, under like circumstances, would have been 
 characteristic of most sovereigns in any part of the world. 
 To show his gratitude, he gave his old shoes and mantle 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 237 
 
 to Captain Newport, who, we may willingly allow, had 
 justly merited them. To this liberal present was added 
 another, just before the parties separated, of seven or eight 
 bushels of corn. The English derived very little farther 
 advantage from this vain and paltry proceeding. For his 
 own reasons, which were no doubt quite satisfactory to 
 himself, Powhatan refused to join with them against the 
 Monacans, whom he had heretofore pronounced his ene 
 mies ; refused to give them guides to the territories of 
 that people ; and earnestly endeavored to dissuade them 
 from their purposes of hostility. Thus ended the expe 
 dition. In good hands, what a ludicrous picture might be 
 made of this coronation of Powhatan ; the reluctant 
 savage pressed down by the shoulders, while the three 
 Englishmf n, with the crown aloft ? standing on tiptoe, seize 
 the lucky moment to drop the shining honor upon his 
 brow ! 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE refusal of Powhatan to furnish guides, and his evident 
 reluctance to encourage any further exploration into his 
 territories, did not discourage Captain Newport in his me 
 ditated progress in search of the country of the Monacans. 
 Smith in vain strove to divert him from a purpose, the 
 fruits of which, according to his prediction, would be only 
 toil and suffering. But the idea of gold dust and gold 
 mines, which had seized upon the soul of the good sea caj> 
 tain, made him insensible to every argument founded upon 
 reason and experience. To use the verses which Smith 
 employs in this place, and which, for aught we know, 
 may be from his own pen 
 
 " But those that hunger seeke to slake, 
 Which thus abounding wealth wonlde rake, 
 Not all the gemmes of Ister s shore, 
 Nor all the gold of Lydia s store, 
 Can fill their greedie appetite, 
 It is a thing so infinite." 
 
 Leaving behind him eighty or ninety men with Smrth> 4 
 Jamestown, to load the vessel, Newport, with one hundred 
 and twenty, set forth, soon after his return from the visit t 
 Powhatan, upon his expedition into the wilderness. But 
 his course through the woods proved to he no such plea 
 sant sailing, and a journey of forty miles, which consumed 
 nearly three days, found our adventurers in no humor to 
 proceed further. They made no discoveries, got no gold, 
 saw nothing to recompense their labor. Two Indian 
 towns of the Monarans were discovered, in which they 
 could procure grain for neither love nor money. Th 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 239 
 
 savages, anxious to be rid of their presence, yet afra.d to be 
 hostile, treated them with sullen indifference, and frightened 
 them with a story of strange ships, which, since their de 
 parture, had penetrated to Jamestown with the view to its 
 conquest. They had hidden their corn, and could not be 
 tempted by any offers of trade to betray its hiding-place to 
 the greedy strangers. This treatment, and the fatigue 
 which they suffered from a mode of journey to which they 
 were wholly unaccustomed, soon reconciled our delicate 
 English to the necessity of foregoing those wonderful dis 
 coveries upon which Newport had set his heart ; and, bur 
 dened with some shining earths in which their refiner pre 
 tended to discover silver, they turned their faces once 
 more to the settlement. Smith sneers at so sudden an 
 abandonment of a progress through a country equally fair, 
 fertile and well watered ; but the result was only what he 
 had predicted. They reached Jamestown, " halfc sicke, 
 all complaining, and tyred with toyle, famine and discon 
 tent" wiser, perhaps, but scarcely grateful for an acqui 
 sition so very different from any which their golden hopes 
 had promised. 
 
 Smith had little sympathy for the adventurers. They 
 had no sooner reached the town, when he set such of 
 them as were able to labor, each according to his peculia; 
 ability, in procuring the necessary commodities for freight 
 mg the vessel. Some were set to the manufacture of 
 glass, others of tar, pitch, and potash, and these wert 
 placed under the control of the council ; while he himself, 
 with thirty others, leaving Jamestown, proceeded down 
 the river to a proper spot in the forest, where he could 
 teach them the art of felling trees, making clap-boards, and 
 sleeping in the woods. Smith was the proper leader to 
 convert into hardy and enterprising men the puny and 
 effeminate " younger sons" who were sent to him from 
 
240 LIFE OF CAPTAIN 
 
 England. He himself shrunk from no toil, and no expo 
 sure. Neither danger nor labor discouraged his manhood; 
 and, with his example before them that of grappling 
 always with the worst and most difficult parts of duty 
 his followers were deprived of all excuse for complaint or 
 discontent. But the employment had its pleasurable 
 excitements. The novelty had ils charm, and their tasks 
 soon became familiar. u Strange were these pleasures to 
 their conditions 5 yet lodging, eating, and drinking, work 
 ing or playing, they but doing as the President did him- 
 selfe. All these things were carried on so pleasantly, as 
 within a weeke they became masters ; making it their 
 delight to heare the trees thunder as they tell." And a 
 stirring sound it is : but the delight of our amateur wood 
 cutters had its disagreeables also. u The axes so oft 
 olistered their tender fingers, that many times every third 
 Mow had a loud othe to drowne the echo." For this 
 immorality, which our hero seems to have held in con 
 siderable dislike, he adopted a novel remedy. Each 
 man s oaths were numbered by his companions, and w r hen 
 the labor of the day was over, for every oath, a can of 
 cold water was poured down the sleeve of the offender. 
 He himself was not exempt from this penalty, which 
 seems so completely to have had the effect desired, that 
 an oath was scarcely to be heard in a week. " By this," 
 says our author, " let no man thinke that the President 
 and these gentlemen spent their times as common wood- 
 naggers at felling of trees, or such other like labours ; or 
 l hat they were pressed to it as hirelings, or common 
 vslaves ; for what they did, after they wore but once a 
 little inured, it seemed, and some conceited it, only as a 
 pleasure and a recreation : yet thirty or forty of such 
 voluntary gentlemen would doe more in a day than one 
 hundred of the rest, that must be prest to it by coinpul- 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 241 
 
 sion." We may add that much of this would be due to 
 the skill of him who had the direction of their labors 
 The hearty zeal with which Smith set the example- his 
 own spirit, promptness and energy and the excellent 
 humor and judgment with which he planned the penalties 
 of neglect or ill-performance, these were the essential 
 influences by which to make those work, whom more 
 severity would have only driven into rebellion. Had 
 Smith played the martinet with his volunteers, as the 
 drill sergeant of the regular service is wont to do, he 
 might have had their axes about his ears. Still, though 
 pleased with the spirit and industry of his men, our hero 
 quietly adds, that " twentie good workmen had been better 
 than them all. 7 
 
 Returning to the fort, Smith was vexed to find that 
 the time had been consumed, and no provisions procured. 
 The ship lay idle at a great charge, and her men did 
 nothing. Without wasting more time in unprofitable com 
 plaints, his indefatigable spirit at once proceeded to remedy 
 this new evil. Embarking in the discovery barge, and 
 leaving instructions for Lieutenant Percy to follow in 
 another, he set out for the people of Chickahominy. 
 u That dogged nation was too well acquainted with our 
 wants, refusing to trade with as much scorne and insolency 
 as they coulde expresse." But Smith was in no humor 
 to submit to denial or ill-treatment. The exigency at 
 Jamestown was pressing. Besides, he perceived that the 
 countenance of Powhatan was turned away from the 
 colony ; that it was his policy to starve them out ; and 
 that the time had at length arrived, for making such a dis 
 play of his power, as would compel a return of that res 
 pect, on the part of this savage monarch and his people, 
 as would ensure the future safety of the English. Chang- 
 ng his tone accordingly, he told the Chickahominies that 
 
242 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 he did not so much come for their corn as for his revenges. 
 He had an old account to settle with them. His own 
 imprisonment had never been atoned for, nor the murder 
 of his people ; and it was his humor now to take ven 
 geance upon them for both these occasions of complaint. 
 Landing his men, and making ready to charge the savages, 
 they took to their heels, and sought the cover of the 
 woods ; from whence they sent him an embassy, laden 
 with corn, fish, and fowl, as a tribute to the offended 
 strangers. They implored peace and pardon ; excused 
 themselves for their refusal to grant supplies, alleging, by 
 way of extenuating themselves, that their harvests that 
 year had been inferior ; but concluded with freighting both 
 barges with ample provisions. 
 
 Returning to Jamestown with this store, the fruit of his 
 own energy and decision, Smith found himself more likely 
 to suffer from the malice than be honored by the grati 
 tude of his associates. It seems to have been his peculiar 
 fortune in Virginia so to provoke the envy of his col 
 leagues as to make them wholly blind to their dependence 
 upon his abilities. Indeed, these very abilities, which so 
 completely obscured their own, were the subject of their 
 reproach and aversion. Radcliffe, who had proved him 
 self imbecile while President ; Newport, who had so re 
 cently verified by his own failure the good judgment and 
 the predictions of our hero ; would both much rather have 
 hazarded starvation than that u his paines should prove so 
 much more effectuall than theirs " Accordingly, as blind 
 as bitter in their malice, they actually laid their heads 
 together, not only to deprive him of the presidency on the 
 wretched plea that he had left the fort without consent of 
 Council, even though in the common exigency and for the 
 common good, but they made an effort to keep him out of 
 the fort also. But, to use the expressive language of oui 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 243 
 
 author, " their homes were much too short" to effect their 
 object. They themselves narrowly escaped a greater mis 
 chief. Our hero was no trifler when his wrath was roused, 
 " and had not Captain Newport cried peccavi, the Presi 
 dent would have discharged the ship, and caused him to 
 have stayed one yeare in Virginia to learne to speake of 
 his owne experience." We are not told of the manner in 
 which Smith extricated himself from these attempts of his 
 enemies ; but the common conviction of his merits, his 
 skill, spirit and invariable successes, set in contrast with 
 the uniform feebleness of those who were envious of his 
 abilities, naturally secured him the support of all the colony. 
 To a certain extent, such an establishment in a foreign 
 land must be influenced by popular feeling and opinion ; 
 and, hated by some of his associates, Smith was sustained 
 by all his followers. Besides, he was not wholly alone in 
 the council ; and, among the chief persons of the settlement, 
 Scrivener, Percy, Waldo, and others, were his staunch 
 friends and advocates ; and it appears to have been easy to 
 baffled the malice of Newport and his more worthless 
 ally, Radcliffe. But, though able to protect himself, and 
 to maintain his authority against their machinations, he 
 was much less successful in preventing the illicit traffic 
 which was carried on between the sailors, the colonists, 
 and the savages. " All this time our olde taverne (the 
 ship) made as much of all of them that had either money 
 or ware as could be desired. By this time they were 
 become so perfect on all sides (I meane the souldiers, 
 saylers and salvages), as there was ten times more care to 
 maintaine their damnable and private trade, than to pro 
 vide for the colony things that were necessary. Neither 
 was it a small policy in Newport and the marriners to 
 report in England we had such plentie, and bring us so 
 many men without victuals, when they had so many pri- 
 
244 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH 
 
 vate factors in the fort, that, within six or seaven weekes < 
 of two or three hundred axes, chisels, hows (hoes) and 
 pickaxes, scarce twentie could be found : and for pike- 
 heads, shot, powder, or any thing they could steal from 
 their fellowes was vendible ; they knew as well (and as 
 secretly) how to convey them to trade with the salvages 
 for furres, baskets, mussanaks, young beasts, or such like 
 commodities, as exchange them with the saylers for butter, 
 cheese, beefe, porke, aqua vita, beere, bisket, oatmeale, 
 and oyle : and then faine all was sent them from their 
 friends. And though Virginia afforded no furres for the 
 store (i. e. for the benefit of the owners), yet our master 
 in one voyage hath got so many by this indirect meanes : 
 as he confessed to have sold in England for thirty 
 pounds." 
 
 These extracts give a lively idea of the extent of the 
 peculation which Smith for a time vainly struggled to 
 prevent. As lively an idea of the indignation which he 
 felt may be gathered from another passage, where he 
 seems to indicate his success in putting an end to it ; and 
 shows, at the same time, the sort of obstacles which 
 usually serve to impede and baffle all such enterprises. 
 " These," says he, speaking of the peculators, " are the 
 saint-seeming worthies of Virginia, that have, notwith 
 standing all this, meate, drinke and wages ; but now they 
 begin to grow weary (of saint-seeming), their trade being 
 both perceived and prevented ; none hath beene in Vir 
 ginia that hath observed any thing, which knowes not this 
 to be true ; and yet the losse, the scorne, the misery and 
 shame, was the poore officers, gentlemen and carelesse 
 Governours, who were all thus bought and sold ; the 
 adventurers cousened, and the action overthrowne by their 
 false excuses, informations and directions. By this lei 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. J45 
 
 all men judge how this businesse could prosper, being 
 thus abused by such pilfring occasions." 
 
 The indignant temper which is here displayed is more 
 appropriately shown by our hero in a letter which he 
 addressed to the Treasurer and Council of the Plantation, 
 in England, in the character of President of the settle 
 ment. He answers the false reports at the expense of 
 the colony, set afloat by selfish and interested persons, and 
 briefly, but amply, shows what have been and are the true 
 evils and evil influences^ which have baffled the hopes and 
 efforts of the colonists. His letter speaks for itself, and 
 for the good sense, the clear judgment, and the unselfish 
 manhood of the writer. From the tenor of the answer, 
 the reader will sufficiently gather the sort of reports detri 
 mental to the settlers, which had been circulated in 
 England ; reports, which the disappointments of the coun 
 cil, with regard to the results of their outlay, made them 
 but too ready to believe. It was much easier and far 
 more grateful to suppose that the failure lay rather in the 
 misconduct and disobedience of the agents, than in the 
 errors and absurdity of their own schemes. They com 
 plained of the vain hopes with which they had been fed, 
 and of the factions which defeated the performances of 
 the colony ; and concluded with threatening, that unless 
 the proceeds of the return voyage of Newport s ship 
 should defray the expenses of her outfit some two thou 
 sand pounds they would abandon the settlement to its 
 fate. It was with this threat to stimulate him, that New 
 port set out seeking mines of gold and silver in the coun 
 try of the Monacans ; while Smith, with more sagacity 
 and industry, proceeded to hew trees, get out clapboards, 
 and freight the vessel with pitch, tar, glass and potash. Hisr 
 letter accompanied the cargo. We furnish it at length . 
 
246 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 ii Riyht Honourable, fyc. I received your letter, where 
 in you write, that our minds are so set upon faction, and 
 idle conceits in dividing the country without your con- 
 Bents, and that we feed you but with ifs and ands, hopes 
 and some few proofes ; as if we would keepe the mystery 
 of the businesse to ourselves ; and that we must expressly 
 follow your instructions sent by Captain Newport : the 
 charge of whose voyage amounts to neare two thousand 
 pounds, the which, if we cannot defray by the ship s 
 returne, w r e are alike to remains as banished men. To 
 these particulars I humbly intreat your pardons if I ofiend 
 you with my rude answer 
 
 " For our factions, unlesseyou would have me run away 
 and leave the country, I cannot prevent them : because 1 
 do make many stay that would eh fly any whether. For the 
 idle letter sent to my Lord of Salisbury, by the President 
 and his confederats, for dividing the country, &c., what 
 it was I know not, for you saw no hand of mine to it, nor 
 even dreamt I of any such matter. That we feed you 
 with hopes, &c. Though I be no scholar, I am past a 
 schoolboy ; and I desire but to know, what either you, and 
 these here doe know, but that I have learned to tell you by 
 the continuall hazard of my life. 1 have not concealed from 
 you any thing L know ; but I feare some cause you to believe 
 much more than is true. 
 
 " Expressly to follow your directions by Captaine 
 Newport, though they be performed, / was directly against 
 it ; but according to our commission I was content to be 
 overruled by the major part of the councell, I feare to the 
 hazard of us all ; which now is generally confessed when 
 it is too late. Onely Captaine Winne and Captain Waldc 
 I have sworne of the councell, and crowned Powhatan 
 according to your instructions. 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 247 
 
 " For the charge of this voyage of two or three thousand 
 pounds, we have not received the value of an hundred pounds. 
 And for the quartred boat to be borne by the souldiers 
 over the falles, Newport had 120 of the best men he could 
 chuse. If he had burnt her to ashes, one might have carried 
 her in a bag, but as she is, jive hundred cannot, to a naviga 
 ble place above the falles. And for him at that time to 
 find in the South Sea a mine of gold ; or any of them sent 
 by Sir Walter Raleigh : at our consultation I told them 
 was as likely as the rest. But during this great discovery 
 of thirtie myles (which might as well have been done by 
 one man, and much more, for the value of a pound of 
 copper at a seasonable tyme) they had the pinnace and all 
 the boats with them, but one that remained with me to 
 serve the fort. In their absence I followed the new begun 
 works of pitch and tarre, glasse, sope ashes and clapboard, 
 whereof some small quantities we have sent you. But if 
 you rightly consider what an infinite toyle it is in Russia 
 and Swethland, where the woods are proper for naught 
 els, and though there be the helpe both of man and beast 
 in those ancient commonwealths, which many an hundred 
 yeares have used it, yet thousands of those poore people 
 can scarce get necessaries to live, but from hand to mouth. 
 And though your factors there can buy as much in a week 
 as will fraught you a ship, or as much as you please ; you 
 must not expect from us any such matter, which are but 
 as many of ignorant miserable soules, that are scarce able 
 to get wherewith to live, and defend ourselves against the 
 inconstant salvages : finding here and there a tree fit for 
 the purpose, and want all things els the Russians have. 
 For the coronation of Powhatan, by whose advice you 
 sent him such presents, I know not ; but this give me 
 leave to tell you, I feare they will be the confusion of us 
 
248 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 all ere we heare from you agane.* At your ship s arrival] 
 the salvages harvest was ric3wly gathered, and we going tc 
 buy it, our owne not being halfe sufficient for so great a 
 number. As for the two ships loading of corne Newport 
 promised to provide us from Powhatan, he brought us but 
 fourteen bushels, and from the Monacans nothing, but the 
 most of the men sicke and neare famished. From your 
 ship we had not provision in victuals worth twenty pound, 
 and we are more than two hundred to live upon this : the 
 one halfe sicke, the other little better. For the saylers 
 (I confcsse) they daily make good cheare ; but our diet is 
 a little meale and water, and not sufficient of that. Though 
 there be fish in the sea, foules in the aire, and beasts in the 
 woods, their bounds are so large, they so wildc, and we so 
 weake and ignorant, we cannot much trouble them. Cap 
 tain Newport we much suspect to be the author of those 
 inventions. Now, that you should know, I have made you 
 as great a discovery as he, for lesse charge than he spendcth 
 you every meale ; I have sent you this mappe of the bay and 
 rivers, with an annexed relation of the countries and nations 
 that inhabit (hem, as you may see at large. | Also two 
 barrels of stones, and such as I take to be good iron ore at 
 the least ; so divided, as by their notes you may see in 
 what places I found them. The souldiers say many of 
 your officers maintaine their families out of that you sent 
 
 * Already, before the ink was dry on Smith s letter, we find it writ 
 ten "Master Scrivener was sent with the barges and pinnace to 
 Werowocomoco, where he found the salvages more readie to fight 
 than trade," &c. 
 
 t Already referred to. A remarkably well executed chart, sin 
 gularly correct, considering the difficulties and disadvantages of the 
 explorer; and an admirable proof of the equal zeal, courage and 
 abilities of our adventurer. The accompanying narrative is equally 
 valuable and remarkable. 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 249 
 
 us r and that Newport hath an hundred pounds a yeare 
 for carrying newes. For every master you have yet sent 
 can find the way as well he, so that an hundred pounds 
 might be spared, which is more than we have all, that 
 helps to pay him wages. Capt. Radcliffe is now called 
 Sicklemore, a poore counterfeited imposture. I have sent 
 you him home, least the company should cut his throat 
 What he is now, every one can tell you : if he and Archer 
 returne againe they are sufficient to keepe us alwayes in 
 factions. When you send againe I entreat you rather 
 send but thirty carpenters, husbandmen, gardiners, fisher 
 men, blacksmiths, masons and diggers up of trees roots, 
 well provided, than a thousand of such as we have ; for 
 except we be able both to lodge them and feed them, the 
 most will consume with want of necessaries before they 
 can be made good for any thing. Thus if you please to 
 consider this account, and the unnecessary wages to Cap- 
 taine Newport, or his ships so long lingering and staying 
 here (for notwithstanding his boasting to leave us victuals 
 for 12 months, though we had 89 by this discovery lame 
 and sicke, and but a pint of corne a day for a man, we 
 were constrained to give him three hogsheads of that to 
 victual him homeward), or yet to send into Germany or 
 Polelatujt for glasse men and the rest, till we be able to 
 sustain ourselves, and releeve them when they come, it 
 were better to give five aundred pound a tun for these 
 grosse commodities in Denmarke than send for them 
 hither, till more necessary things be provided. For in 
 over toyling our weake and unskilful bodies, to satisfie 
 this desire of present profit, we can scarce oven recover 
 ourselves from one supply to another. And 1 humbly 
 intreat you hereafter, let us know what we should receive, 
 and not stand to the .saylers courtesie to leave us what 
 they please, else you imiy riiH.y;^ u> vvhai vou will, nul 
 
250 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 we not you with any thing. These are the causes that 
 have kept us in Virginia from laying such a foundation, 
 that ere this might have given much better content and 
 satisfaction ; but as yet you must not looke for any profita 
 ble returne : So I humbly rest." 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THIS bold and manly letter was dictated by a sense of 
 suffering and injustice, and somewhat by a consciousness 
 of exigency. It has devolved upon u our Captaine," as 
 we have seen, on almost all occasions, to procure and to 
 provide, at the hazard of his own repose and life, the 
 greater portion of the food by which the hungry mouths 
 of the colony were satisfied. The ships had brought him 
 consumers, and nothing more. The stores which they fur 
 nished were soon exhausted, equally by their own waste, 
 and by the new colonists whom they brought. Seventy 
 persons came with Newport on his last voyage, and were 
 left as burdens to the colonists, who, as Smith states in 
 his letter, was compelled to supply the ship s crew return 
 ing home with a portion of their slender store of provision. 
 Of the new comers, thirty were gentlemen, fourteen were 
 tradesmen, twelve were laborers, two were boys, eight were 
 Dutchmen and Poles, sent out to make potashes ; and 
 there were two women, " Mistresse Forrest, and Anne 
 Burras, her maide." The latter was, shortly after her 
 arrival, married to John Laydon, a carpenter, who had 
 been in the colony from the beginning ; and this was the 
 first marriage of Europeans that ever took place in Vir 
 ginia. With this new and numerous supply of gentlemen, 
 added to the already large proportion of the same unpro 
 ductive sort of population, our Captain might well become 
 affrighted at the new charge upon the feeble resources of 
 the colony. The tone of his letter is enlivened by the 
 sense of ^vrong don** to the really industrious and adven- 
 
252 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 turous portions of the settlement ; and he might well be 
 roused at the monstrous expense of two thousand pounds, 
 to be liquidated by the colony, incurred in compliance 
 with the absurd suggestions and dishonest counsels of 
 Newport and Radclifle crowns, and robes, and wash 
 basins, to the dusky potentate of Werowocomoco, and 
 searches after the South Sea in the wigwams and forests 
 of the people of Monacan, 
 
 The seventy newly arrived had increased the number 
 of the colony to two hundred persons. It had been found 
 exceedingly difficult to provide for half that number, as 
 the chief supplies of food were drawn from the Indians. 
 These seldom planted more land than \vould yield pro 
 vision for their own tribes, and though profligate enough 
 to sell when under great temptation, they were now too 
 familiar with the necessities and with the commodities of 
 the English, not to value their own very highly. Besides, 
 Powhatan was no longer disposed to encourage the growth 
 of a strange people on his soil, whose resources were so 
 great, and whose numbers he saw so constantly increas 
 ing. The colonists themselves, mostly dissipated and idle 
 adventurers, unaccustomed to labor, and very soon yielding 
 to the prostrating influences of the summer climate in 
 Virginia, had at no time been able to raise an adequate 
 supply of food for their own consumption. The late sea 
 son, which had been laboriously employed by Smith in 
 exploring the Chesapeake and the contiguous rivers, had 
 been consumed by Radcliffe, then in the Presidency, in 
 idleness and peculation. We have seen the waste which 
 followed the arrival and the detention of Kenton and his 
 floating tavern. At his departure, the destitute condition 
 of the colony, doubly burdened with its new mouths, dis 
 tressed and alarmed " our Captaine." " These poore 
 conclusions so affrighted us all with famine," that he 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 253 
 
 determined on an expedition to Nansemond in search of 
 supplies. It will be recollected the fright he gave to this 
 people while on his exploring voyage, threatening to burn 
 their villages in consequence of their treachery, and receiv 
 ing from them a promise of four hundred bushels of corn 
 wheneve 1 he should next visit them. The necessities of 
 the colony moved him to remind them f their promise. 
 But they had entirely forgotten it ; treated him very 
 coldly ; and not only withheld the required tribute, but 
 positively refused to trade with him on any terms. They 
 excused themselves for this refusal, by alleging that they 
 had no provisions to spare, and that Powhatan had com 
 manded them not only to keep their grain, but not to allow 
 the English to enter their river. Smith, after vainly 
 endeavoring to reason them into a more friendly disposi 
 tion, brought his muskets to bear upon the argument. 
 This drove them to the thickets, without discharging an 
 arrow. But this brought " our Captaine " no nigher to 
 his objects, and, putting the torch to one of their houses, 
 he signified to them that such should be the fate of all 
 unless the grain was forthcoming. This brought them out 
 of covert. The argument was effectual ; and, on condition 
 that he should " make no more spoyle," they loaded the 
 three boats which he brought, before night. " How they 
 collected it," says our author, " I know not." Content 
 with their atonement, and the quantity of grain which 
 they furnished, Smith forbore farther severities, and, on 
 the strength of his forbearance, they promised to plant a 
 crop purposely for the English. 
 
 That night, our hero, with his party, dropping a few 
 miles down the river, so as to piace his boats and supplies 
 in safety, went ashore, and made their beds at the foot of 
 a hill, in the open woods. The ground was covered with 
 snow, and frozen hard. They dug a space in the snow, 
 17 
 
254 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH 
 
 and built a fire. When the heat had sufficiently dried the 
 spot, they threw off the fire, swept the ground, and cover 
 ing it with a mat, slept as warmly and pleasantly as if 
 they had been in a palace. " To keepe us from tht 
 \vinde we made a shade of another mat ; as the winde 
 turned we turned our shade ; and when the ground grew 
 cold we renewed the fire. And thus many a cold wintei 
 night have we laine in this miserable manner ; yet those 
 that most commonly went upon those occasions were 
 always in health, lusty and fat." These are encouraging 
 facts, which the luxurious world are slow to understand. 
 We have yet to learn how much the vigor and the elas 
 ticity of the human frame depend upon a free and hearty 
 commerce with the air we breathe, and with the elements 
 which enter into our composition. 
 
 The toils and perils of such a mode of life, the severities 
 and caprices of the seasons, had no discouragements for 
 * our Captain." Scarcely had he brought these supplies 
 in safety to Jamestown, than he was off on another expe 
 dition, having the same object. This time, proceeding up 
 the bay in two barges, he found himself avoided by the 
 jealous savages. They fled on every side at his appear 
 ance, until he came to the river and people of Appamat- 
 tox ; with these he traded, with copper, for a small sup 
 ply of corn, and returned to Jamestown to discover that 
 Scrivener and Percy, who had also gone abroad on a 
 similar quest, had returned with even smaller results than 
 himself ; having procured nothing. 
 
 These disappointments troubled our hero. The pros 
 pects were discouraging. Time was lost unprofitably, the 
 savages were rapidly consuming the provision which was 
 to supply the colony, and the winter, only just begun, 
 promised to be a severe one. Smith s feelings of disquiet 
 assumed a harsher aspect when he beheld the reluctance 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 255 
 
 of the Indians to receive him when he found them flying 
 at his approach, and heard from their own lips that they 
 were commanded by Povvhatan to treat him as an enemy. 
 He resolved to strike at the root of the evil to single out 
 the one superior offender over all, and, i\y a striking ex 
 hibition of his power, convince the natives that he was no 
 longer to be trifled with. He resolved to surprise Powha 
 tan, and take possession of all his provisions. It does not 
 need that we should argue for the morality and justice of 
 this decision. The discussion would carry us quite too 
 far from our narrative, and beyond our limits. The case 
 seems to have been one of necessity, and Smith was de 
 termined not to starve. He consulted with his counsel, 
 but their opinions were divided. Scrivener and Winne, 
 influenced by" instructions from England, where, at that 
 time, they were particularly tender of the sacrrdness of 
 the rights of the royal person, were opposed to the project. 
 Captain Waldo alone sided with him. Smith s reasons 
 were those of Cortes and Pizarro. He felt their impor 
 tance, the exigency of the necessity, and was not to be 
 driven from his purposes. It happened, just at this time, 
 as if to favor his design, that Powhatan dispatched a mes 
 senger to our hero, inviting him to come and see him. 
 The emperor wished for workmen to build him a house 
 after the English fashion. He also desired a grindstone, 
 fifty swords, some guns, and other articles, for which he 
 was willing to give a ship-load of corn. Powhatan had se\ 
 his heart upon the swords and grindstones. We havft 
 already seen the endeavors which he made to procure 
 them from Smith and Newport. With the latter he was 
 successful ; but the former was less easily persuaded to 
 provide his treacherous enemy with better weapons of 
 warfare than those to which he was accustomed. It is 
 probable that the instructions given by Powhatan to his 
 
~f>f> LIFE OK CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 people, to refuse all commerce with the English, had no 
 higher motive than so to reduce them t>y their exigencies 
 as to compel Smith to trade with him on rjis own terms 
 Knowing that the several attempts of tne colonists to pro 
 cure grain had been baffled by his instructions, and having 
 learned how eager they were in the pursuit of provisions, 
 he fancied that the time had ? -rived when he might pro 
 cure the objects which he desired at his own price ; and 
 hence his proposition, and hence his invitation to Smith to 
 visit him. But the latter was disposed to suspect some 
 more profound design at the bottom of this invitation. He 
 well knew the devices and subtlety of the Indian heart, 
 and, regarding only his more obvious policy, such as it 
 would have been in the case of an European potentate, he 
 found in it a full justification for his own project. He 
 complied in part with the request of Powhatan ; sent him 
 four Dutch and two Englishmen to build his house, and 
 prepared himself to visit him. But the swords were for 
 gotten. Setting forth with the pinnace, two barges, and 
 forty-six men, all volunteers, he left Jamestown for Wero- 
 wocomoco some time in December.* His company was 
 victualled for but three or four days, and lodging the first 
 night with the king of Warraskoyack, at a short distance 
 from Jamestown, they received from him ample additional 
 supplies. This chief counselled Smith against visiting 
 Powhatan, whom he described as meditating the most 
 cruel treacheries, sending for the English only to cut their 
 throats and seize their arms. But, though thanking him 
 for his advice, Smith resolved against taking it. From 
 this king he obtained guides to the dominions of another 
 named Chawannock, whose territories lay in the fork cf 
 
 * The narrative says the 29th, but, as he afterwards tells us of spend* 
 ing Christmas among the Indians of Kecoughtan, this must be an 
 error. The matter is of little moment. 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 2i)7 
 
 Chowan, between the rivers Nottoway and Meherin. 
 With these he dispatched one Michael Sicklemore, whom 
 he describes as u a very valiant, honest, and painful soldie-r." 
 His object in sending this gentleman was threefold. He 
 was to conciliate the friendship of the king of the Chowan- 
 nocks, obtain some specimens of silk grass, and make in 
 quiries after the lost company of Mr. Walter Raleigh. On 
 leaving the king of Wanaskoyack, Smith left with him his 
 page, Samuel Collier, in order that he should learn the 
 Indian language. 
 
 From Wanaskoyack Smith next proceeded to Kecough- 
 tan (Hampton). Here they were detained by storms for 
 several days. They kept their Christmas never more 
 merrily among the Indians, who feasted them upon 
 oysters, fish, flesh and wild-fowl, in abundance. Better 
 cheer and kinder welcome they never enjoyed. The yule- 
 log had never burned for them more brightly in England, 
 than in the smoky cabins of the Kecoughtan. Departing 
 thence, it was not so agreeable to resume their ancient 
 practice, so productive of health and fat, of lying in any 
 weather by a great fire at the foot of a tree, and with no 
 roof but that of heaven. To afford an idea of the abundance 
 of wild fowl encountered on the route, during this severe 
 season, we are told that the president, with Anthony Bag- 
 nail and Serjeant Pising, killed a hundred and forty-eight 
 at three shots. Wild pigeons are probably meant. At 
 Kiskiack, the extreme cold and bad weather, together with 
 a desire to "suppress the insolency of these proud savages, 
 prompted them to delay three or four days longer, and it 
 was not till the 12th of January that they reached Wero- 
 comoco. Here winter awaited them with more than usual 
 severity of aspect, as if in alliance with Powhatan. The 
 river was frozen for a space of half a mile from the shore. 
 But Smith s hardihood was not to be discouraged Ti 
 
258 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 lose no time, having broken through the ice with the barge 
 as far as this was possible, he taught his followers by his 
 own example, u to march neare middle deep, a flight shot 
 (an arrow shot), through this muddy, frozen ooze." Thus 
 he gained the shore in safety with his men, and, quartering 
 in the nearest cabins, sent to Powhatan for provisions. 
 The Emperor very promptly supplied him in abundance 
 with bread, turkeys and venison. The next day he re 
 ceived and feasted them after his ordinary manner, which, 
 as we have seen in repeated instances, was not unworthy 
 an Indian sovereign. But, the feast over, to the surprise 
 of Smith, he inquired, with rare inhospitality, when he 
 proposed to depart. The explanation which followed be 
 trayed the duplicity of the savage nature. Powhatan de 
 nied that he had ever sent for him. He had no corn to 
 spare, and his people less. Some forty baskets, indeed, 
 might be had, but for these he required forty swords. 
 Smith, in reply to this, coolly confronted him with the men 
 by whom his message had been brought. When asked 
 how he could be so forgetful, he " concluded " the matter 
 with a merry laughter, and asked for his commodities. 
 But none of these suited him. His desires were set only 
 upon guns and swords, and, rejecting the copper with con 
 tempt, which was offered for his corn, he said that he could 
 put a value upon his corn, not on the copper. 
 
 " Our Captaine " soon saw that the wily savage w r as 
 trifling w r ith him. He was not much in the mood for 
 trifling, and, with some decision, he gave him to understand 
 tfiat his guns and swords might be bestowed upon him 
 after a different mode from that which he desired. " Pow 
 hatan," said he, " though I had many courses to have made 
 my provision, yet, believing your promises to supply my 
 wants, I neglected all to satisfie your desire and to testify 
 my love. 1 sent you my men for your building, neglecting 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 259 
 
 mine own ; what your people had you have engrossed,, 
 forbidding them our trade ; and now you think by con 
 suming the time, we shall consume for want, not having to 
 fulfil your strange demands. As for swords and guns, I 
 told you long ago, I had none to spare ; and you must know 
 those I have can keep me from want : yet steale or wrong 
 you I will not, nor dissolve that friendship we have mu 
 tually promised, except you constrain me by your bad usage. 1 
 
 Powhatan listened very attentively to this discourse, and 
 promised, in reply, that within two days Smith should have 
 all the corn which it was in his own and the power of his 
 people to bestow. " Yet, Captaine Smith," he added, 
 " some doubt about the motive of your coming hither 
 makes me not so kindly seeke to relieve you as I would, 
 for many doe inform me your coming hither is not for 
 trade, but to possess my country and invade my people. 
 These dare not come to bring you come, seeing you thus 
 for ever armed. To free us of this feare, leave your wea 
 pons aboard your vessel. Here, where we are all friends, 
 they are wholly needless." 
 
 The frankness of Powhatan s speech was associated 
 with quite too much wariness of conduct to disarm the 
 caution of " our Captaine," with whom he contrived to 
 confer throughout the day, in the same style and in ex 
 cellent good humor. They were both politicians equally 
 skilled and subtle, each having a secret purpose, which 
 he could only execute by first baffling the other s vigilance 
 and circumspection. But the game was rather more in 
 telligible and clear in the hands of the Indian emperor than 
 in that of our hero. The latter little dreamed that he had 
 been betrayed to Powhatan by the very persons whom he 
 had sent to build his palace. Four of these, as we have 
 seen, were Dutchmen. One of them, in particular, in con- M 
 sequence of his great spirit, judgment, and resolution, was 
 
260 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 so g 3at a favorite of Smith, that he had, in fact, sent hiro 
 as a sort of spy upon his enemy, to discover and report his 
 secret machinations. Of the man s honesty, Smith had 
 not the slightest doubt, and six months elapsed from the 
 period of these proceedings before he was put in possession 
 of the proofs of his villany. But he, as well as the other 
 foreigners, were bought over by the artifices of Powhatan. 
 The Dutchmen found plenty in the huts of the savage,, 
 having left an empty granary behind them at Jamestown. 
 They were soon apprised of Powhatan s preparations to 
 surprise and destroy the English, and became persuaded, 
 knowing little (as late comers) of the prowess of Smith, 
 that the colony must succumb between the joint assaults 
 of the savages and famine. Their social sympathies were 
 not more active in behalf of the English than of the Indians, 
 and they found it little difficult to unite their fortunes with 
 the one, rattier than share the seemingly certain fate of the 
 other. Powhatan was accordingly possessed of all the 
 schemes of Smith, while conferring with him on the most 
 amicable footing. 
 
 That night, " our Captaine " quartered in the wigwams 
 of the king, and the next day their conferences were re 
 sumed. These were enlivened slightly by a languid trade, 
 which Powhatan suffered, most likely, in order to prevent 
 suspicion. Inthistrade the English succeeded in getting ten 
 measures of corn for a copper kettle which the king seemed 
 greatly to affect. But the people brought no corn, and 
 ,he gist of Powhatan s discourse seemed chiefly intended 
 to persuade our hero to lay aside his weapons and his cau 
 tion. The ingenuity and talents of the Indian king are 
 apparent in the following discourse. 
 
 u Captain Smith," said he, " I have seen the death of 
 three generations of my people. I am a very old man, and 
 know the difference between peace and war better than 
 
LIFE OF C A P I A I N SMITH. 261 
 
 *ny person in my country I must die ere very long, and 
 would wish to bequeath to my brethren and successors my 
 experience of these things, along with your friendship. 
 But this hint from Nansemond that your purpose is to 
 destroy my people, alarms both them and me. It is for 
 this reason that we dare not visit you. Now, what will 
 it avail you to take by force that which you may quickly 
 have by love, or to destroy the very hands that bring you 
 food ? What can you get by war, when it is so easy foi 
 us to fly beyond your reach, and hide our provisions ic 
 the woods ? By wronging us, you only famish yourselves 
 And why thus jealous of our love ? Are we not unarmed 
 among you, and willing still to supply your wants ? Think 
 you I am so simple not to know how much better it is 
 to eat good meat, sleep in security with my women and 
 children, laugh and enjoy myself with you, and, being 
 yo-ur friend, procure the things I wish, than, as your 
 enemy, be forced to fly from all ; to lie cold in the woods, 
 feed upon roots and acorns, and be so hunted by you all 
 the while as to be able to enjoy neither rest, food, noi 
 sleep ; with my tired people watching around me, and sc 
 anxious and apprehensive, that, if a twig but break, every 
 one crieth out, There cometh Captain Smith ? Thus, 
 with a miserable fear, flying, I know not whither, I must 
 soon end a miserable life, leaving my possessions to such 
 youth as yourself; who, through rashness, seeking that 
 which you know not where to find, may also as quickly 
 come to a like miserable end. Let us be wiser. Let 
 these words assure you of my friendship. We shall trade 
 as friends hereafter. Only come to us without your 
 swords and guns as if you looked for an enemy, and we 
 will furnish you with corn." 
 
 The excellent reasoning embodied in this speech did not 
 
262 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 blind Smith to the old king s subtlety. His answer waa 
 couched in the following terms : 
 
 " Seeing you will not rightly conceive of our words, 
 we strive to make you know our thoughts by deeds. The 
 vow I made you of my love, both myselfe and my men 
 have kept. As for your promise, I find it every day vio 
 lated by some of your subjects. Yet we, finding your 
 love and kindnesse, our custom is, so far from being un 
 grateful, that, for your sake onely, we have curbed our 
 thirsty desire of revenge ; els had they knowne as well 
 the crueltie we use to our enemies, as our true love and 
 courtesie to our friends. And 1 thinke your judgment 
 sufficient to conceive, as well by the adventures we have 
 undertaken, as by the advantage we have (by our armes) 
 of yours, that, had we intended you any hurt, long ere 
 this we could have effected it. Your people coming to 
 Jamestowne are entertained, with their bowes and arrowes, 
 without any exceptions : we esteeming it with you as it 
 is with us, to wear our armes as our apparell. As for the 
 danger of our enemies, in such warres consist our chiefest 
 
 o 
 
 pleasures. For your riches we have no use. As for the 
 hiding your provision, or your flying to the woods, we 
 shall not so unavoidably starve as you, conclude. Your 
 friendly care in that behalfe is needlesse, for we have a 
 rale to find beyond your knowledge ." 
 
 In this style and spirit their dialogue continued, varied 
 only by a little trade, which Powhatan seemed to permit, 
 the better to beguile his adversary. But the wariness 
 with which Smith maintained his guard baffled the objects 
 of the savage ; who, with a deep sigh, at last thus openly 
 reproached our Captain with his strictness and vigilance : 
 
 " Captain Smith, I have never treated any Werowance* 
 
 * Werowance, or Chief. Smith, it must not be forgotten, wag 
 made a Wer< wance of Virginia by Powhatan. 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 263 
 
 with so much kindness as yourself; yet from you I have 
 received but little in return. From Newport I had what 
 I wished ; swords and copper, bed, towels, any thing that 
 I desired, and he was content to take only what I offered 
 him. 1 had but to ask, and he sent his guns out of sight 
 None refuses to do my bidding but yourself. From you 
 I get nothing but what you do not value yourself, yet you 
 will have from me only the thing which you most desire. 
 You call Newport father, and you call me father, yet you 
 are not the son to do for us except what you prefer, and 
 we are both required to submit to you. If your intentions 
 be really friendly, as you say, obey my wishes. Send 
 away your arms, that I may believe you. In the love I 
 bear you, I have stripped myself of every weapon. " 
 
 Smith was not blind to the fact *hat the number of 
 Powhatan s followers had greatly increased. He himself 
 had but eighteen men ashore ; and but one man, John 
 Russell, immediately in attendance. Seeing that the 
 savage was only solicitous to gain time in order to accu 
 mulate sufficient numbers to cut his throat, Smith deter 
 mined to anticipate the action of his enemy by putting his 
 own schemes into sudden operation. He, accordingly, 
 set the Indians to work to break the ice, that the boat 
 might reach the shore in order to take in himself and the 
 corn which he had bought. He contrived at the same 
 time to convey an order to his men to come ashore, the 
 better to effect the surprise which he designed. Mean 
 while, he entertained the Virginian with the following 
 reply speaking against time, as his adversary had been 
 doing : 
 
 " Powhatan, you must know, as I have but one God, I 
 honour but one king. I live not here as your subject, but 
 your friend, to pleasure you with what I can. By the 
 gifts vou bestow upon me, you gaine more than by trade ; 
 
264 LIFE OF .CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 yet would you visit me as I doe you, you should know it 
 is not our custome to sell our courtesies as a vendible 
 commodity. Bring all your countrey with you for youf 
 guard, I will not dislike it as being overjealous. But, to 
 content you, to-morrow I will leave my armes, and trust 
 to your promise. I call you father, indeed, and as a 
 father you shall see, I shall love you ; but the small care 
 you have of such a childe caused my men peiswade rne to 
 looke to myselfe." 
 
 How Powhatan must have grinned at this shrewd and 
 affecting reproach ! It was uttered at a moment when it 
 was full of significance. The conference was going on in 
 one of the houses of the king. While Smith was speak 
 ing, the former was apprised of the breaking of the ice, 
 and of the gradual approach of the boat to the shore. The 
 wily savage instantly felt that the time for action on his 
 part had come. It was not his policy to wai f until Smith 
 had increased his body-guard with all his force. This 
 body-guard had been stationed at some little distance at 
 equal distances, probably, between the shore and the 
 place of conference. Smith had but one companion with 
 him in the dwelling, and by this time Powhatan had envi 
 roned the house with his warriors. Seizing a favorable 
 moment, he left some of his women to keep Smith in con 
 versation, and quietly stole off from the premises. Then 
 it was that " our Captain " was made to comprehend his 
 danger. He became aware of numbers of dusky savages, 
 stalwart and suspicious, who were showing themselves on 
 every hand. He found himself wholly beset with foes, 
 and the chief of them, whose personal presence he had 
 relied on for his safety, had disappeared with the agile 
 dexterity of a serpent, winding away through the distant 
 woods. But Smith possessed in perfection the Alexan 
 drine method of cutting himself out of a difficulty. He 
 
LIFE OF CAPTA.IN SMITH. 263 
 
 did not pause in this predicament. Thought and action 
 grew together in a nature such as his, which needed but 
 the provocation, instantly to receive from his will the 
 impulse requisite to safety. Without a word, closely fol 
 lowed by his companion, Russell, " with his pistols, sword 
 and target, hee made such a passage among the naked 
 divils, that, at his first shoot, they next him tumbled one 
 over another, and the rest quickly fled, some one way, 
 some another." Our Captain was a fierce personage when 
 roused. His aspect was one to inspire terror. His face 
 at ordinary times sitting for his portrait, when persons 
 most endeavor to appear amiable wore a fierce gravity ; 
 the expression of which, when in his wrathful mood, must 
 have been very imposing and convincing to timid per 
 sons. With this countenance, and the auxiliar influence 
 of sword and pistol, he made his way through the discom 
 fited savages, and regained his soldiers without injury. 
 
 Roused to anger, and at the head of a stout body of 
 well armed men, Smith was decidedly dangerous, and it 
 was important that Powhatan should explain his conduct, 
 and put such a construction upon his proceedings as 
 should disarm the wrath which he had roused. He sent 
 him, accordingly, an " ancient orator," who, prefacing his 
 discourse with a present of " a great bracelet and a 
 chaine of perrle," spoke as follows : 
 
 " Captain Smith, our Werowance, fearing your guns, 
 and knowing when the ice was broken you would bring 
 more men upon him, has fled away for safety. The men 
 whom you see here were only sent to take charge of his 
 corn, and guard it from being stolen which might happer 
 without your knowledge. Though some of his people 
 have been hurt by your violence, yet Powhatan st ll 
 icmains your friend. Thus will he continue. And now, 
 since the ice is open, he wills that you send away your 
 
266 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 corn, and, if you would have his company, send away 
 your guns also. They affright his people so that they 
 dare not come to you, as he promised they should." 
 
 It was the policy of Smith, baffled in his first object, to 
 maintain appearances. Accordingly, still observing the 
 utmost caution, he yet treated the savages with civility 
 and favor. They had their motives of a like character 
 for like behavior ; and their attentions grew sometimes 
 almost too oppressive for the forbearance of our Captain. 
 While one portion of them provided baskets, and con 
 veyed on board the pinnace the corn which he had 
 bought, others were considerate enough to proffer their 
 services in guarding and taking charge of the weapons of 
 the English ; a proffer of service which we need scarcely 
 say was gratefully declined. These were all " goodly, 
 well-proportioned fellows, as grim as divils ;" in dealing 
 with whom it became necessary occasionally to make 
 such shows of war as to keep them in subordination. 
 They had learned to reverence the implements of death 
 used by the English, so that " the very sight of cocking 
 our matches, and preparing to let fly," would prompt them 
 " to leave their bowes and arrowes to our guard, and 
 beare downe our corn on their backs. We needed not 
 importune them to make dispatch." 
 
 The ebb of the tide having left the barges of the Eng 
 lish on the ooze, they were compelled to remain till higl 
 water, so that they were easily persuaded to return to 
 their old quarters upon the shore ; where, agreeably to 
 instructions from their chief, the Indians employed all 
 the merry sports they could devise to pacify the whites, 
 and disarm them of their hostility. The policy was to 
 disarm them of their caution also. The day was con 
 sumed in merriment and dancing, and with night came 
 advices of a great feast which Powhatan was preparing to 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 267 
 
 send them. With these agreeable assurances, and wilr 
 the conviction that he had impressed the enemy with a 
 reasonable feeling of hib own inferiority, it might have 
 been that Smith would have somewhat relaxed in that 
 vigilance which had so repeatedly saved him before. But 
 the same guardian angel to whom he already owed so 
 much, the Christian child in a heathen household, Poca 
 hontas, suddenly made her appearance in the wigwam 
 where our Captain found temporary shelter with his party, 
 and opened his eyes to the danger that awaited him. 
 Powhatan had not forgiven him his defeats had not for 
 given him the mortification of that feeling of inferiority 
 which his heart had never felt till Smith penetrated his 
 territories. He burned with a passion to procure the 
 head of our hero, as, indeed, the true head of the colony 
 This obtained, the rest was easy. This, if his own expe 
 rience had not taught it him, was the counsel of the trai 
 torous Dutchmen in his employ. It was the design of 
 Powhatan to assail the English while they were gorging 
 at their feast ; and while his cooks were preparing the 
 dishes for his victims, his carvers were getting ready also. 
 But we must let our author tell his own story, particularly 
 as he always seems to excel to rise above himself in 
 those passages where he speaks of Pocahontas. 
 
 " The eternal, all-seeing God did prevent him (Pow 
 hatan), and by a strange meanes. For Pocahontas, his 
 dearest Jewell and daughter, in that darke night came 
 through the irksome woods, and tolde our Captaine great 
 cheare should be sent us by and bye : but that Powhatan, 
 and all the power he could make, would after come and 
 kill us all, if they that brought it could not kill us with 
 oure owne weapons when we were at supper. There 
 fore, if we would live, shee wished us presently to be 
 gone." 
 
26S LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 In requital for this information Smith " would have 
 given her such -things as she delighted in, but with the 
 teares running downe her cheekes, she said she durst not 
 be seene to have any ; for if Powhatan should know it 
 she were but dead ; and so she ranne away by herself a? 
 she came." 
 
 Nothing, of its kind, can well be more touching than 
 this new instance of deep sympathy and attachment on 
 the part of this strangely interesting forest child, for the 
 white strangers and their captain. To him, indeed, she 
 seems to have been devoted with a filial passion much 
 greater than that which she felt for her natural sire. The 
 anecdote affords a melancholy proof of the little hold 
 which power, even when rendered seemingly secure by 
 natural ties, possesses upon the hearts of human beings. 
 Here we find the old monarch, who has just declared 
 himself the survivor of three generations of subjects, be 
 trayed by his own child, and by one of his chiefs,* while 
 in the pursuit of his most cherished objects. We have 
 no reproaches for Pocahontas, and her conduct is to be 
 justified. She obeyed laws of nature and humanity, of 
 tenderness and love, which were far superior, in their 
 force and efficacy, in a heart like hers, to any which spring 
 simply from the ties of blood. But, even though his de 
 signs be ill, we cannot but regard the savage prince, in his 
 age and infirmities, thus betrayed by child and subject, 
 somewhat as another Lear. He, too, was fond of his 
 Cordelia. She was " the jewel," " the nonpareil," we 
 are told, of his affections. Well might he exclaim, with 
 the ancient Briton, in his hour of destruction 
 
 " How sharper than a serpent s tooth it is, 
 To have a thankless child ! " 
 
 * The Chief of Warraskoyack. 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH 269 
 
 But of her humane treason, for its motive was beyond 
 reproach, Powhatan knew nothing. Smith kept her 
 secret. He was not heedless of her intelligence, the 
 truth of which he had very soon occasion to perceive. In 
 less than an hour after her departure, " eight or ten lusty 
 fellowes, with great platters of veaison and other victuall," 
 made their appearance, and invited them to sit and eat. 
 These were very importunate with the English to extin 
 guish their matches, the smoke of which, they pretended, 
 made them sick. But Smith maintained his precautions ; 
 and, apprehensive of treachery in the preparation of the 
 food, he made the Indians taste of every dish before he 
 suffered his people to partake of it. He then dismissed 
 them, instructing them to return to Powhatan, and say 
 that " he was conscious of his purposes and ready for his 
 coming. For them, he knew of the bloody task assigned 
 them, but would baulk them in this and all other villainies. 
 They might be gone !" Other messengers from Pow 
 hatan followed these, at different periods throughout the 
 night. They carne as spies to see how the land lay, and 
 returned disquieted, baffled by the vigilance of Smith, 
 who kept his men to their arms all night. Nothing far 
 ther was attempted ; and the savages who thronged about 
 them, as with the morning they prepared for their depar 
 ture, maintained a show of friendliness to the last. Nor 
 was it deemed good policy to leave Powhatan himself, 
 without endeavoring to conciliate his suspicions and his 
 anger. His wishes to this effect being known, it was 
 resolved to leave at Werowocomoco one Edward Brynton, 
 whose occupation was to provide the king s table with 
 wild-fowl. 
 
 It may be thought somewhat singular that, after the 
 occurrence of these events, such a measure should have 
 been adopted ; but we must not forget that the object was 
 18 
 
270 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 still to maintain appearances . that Smith as yet had no 
 sort of idea of the treachery of the Dutchmen still em 
 ployed in Powhatan s service ; and that Brynton waa 
 really an increase of strength to the armed party which 
 he left behind him, true (as he thought) to his interest*, 
 n the very household of his enemy. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 WK have not hesitated to express our regret at the design 
 of Captain Smith to seize the person of Powhatan. This 
 proceeding is excused by a regard to the necessities of the 
 colony, the modes of thinking among military men at that 
 period, and the obvious purpose of similar treachery with 
 regard to himself, which was entertained by Powhatan. 
 The excuse is no justification, in any examination upon 
 just principles, of the merits of our hero. It must go for 
 what it is worth. The error must be set down against his 
 qualities of real merit, in proof of those imperfections of 
 character which are found to impair the integrity, and 
 diminish the nobleness of the very purest minds. In a 
 moment of extreme exigency, when evidently nothing 
 short of this degree of violence would suffice for the safety 
 of the endangered party, there could, indeed, be no hesita 
 tion in the judgment which would declare in favor of that 
 resolution and promptness by which, even though at ano 
 ther s hurt, the required assurances of safety were to be 
 found. Whether the present was such an exigency, as 
 was that of Cortez in Mexico, is a question which, in our 
 very imperfect knowledge of all the facts in the situation 
 of Smith, we are not exactly prepared to determine. 
 From the details before us, it would not seem to be pro 
 perly classed among those perilous extremes of circum 
 stance, by which the individual is permitted, at any sacri 
 fice of moral and social law, to regain his securities. But 
 as it is not our desire to urge the perfect purity and integ 
 rity of ouv Captain s character, we shall not undertake the 
 
272 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 unnecessary labor of proving his freedom from error in the 
 present instance. He was a stout and fearless soldier, of 
 great courage and enterprise, great shrewdness, coolness, 
 and common sense ; full of a rude spirit of chivalry, that 
 was sometimes fantastically virtuous, but not wiser than 
 his age, and not wholly free from those faults and vices 
 which that age was so frequently found to sanction. It 
 does not appear that public opinion in England found any 
 fault with him for this attempt upon the person of the 
 Indian emperor. If it did, it was rather in consequence 
 of his failure than his attempt. We, at all events, are not 
 sorry that he failed. The character and conduct of Pow- 
 hatan are such as entitle him to our respect and sympathy ; 
 and though we forbear to censure his English adversary, 
 we are not unwilling that the savage chieftain should still 
 exhibit that rare of his subjects, that vigilant guardianship 
 of his territory, by which we are made to esteem the 
 sovereign, even though in the dusky leader of a heathen 
 tribe. 
 
 Smith had scarcely set sail from Werowocomoco, before 
 Powhatan reappeared. He had timely notice of all his 
 movements, and with his departure, he despatched two 
 of the. Dutchmen with all haste to Jamestown. The 
 scheme of these men was probably suggested by them 
 selves, by their knowledge of the habits of the colonists, 
 and of the pretences by which they could be most easily 
 imposed upon. By this scheme, they proposed not only 
 to find favor in the sight of Powhatan, but to gratify their 
 own cupidity. The king had set his affections upon an 
 English armory. Whether this was a mere passion of 
 his taste, or was meant to promote his purposes for the 
 expulsion of the whites, must be left to conjecture. Both 
 motives may be found at work compelling his desires ; in 
 obedience to which our Dutchmen, presenting themselwi 
 
L I > E O F CAPTAIN SMITH. 273 
 
 to Captain Wynne, before Smith could possibly return, 
 assured him that everything was going on well ; that 
 Smith having use for their arms had sent them for others ; 
 for tools, for clothes, and other commodities, all of which 
 were readily yielded them. Their cunning enabled them 
 to effect an arrangement with six or seven seamen, who 
 became their confederates in the appropriation of goods. 
 By these they were soon furnished with everything that 
 could be stolen easily with swords and pike-heads, guns, 
 shot, powder, and the like by which the wishes of Pow- 
 hatan for the English weapons were very tolerably grati 
 fied. The number of Indians always prowling about the 
 fort, furnished great facilities for the conveyance to their 
 king of the commodities thus stolen. By these means, 
 and the assistance of one of the Dutchmen, who seems to 
 have been a blacksmith, he soon accumulated eight guns, 
 as many pikes, fifty swords, and three hundred hatchets ; 
 such a treasure as few Indian sovereigns of America were 
 ever known to possess. Brynton and Richard Salvage, 
 two of the Englishmen in his employ, observing the readi 
 ness with which *he accumulated these weapons, and the 
 great diligence which the Dutchmen betrayed in procuring 
 them for him, became alarmed as much for their own 
 as the safety of the colony, and made an effort to escape ; 
 but were detected, pursued, brought back, and kept for 
 some time in momentary apprehension of death. 
 
 Our Captain, meanwhile, was leisurely pursuing his 
 way, seeking provisions at the different settlements along 
 the river. Having arrived at Pamunkey, the seat of Ope- 
 chancanough, who was a brother to Powhatan, either by 
 blood or by adoption, they were received and for several 
 days entertained hospitably, with mirth and feasting. A 
 day was set aside for trade, of which the surrounding 
 country was properly apprised, Leaving his boats on tnis 
 
274 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 occasion, Smith, with fifteen others, went up to the village 
 of the chief, ahout a quarter of a mile from the river, 
 which, to their surprise, they found entirely abandoned 
 by the people, and stript of all its goods and furniture. 
 Such a proceeding looked exceedingly suspicious, particu 
 larly on a day set apart for trade, when, instead of being 
 abandoned, the settlement should have shown all the life 
 and bustle of a market-town in fairing time. But the 
 strangers had not long been present before the chief arriv 
 ed, followed by a stout band of warriors. These brought 
 with them bows and arrows in abundance, but such a 
 trifling supply of provisions, and those charged for at such 
 enormous prices, that our Captain readily conceived that 
 they were to be used only as a bait, by which to delude 
 their customers. This extorted from him the following 
 remonstrance : 
 
 " Opechancanough, the great love you professe with 
 your tongue, seemes meere deceet by your actions. Last 
 yeare you kindly fraughted our ship ; but now you invite 
 me to starve with hunger. You know my want, and I 
 your plenty ; of which, by some meanes, I must have 
 part. Remember, it is fit for kings to keepe their pro 
 mise. Here are my commodities. Take your choice. 
 What remains I will sell in fair bargains to your people." 
 
 Opechancanough took this speech in good part, and the 
 corn which had been brought was disposed of to the whites 
 on terms which they thought reasonable. The Indian 
 chief promised the next day that the supplies should be 
 more satisfactory. Accordingly, at the usual hour, Smith, 
 with his fifteen men, once more proceeded to the dwell 
 ing of the chief. Here they found a few persons newly 
 arrived with their baskets. Opechancanough soon made 
 his appearance ; but it was observed that his courtesies 
 and cheerfulness seemed straine and unnatural. He was 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 275 
 
 at some pains to assure them of the trouble he had taken 
 in having supplies brought in ; but even while he spoke, 
 news was brought to Smith, by Mr- Russell, that they 
 were betrayed, for that the house was surrounded by no 
 less than seven hundred armed savages. The chief saw 
 that his plot was discovered, and betrayed his intentions 
 by his anxiety and fear. Smith s own followers exhibited 
 signs of dismay, but were encouraged by their leader in 
 the following language : 
 
 , " My worthy countrymen," said he, " were the mis- 
 chiefe from my seeming friends no greater than our danger 
 from these enemies, I should not care were they as many 
 more. But it is my torment, that, though I may escape 
 from these, our worthy councill, with their open-mouthed 
 minions, will make me such a peace-breaker in the opi 
 nion of those in England, as will breake my necke. I 
 could wish those persons to be here now, that make these 
 seeme saints, and me an oppressor. But this is the worst 
 of all, wherein I pray you to aid me with your opinions. 
 Shoulde we beginne with them and surprise the king, we 
 cannot keepe him well, and at the same time defend our 
 selves. If we should cache kill our man, and disperse the 
 rest, we should still starve for victuall, getting nothing 
 more than the bodies that are slaine. As for their fury, 
 that is the least danger, for well you know, that, being 
 alone assaulted with two or three hundred of them, I made 
 them, by the helpe of God, compound to save my life. 
 Arid wee are sixteene, and they but seaven hundred at the 
 most ; assure yourselves, therefore, that if you dare stand 
 but as I doe, to discharge your peeces, the very smoke 
 will e sufficient to affright them. Yet, howsoever, let 
 us fight like men, not die like sheepe. By such meanes, 
 you know, God hath oft delivered mee, and will, I trust, 
 doe so now. But first let mee deale with them, to bring 
 
276 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 it to passe. We may fight for something, and draw them 
 to it by conditions. If you like this motion, promise me 
 you will be valiant." 
 
 This speech, so cool and confident, reasvsured his men.. 
 They swore to follow him, and do as he commanded. 
 The time did not permit much argument, and we must 
 suppose that they kept the Indian chief in a tacit sort of 
 custody while this discussion proceeded. This over, our 
 Captain turned to him, and said : "I see, Opechancanough, 
 your plot to murder me, but I feare it not. As yet, yours 
 men and mine have done no harme, but by our direction 
 Take, therefore, your weapons. You see mine. My 
 body shall bee as naked as yours. The island in your 
 river is a fit place, if you be contended. There let us two 
 tight it out, and the survivor shall be lord and master over 
 ail our men. If you have not enough, take time to fetch 
 more, and bring what number you will. Only let your 
 men bring, each of them, a basket of come, against all of 
 which I will stake the value in copper, and the conqueror 
 shall take the whole." 
 
 This was in the true spirit of chivalry. It reminds us 
 of our hero before the walls of Regall. It is evident he 
 thought of adding the head of Gpechancanough to those 
 of the three Turks already emblazoned on his shield. 
 But to this the Indian chief was no ways inclined. His 
 notions of war implied no such unnecessary personal risks. 
 He preferred the subtler game which he had begun to 
 play, and was evidently disposed to forego none of his 
 advantages. Still, he disclaimed hostility, professed 
 nothing but friendship, and, to prove it, invited Smith to 
 go with him to the entrance of the cabin, where he had a 
 great present in waiting for him. This was a bait to draw 
 mm into an ambush of two hundred ; thirty others lying 
 concealed behind a {alien tree, each, with his arrow ready 
 
LIFE OF \ : T A f N S M I T H . 277 
 
 on the string. Commanding one of his men to receive 
 this present, Smith himself refused to go. The rest of 
 his party volunteered to do so. But he would not suffer 
 this. He was in no mood for farther trifling. Satisfied 
 of the treachery of Opechancanough, he resolved to bring 
 the matter to such an issue as would reconcile all the 
 inequalities of numbers. Accordingly, commanding "Lieu 
 tenant Percie, Master West, and the rest, to make good 
 the house," he ordered two others to guard the door ; 
 then, suddenly seizing upon the long scalp-lock of the 
 Indian chief, who in size was a giant to our Captain, he 
 dragged him from amidst the circle of forty or fifty war 
 riors by whom he was encircled, and clapped a loaded 
 pistol to his breast. This boldness paralyzed the chief 
 and all his captains, and in this manner Smith drew 
 him forth, in the sight of all his people, holding him in a 
 sort of security for the forbearance of his followers. The 
 effect was magical. Accustomed to venerate as sacred the 
 persons of their sovereigns, they regarded with awe the 
 individual who could thus profane them without dread of 
 punishment. They dropped their weapons at the humili 
 ating spectacle. Their chief had already yielded his 
 u delivering to the Captaine his vambrace, bow and 
 arrowes," and offering his tribute in a sober " sadnesse," 
 which declared his shame and apprehensions, if not his 
 compunction. With his hand still wreathed in his hair, 
 Smith summoned the subjects of his prisoner about him, 
 and gave them a speech after his usual fashion. 
 
 " I see, you Pamaunkees," he said, u the great desire 
 you have to kill me ; and my long suffering your injuries 
 hath emboldened you to this presumption. The cause 
 which has made me forbear your insolence is the promise 
 I made you, before the God I serve, to be your friend till 
 you give me just cause to be your enemy. I.I keepc this 
 
278 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 vow, my God will keepe me, and you cannot do me hurt 
 If I break it, he will destroy me. But if you shoot but 
 one arrow to shed the blood of any of my men, or steale 
 the least of these beads and copper, which now lie at my 
 feet, I will not cease revenge so long as there is one. of 
 your nation to answer to the name of Pamaunkee. I am 
 not now at Rassaweak, half drowned with myre, as when 
 you took me prisoner ; yet for your good usage, and spar 
 ing of me then, I so affect you, that your denyals of your 
 trechery doe halfe persuade me to mistake myselfe. But 
 if I be the marke you ayme at, here I stand, shoot he that 
 dare. You promised to fraught rny ship ere I departed, 
 and so you shall, or I will load her with your dead carca 
 ses. Yet, if as friends you will come and trade with me, 
 I will not trouble you. Your king shall be free, and shall 
 be my friend, for 1 am not come for the hurt of him, or of 
 any among you." 
 
 The condition in which he kept their king made them 
 very placable. They yielded ready obedience to his 
 requisitions, and men, women and children, brought in 
 the supplies, in such abundance, that our Captain, already 
 greatly fatigued, was tired of receiving them. Leaving 
 this duty to two of his men, and having released his cap 
 tive, he withdrew into one of the cabins for the purpose 
 of repose. Meanwhile, the guard became remiss, and, too 
 soon assured of the docility of the savages, were soon 
 carelessly dispersed among them. The latter resumed 
 their weapons, and Smith, vigilant even in sleep, was 
 awakened to find forty or fifty of their choice warriors 
 pressing into the apartment where he slept, each armed 
 with a heavy \var club, or an English sword. The haste 
 with which their entrance was made fortunately awakened 
 him in season. " Halfe amazed with this suddaine sight. 
 he betooke hin: straight to his sword and target ; Mr 
 
LIFE OF CAFTAIN SMITH. 27S 
 
 Crashaw and some others charged in like manner," and 
 the house was soon clearea of the intruders. The king 
 apologized, in a long speech, for the intrusion ; and his 
 people found it advisable to assume the virtue of good 
 humor and good fellowship with the powerful stranger 
 whom they so vainly strove to circumvent, even if they 
 felt it not. Their attempts upon him had invariably 
 resulted in their own defeat and disaster ; and our hero 
 had the genuine English shrewdness always to exact a 
 profit for his people from all the failures of their enemies. 
 He knew how to make them pay the expenses of the 
 war. 
 
 It was while our Captain was thus exploring the coun 
 try for supplies, to g ard against famine in the colony, that 
 a melancholy event happened at the fort. It seems that 
 Mr. Scrivener, whom Smith had hitherto been always 
 disposed to favor, had somewhat declined in affection 
 towards the President, and under that sinister influence 
 which, in England and the colony, had always stubbornly 
 fought against the influence of our hero, had at length 
 determined to set up in some measure for himself. Ac 
 cordingly, in order to exercise something like a separate 
 command, he took advantage of Smith s absence to visit a 
 contiguous island ; with what object in view is not men 
 tioned. He succeeded in persuading Captain Waldo to 
 join him, though Waldo had been especially charged by 
 Smith not to be absent from the fort, but to be in readi 
 ness to second his performances. Scrivener, with Waldo, 
 Gosnold, and eight others, embarked on the enterprise. 
 The weather was extremely cold, the river partly frozen, 
 and the wind violent. The boat was swamped, and all 
 in her were drowned. The bodies were recovered by the 
 savages, from whom came the first intelligence to the fort 
 of the sad disaster. There, nobody could be found to 
 
280 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 convey the melancholy tidings to the President, then sup 
 posed to be still at VV erowocd^loco, until a l.rave fellow, 
 named Richard Wyffin, undertook, alone, the performance 
 of this mission. It was one of many difficulties and dan 
 gers. He first proceeded to the dwelling of Powhatan, 
 where he lodged that night. Here, not finding the Presi 
 dent, and perceiving the great preparations which Powhatan 
 was making for war, his worst fears were aroused for his 
 own and the safety of the persons whom he sought. And 
 the danger seems to have been pressing in his own 
 instance. But for the interference of Poc^ontas who 
 seems to have been always present when the duty of 
 an angel was to be done he might have f? n en a victim 
 to his generous zeal. " Pocahontas hid him for a time, 
 and sent those who pursued him the cleane contrary way 
 to seeke him ; but by her meanes, and extraordinary 
 bribes, and much trouble, in three dayes travell at length 
 ne ^ind us in the middest of these turmoyles." Swear 
 ing Wyffin to secresy, and dissembling his own grief, so 
 that his company should not be seen to despond while 
 among their enemies, Smith went aboard his vessel, leav 
 ing Opechancanough free the night that he received 
 these tidings. That he left this powerful chief at liberty, 
 was only with the view the more successful!^ to strike at 
 higher game. He felt that, though there was no avowed 
 war between Powhatan and himself, their r: ations were, 
 nevertheless, sufficiently hostile to justify the prosecution 
 of his first design ; and his experience, befor returning to 
 Jamestown, was of a sort to confirm him in this purpose. 
 He was advised that the Indian emperor h,*J issued his 
 commands to his subjects, to procure his death by all 
 means in their power j and the poor savages, in obedience 
 to these orders, had baited the shores with grain ; which, 
 however, he was not suffered to approach, unless by leav- 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 28 1 
 
 ing behind him all his weapons. The first show of his 
 coming, gun in hand, was the signal for carrying their 
 baskets out of sight They affected to have come unarm 
 ed, simply for the purposes of trade, though with such a 
 people and in such a country, it was well known that 
 every bush and tree would afford a sufficient armory of 
 arrows for their Parthian multitudes. Still, they preferred 
 approaching him in a peaceful aspect. Such was their 
 terror of his prowess that, but for the commands of their 
 sovereign, the idea of meeting him in conflict was as 
 " hateful to them as hanging." And thus the parties 
 gazed wistfully upon each other, the one from the shore, 
 the other from the river they upon Smith s weapons, and 
 he upon their baskets of corn. But when he saw them 
 beginning to depart with their produce, " being unwilling 
 to lose such hootie," he so judiciously disposed the pin 
 nace and barges, as to enable the party on board to form 
 a cover to his men, while he, and three others, armed, took 
 a party ashore, unarmed, to receive the corn they brought. 
 The Indians <( flocked before him in heapes, and the banke 
 serving as a trench for retreat, he drew them fayre open 
 to his ambuscadoes." Opechancanough, knowing his 
 party to be mostly unarmed, came down upon him with 
 two or three hundred men, marching in u the forme of 
 two halfe moones," the better to enclose the English 
 They brought with them some twenty men and several 
 women,bearing painted baskets. As they drew nigh, and 
 when they thought that the bait had taken, and that they 
 had sufficiently environed the whites, the persons, men 
 and women, bearing the e;rain, threw down their baskets 
 and fled. But the fear of the assailants, even when they 
 thought their purpose sure, was such as scarcely to suffer 
 them to fix their shafts upon the string. Just then, as if 
 in mercy, Smith gave the signal to his party in ambush. 
 
282 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 and they showed themselves without firing a shot. Ai 
 this sight the savages took to flight, " esteeming their 
 heeles for their best advantage." We are permitted to 
 suppose that Smith providently gathered up the scattered 
 baskets. 
 
 Powhatan had truly described the terrors with which 
 our Captain had inspired the savages, when he said, if a 
 twig was heard to break in the forest, they cried out, 
 " here comes Captain Smith." Fearing to meet him in 
 battle, failing to delude him by their artifices, they attempt 
 ed his destruction by practices which we have not often 
 been wont to ascribe to our aborigines. Sending down 
 one of his vessels, probably with the supplies he had pro 
 cured, to Jamestown, he still remained in the neighbor 
 hood of Pamunkee, in which there was still an abundance 
 of provision which he hoped to secure by barter. The 
 Indians, under new professions of terror and friendship, 
 came in and expressed a willingness to freight his vessel, 
 in order to disarm his hostility. They believed, or pre 
 tended to believe, that he had despatched one of his boats 
 for fresh supplies of men. In this mood, whether sincere 
 or feigned, they employed themselves for five or six days 
 in bringing in grain, through frost and snow, on their naked 
 backs, from all parts of the country. In the meantime, 
 Smith and several of his party found themselves poisoned 
 by some of the dainties with which the savages had sup 
 plied them. But their art was not equal to their malice. 
 The poison sickened the whites, but was expelled, without 
 proving fatal in a single instance. Wecuttanow^ a stout 
 young Indian, finding himself suspected of the crime, and 
 being surrounded by forty or fifty of his companions at a 
 moment when Smith had but a few men about him, brav 
 ed him with a good deal of insolence. But our Captain, 
 not regarding the inequality of numbers, promptly laid hii 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 2S3 
 
 cudgel over the shoulders of the savage, and kicked him 
 out of sight, " as scorning to doe him any worse mis- 
 chiefe." This drove his companions into the woods, 
 " thinking they had done a great matter to have so well 
 escaped." 
 
 In this tour in search of provisions, our Captain explored 
 the " countries of Youghtanund and Mattapanient, where 
 the people imparted what little they had with such com 
 plaints and tears from the eyes of women and children," 
 as would have moved with compassion any Christian 
 heart. Yet had the search been made in October, No 
 vember and December, or when Newport was making his 
 idle discovery of the country of the Monacans, there 
 would have been no sort of difficulty in procuring all the 
 provisions they required. " Men may thinke it strange," 
 says our author, in a passage that would seem to be apolo 
 getic in its object, " that there should be such a strive for 
 a little come, but had it been gold with more ease we 
 might have got it ; and had it lacked, the whole colony 
 had starved." Such an exigency, which the forethought 
 of the President soon perceived, may well be urged in 
 extenuation of proceedings which might otherwise seem 
 rather harsh than decisive. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 [T was somewhat with the view of disarming the caution 
 of Powhatan, that our Captain treated the people of Ope- 
 chancanough with so much indulgence. To seem on 
 friendly terms with them, and to linger with the apparent 
 view to trade, was to lessen the suspicions of the empe 
 ror, and keep him still at Werowocomoco. Believing 
 this object to have been attained, Smith, on leaving Pa- 
 munkee, suddenly turned his prow up the river, and 
 once more sought the habitation of Powhatan ; resolved 
 on effecting, if possible, his original design of surprising 
 him in the midst of his provisions. Approaching the town 
 in secret, he sent two of his party, " Mr. Wyffin, and Mr. 
 Coe," ashore to discover and make way for his intended 
 project. " Those damned Dutchmen," says our indig 
 nant author, " had caused Powhatan to abandon his new 
 house and Werowocomoco, and to carry away all his corn 
 and provision." Such also was the ill-feeling for the 
 whites whom he had left behind him, that the two emissa 
 ries of Smith were in some doubt whether they should 
 escape with their lives. Baffled in his scheme, and seeing 
 that nothing more was to be obtained in this neighborhood, 
 he returned with all possible speed to Jamestown, carry 
 ing with him two hundred pounds of deer suet, and nearly 
 five hundred bushels of corn ; all of which was procured 
 at a cost of twenty-five pounds weight of copper, and fifty 
 of beads and iron. 
 
 Here, at the close of this expedition, our author deems 
 it necessary to excuse the gentleness and great forbear- 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 285 
 
 ance which Smith exhibited in thus dealing with the 
 savages, and thus shows us the difficulty of applying the 
 social and moral standards of the present time to the con 
 duct of that period. " These temporizing proceedings to 
 some may seeme too charitable to such a daily daring, 
 trecherous people : to others not pleasing that we washed 
 not the ground with their blouds, nor showed such strange 
 inventions in mangling, murdering, ransacking and destroy 
 ing (as did the Spanyards) the simple bodies of such igno 
 rant soules ; nor delightful, because not stuffed with rela 
 tions of heapes and mynes of gold and silver ; nor such 
 rare commodities as the Portugals and Spanyards found RI 
 the East and West Indies. * * * It was the Span- 
 yards good hap to happen in parts where such was the 
 number of people as to enable them so to improve the 
 earth that it afforded food at all seasons. And time had 
 brought their arts to so much perfection as to give them 
 the free use of gold and silver, together with the most of 
 those commodities which the country was able to afford. 
 What the Spanyard got was chiefly the spoyle and pillage 
 of the people, and not the labours of their owne hands. 
 But had those fruitful countries beene as salvage, as bar 
 barous, as ill-peopled, as little planted, laboured and ma 
 nured as Virginia, it is likely that their labours would 
 have brought as little profit as our owne. Had Virginia 
 beene so peopled, and so adorned with such store of pre 
 cious Jewells and rich commodities as the Indies, then, 
 indeed, might the world have traduced us and our merits, 
 and have made shame and infamy our reward, had we not 
 gotten and done as much as by their (the Spaniards) exam 
 ples might properly be expected from us. * * * But 
 we chanced in a land even as God made it, where we 
 found only an idle, improvident and scattered people, 
 ignorant of the knowledge of gold and silver, and carelesse 
 19 
 
286 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 of any thing but from hand to mouth. Nothing was here 
 to encourage us but what nature afforded. And this 
 
 O 
 
 could not be brought to recompense our paines, defray our 
 charges, and satisfie our adventurers, until we could dis 
 cover the countrey, subdue the people, bring them to be 
 tractable, civill and industrious, and teach them trades, 
 so that the fruits of their labors might make us some 
 return ; or until we could plant such colonies of our 
 owne, whose first necessity w r ould be to make provision 
 how to live themselves. * * * But to conclude, I 
 onely say this for those that the three first yeares began 
 this plantation ; notwithstanding all their factions, muti 
 nies and miseries, so gently corrected, and well prevent 
 ed ;" let them peruse the histories of Spanish conquest 
 and discovery, " and tell me how many ever with such 
 small meanes as a barge of 22 tons, sometimes with sea- 
 ven, eight or nine, or but at most, twelve or sixteene 
 men, did ever discover so many fayre and navigable rivers, 
 subject so many severall kings, people and nations to 
 obedience and contribution, and all with so little bloud- 
 shed." 
 
 The boast contained in this passage is an equally hono 
 rable and becoming one. It is truly astonishing how much 
 was done by the prudence and forethought of this man ; 
 by his coolness and steady courage, and real benevolence ; 
 and how much was forborne of crime and bloodshed, which 
 had been sure to follow, in such a country, and dealing 
 with such a people, had the leader been wanton in the 
 use of power, profligate of human life, and not properly 
 considerate of the feeble and simple savages whom it was 
 his fortune to encounter. And the moral of his progress 
 is to be found in the statement here contained of his gene 
 ral principles : to " discover the countrey, subdue the peo 
 ple, bring them to be tractable, civill and industrious ;" in 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 287 
 
 order that the resources of their own nature, and the vir 
 tues of the soil and climate, might at once be brought into 
 just fruition. And this is the highest purpose of human 
 benevolence. We are to judge of a hero s claims, not by 
 this or that single scheme or action call it crime and 
 error if you please but by what he has forborne of 
 crime and error, and what he has resisted of temptation. 
 Thus examined, the deeds and enterprises of Smith will 
 honorably compare with those of any hero to be found in 
 the progress of a commercial age and people. To have 
 done so much with so little ; in the teeth of discontent 
 and faction ; with foes without, and treachery within 
 the settlement ; with so much provocation to anger and 
 severity, yet with so great toleration and pity for the 
 offender ; so much firmness with so much mercy ; and 
 such various resource against such and so many unlooked 
 for annoyances and disasters ; sufficiently establishes to 
 posterity the high and remarkable endowments and merits 
 of our subject. But the facts in his career need no illus 
 trative commentary. They speak for themselves. 
 
 Returning to Jamestown, and making a general exami 
 nation into the affairs of the colony, he found no reason 
 to be satisfied with the doings of those he left behind him. 
 Their tools and weapons were lost or stolen ; the provi 
 sion in store had been suffered to rot, was half destroyed 
 by worms and rats, and in such condition that the hogs 
 would scarcely eat it. Fortunately, it was found, upon 
 due calculation, that the supplies which he had just pro 
 cured would suffice until the next harvest. With the 
 dread of famine at an end for the present, all care about 
 procuring provision was abandoned, and the whole com 
 pany was divided into squads often or fifteen, and assigned 
 to the necessary duties of the colony. Six hours each 
 day were devoted to their tasks, the rest in pastimes and 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 merry exercises. But such was the untowardness :>f 
 many among them, to whom labor was equally new and 
 irksome, that our President was compelled to give them 
 sharp counsel after his peculiar fashion. 
 
 " Countrymen," he said, u the long experience of oui 
 late miseries, I hope, is sufficient to persuade every one to 
 a present correction of himselfe. Thinke not that either 
 my paines, nor the adventurers purses, will ever maintain 
 you in idlesse and sloathe. I speake not this to you all, 
 for divers of you I know deserve both honor and reward, 
 much better than is here to be had ; but the greater part 
 must be more industrious or starve ; however you have 
 been heretofore tollerated by the authoritie of the Coun- 
 cell. You see now that power resteth wholly in myselfe. 
 You must obey this now for a law, that he that will not 
 work (except by sicknesse he is disabled) shall not eate. 
 The labours of thirtie or fortie honest and industrious men 
 shall not be consumed to maintain an hundred and fiftie 
 idle lovterers. And though you presume the authoritie 
 
 */ O v X 
 
 here is but a shadow, and that I daro not touch the lives 
 of any lest my owne shoulde answer it. yet will you see 
 by the contents of tbe Letters Patent, which shall be read 
 to you each week, that the very contrary is the case. I 
 would wish you, therefore, without contempt of my au 
 thoritie, to study to observe the orders that I have here 
 set down ; for there are now no more councellers to pro 
 tect you and to curbe my endeavours. He that offendeth, 
 therefore, shall most assuredly meet due punishment." 
 
 The members of the Council, if we remember, Scrivener, 
 Waldo, and others, perished in the boat while Smith was 
 at Pamunkee. He, as President of the colony, was left 
 with the sole authority. H : s speech is to the purpose. It 
 speaks the man of business and of resolution, and was not 
 without its effect, we may suppose. But, to encourage 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 28$ 
 
 the good, and to spur the sluggish to amendment, he pre 
 pared a table or register of each man s name, with a sum 
 mary notice of his daily conduct. This was placed con 
 spicuously where it could be seen by all, and thus become 
 "apublicke memoriall of every man s deserts." This, 
 too, had its influence. Many became very industrious, 
 though quite as many were only to be goaded to theij 
 tasks by punishment. He had so contrived their duties 
 that they found it impossible to deceive him. H/s eye 
 was everywhere, on all things and persons, and he pos 
 sessed, in rare degree, that faculty of vision which enables 
 the master to pierce through "the secret bosom, and discern 
 all its secrets. But there were some practices which he 
 could not fathom some offenders who contrived to baffle 
 even his penetration. Still, there was a daily loss of tools 
 and weapons, and common sense naturally led them to 
 conceive that these found their way to the Indians, by 
 whom they were much desired. The thefts were com 
 mitted by those in the fort, who had become confederates 
 with the Dutchmen sent to Powhatan. At one time, while 
 Smith was at Pamunkee, these confederates, to the num 
 ber of rive, had stolen away from the colony, and were on 
 their way to Powhatan, when they were met by Mr. 
 Crashaw and Mr. Ford, who had been despatched to 
 Jamestown from Pamunkee, by Smith. To these they 
 gave some plausible statement, accounting for their 
 presence on the road, and, the better to baffle their suspi 
 cions, they returned with these gentlemen to the settle 
 ment, resuming their old business of peculation. Powder 
 and shot, tools and weapons, disappeared with unaccounta 
 ble rapidity under their agency, leaving no clue by which 
 they could be found or followed. Meantime, the Dutch 
 men somewhat wondered why their confederates had not 
 followed them as had been promised. They were em- 
 
290 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 ployed by the savage emperor, not in palace building, but 
 in teaching himself and warriors the proper use of the. 
 English weapons. To solve their doubts in relation to the 
 delay of their associates, they sent one of their company, 
 named Francis, disguised like an Indian. This fellow 
 made his way to the glass-house in the forest, about a 
 mile from Jamestown. This was the common place of 
 rendezvous for these conspirators. Here they arranged 
 a scheme for taking or putting Captain Smith to 
 death ; forty Indians lying in ambush, for some time, in 
 expectation of his appearance. But his good genius again 
 baffled them, and, in the meantime, tidings of the visit of 
 Francis, and the disguise which he wore, reached his 
 ears. His plans were decisive. The fellow escaped the 
 party that went to the glass-house to apprehend him, but 
 did not escape another party of twenty men, w r hom Smith 
 despatched to cover the road between Jamestown and the 
 domains of Powhatan. He was captured and brought 
 back , but, before this took place, our Captain experienced 
 an adventure of considerable danger, from which it required 
 all his dexterity and courage to escape. Returning from 
 the glass-house alone, after he had sent off the twenty 
 soldiers in pursuit of the fugitive, he suddenly encountered 
 the King of Paspahegh, a stalwart savage of large stature 
 To this chief, it appears that the ambush had been en 
 trusted by which Smith was to perish. But Smith s foot 
 steps did not incline in the direction where the Indian 
 were concealed, and, throwing himself in his way, the 
 object of the chief was to beguile his victim in the 
 required direction. But either the art of the savage was 
 too rude, or our Captain had grown cautious and suspicious 
 from a frequent knowledge of his danger, and the attempts 
 of the chief were unavailing. Desperate in his design, 
 and stimulated to the attempt by the urgent wishes of 
 

 Conflict with the King of Paepabegl.i. Page 291. 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 29 1 
 
 Powhatan, he conceived the idea, as Smith was alone, 
 and armed only with a falchion, of accomplishing the 
 deed himself. But the attempt to shoot him with his 
 arrow failed in consequence of his having approached too 
 nearly to his enemy. Smith was enabled to close in with 
 him, before the shaft could be dismissed from the string. 
 The grapple now between them was one for lite and death, 
 and to prevent the Captain from drawing his falchion, as 
 he had been prevented from using his bow, the s-tout 
 savage grappled him with equal dexterity and courage. 
 The Indian seems to have been the mos-t powerful man 
 of the two, was large of frame and muscular, though 
 less agile, perhaps, and possibly not so good a wrestler as 
 our Captain. But he succeeded, by main force, in 
 dragging him into the river, where they struggled for some 
 time in the water, neither having the advantage. At length 
 a fortunate movement enabled Smith to get his fingers 
 fairly clutched about the naked throat of his dusky oppo 
 nent. This he griped with such hearty good will, that the 
 savage, half-strangled, succumbed to his conqueror ; who, 
 drawing his falchion, and about to cut off the head of 
 his captive, was persuaded to spare him by his pitiful en 
 treaties for life. But he made him prisoner, and, under the 
 edge of the uplifted sword, drove him into Jamestown ami 
 made him fast in chains. 
 
 Here he proved a witness for the conviction of the 
 Dutchman, Francis. This traitor, put upon trial, offered 
 out a lame plea to the charges urged against him. The 
 confession of Paspahegh was conclusive of his guilt ; and, 
 to use the phrase of our authority, which leaves us some 
 what doubtful of his punishment, " he went by the heeles," 
 accordingly. But his life was spared by Smith, who, as 
 a conqueror, was always me ciful ; spared, at this time, 
 to be reserved f ( r a worse fate, equally well deserved, 
 
292 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 hereafter. Francis, after Smith had left the colony, and 
 its govern nent had fallen into other hands, contrived tc 
 escape a second time to Powhatan. To this wily monarch, 
 he promised to play the same game with the new gover 
 nor, Lord Delaware, which he had played with Smith. 
 But Powhatan had become much more suspicious with 
 increase of experience ; and, telling the traitor that he who 
 had betrayed Smith to him, would be just as likely to be 
 tray him to Delaware, he commanded his brains to be 
 beaten out. And thus the miserable wretch rushed only 
 to his doom at last. 
 
 Paspahegh was kept some time in prison, Smith pro 
 posing to exchange him for the Dutchmen left with Pow 
 hatan. But, either they were not willing to return, or 
 Powhatan w r ould not suffer them ; and while the negotia 
 tions for this object were in progress, Paspahegh contrived, 
 during a temporary absence of Smith, to escape from 
 prison. He was pursued by Captain Winne, but his faith 
 ful subjects covered his flight with such troops of warriors 
 who resolutely braved the combat, freely exchanging shaft 
 for shot, that he succeeded in getting off safely. Return 
 ing to the fort, and learning of these events, Smith cap 
 tured tw r o Indians, Kemps and Tussore u the two most 
 exact villains in all the country," " who would betray 
 both king and kindred for a piece of copper." These he 
 sent with a party of fifty choice men, under Captain Winne 
 and Lieutenant Percy, in pursuit of the fugitive chief. 
 They were to guide the soldiers where he was concealed. 
 But Winne did not follow Smith s counsel, nor the 
 guidance of his Indians, but, trifling away the night when 
 he should have pushed forward with all his strength, he 
 found the savages prepared for him, in all their might, by 
 the dawn of day. They defied him to the combat, and 
 *he two parties exchanged shots at a distance so respect- 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 293 
 
 fill, as to expose nobody to hurt on either side. Winne 
 and his party returned to Jamestown, after burning a few 
 houses and capturing a few canoes. 
 
 Smith was dissatisfied with this result, and took the field 
 himself. He feared that the savages would be encouraged 
 by this non-performance of his soldiers, and soon " began 
 himselfe againe to try conclusions" with his w r arlike neigh 
 bors, "whereby six or seven were slaine, and as many 
 made prisoners." He was resolved that their punishment 
 should make them fear him. He burnt their houses, took 
 their boats, removed their fishing weirs to his own 
 waters, and was passing by Paspahegh towards Chicka- 
 hominy, in order to extend his vengeance to all the 
 deserving, when he was encountered by a large body of 
 the Paspaheghians, who bravely prepared to try his strength. 
 But when, at the first encounter, they discovered our 
 Captain instead of Winne, at the head of the English, they 
 threw down their weapons, and entreated peace. His 
 very name and presence were enough. One of their ora 
 tors, speaking for the rest, thus addressed him : " Captain 
 Smith, the chief, my master, is here present with this 
 company. It was Captain Winne, and not you, of whom 
 he thought to be avenged. If he hath offended you in 
 escaping from imprisonment, you must remember that 
 fishes swim, fowles fly, and the very beasts strive to escape 
 the snare. Blame him not, therefore, being a man, that 
 he hath done in like manner. He would entreat you to 
 remember your being a prisoner, what paines he took to 
 save your life. If, since that time, he hath injured you, 
 ne was compelled to it by another. You, too, have already 
 amply revenged yourself, to our too great losse. Do not 
 destroy us as you now seem to desire. We are here to 
 implore your friendship to entreat that we be permitted 
 to enjoy our houses and to plant our fields, in whose fruit 
 
294 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 you shall participate ; otherwise, you will be the sufferers 
 if you drive us away to other places. We can plant, but 
 you cannot live lacking our harvests. Proceed in your 
 revenge, and we will abandon the country. Promise us 
 peace, and we will believe you." 
 
 This " worthy discourse " which, as our author justly 
 writes, " deserveth to be remembered," had its effect. 
 The chief was forgiven, peace was made between the par 
 ties, and they separated good friends ; and so continued 
 till Smith left the country. The wonderful influence 
 which our adventurer possessed over the minds of the 
 aborigines, was to be still farther increased by a circum 
 stance which happened soon after his return to the colony. 
 There, it had been discovered that the people of Chicka- 
 hominy, who had always shown themselves very affec 
 tionate and friendly, were yet disposed to be very thiev 
 ish. A pistol being stolen, and the thief escaping, his two 
 brothers, who were known to be his confederates, were 
 taken into custody. One of them, after a brief imprison 
 ment, was suffered to go free, with a message to the thief 
 that if the pistol was not restored within twelve hours, the 
 brother left in prison would be hung. The message was 
 effectual. The messenger returned before midnight, 
 bringing the pistol, but seemed to have returned too late. 
 The season was one of great severity, and Captain Smith, 
 commiserating the cold and naked condition of the poor 
 wretch left in prison, sent him food, and a supply of char 
 coal, with which to make a fire. Ignorant of the deadly 
 properties of the burning charcoal in a close apartment, 
 the poor Indian, when his brother was admitted to his 
 prison, was found lifeless. Bitterly did the survivor 
 lament the premature death of his kinsman ; and so much 
 did Smith sympathize with him in his cruel sorrow and 
 ( isappointment, that tu confidently romised the wailing 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 295 
 
 savage, if he would be quiet, that he would restore the 
 dead man to life. It was one of those spontaneous, irre 
 pressible impulses of a generous wish, which prompted 
 this promise, for he tells us he had little thought {hat the 
 victim could be recovered. Yet he went to work with 
 all his industry and skill, and the will to achieve has in 
 itself a virtue which half ensures success to its perform 
 ances. Aqua vita, that power, potent as it has proved 
 for evil, has its virtues also ; and, with vinegar, proved, 
 on the present occasion, a most fortunate specific. The 
 poor savage, through God s blessing, was restored to con 
 sciousness ; -but the effects of the charcoal promised to be 
 fatal to his intellect. To restore him to his proper senses 
 was another task of difficulty imposed upon him by the 
 entreaties of the anxious kinsman, and this also Smith 
 promised to achieve. Succeeding in this by such simple 
 means as an experienced soldier, or traveller, would natu 
 rally have learned to use, our Captain gained the reputa 
 tion among the Indians of having raised the dead. Ano 
 ther circumstance served to increase the respect in which 
 the English and their Captain were held by the sirnplt 
 natives. An " ingenious savage* of Powhatan s had pro 
 cured by theft, or barter with the thief, a bag ot gunpow 
 der, and the back piece of a suit of armor. To show 
 his superior knowledge, the fellow had gathered several 
 of his companions around him, and proceeded to dry the 
 powder, as he had seen the soldiers practise the opera 
 tion upon the armor. He dried it a little too long fo.r his 
 credit and his life. The powder exploded, and destroyed 
 the experimenter, and one or two more. Others were so 
 much scorched, as to produce a wholesome distrust in the 
 minds of the whole nation, of the virtues of a commodity 
 so quick to take fire. The result was highly important to 
 our English. " These, and many other such pretty acci 
 
296 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 dents, so amazed and affrighted both Powhatan and all his 
 people, that their conscientiousness returned to them. 7 
 Numberless things which had been stolen, but which had 
 neither been demanded nor thought of, were suddenly 
 returned ; and even the thieves themselves, after this 
 event, were sent back to Jamestown to receive punish 
 ment. The stubborn Powhatan was subdued by his 
 superstitious fears, and, with his people, by numerous 
 presents, entreated peace hereafter. The change was so 
 complete, that the country became absolutely as free and 
 safe to the English as to the savages themselves. For 
 tune thus admirably co-operated with the genius of our 
 Captain to produce all the results to his colony which 
 good government could possibly desire or procure. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE exclusive control which Captain Smith now possessed 
 over the affairs of the colony, was soon made manifest in 
 its progress. The pacific temper to which he had brought 
 the savages in a short space of time, left him wholly free 
 to administer the internal affairs of the settlement at his 
 pleasure ; and the fact that he was no longer embarrassed 
 by the vexing moods and querulous dispositions of his 
 council, rendered his work comparatively easy and agreea 
 ble. Accordingly, we find the English making such pro 
 gress in the useful arts, in the three months which followed 
 the conclusion of peace with Powhatan, as they never 
 exhibited in all their previous history. Tar, pitch, and 
 potash, in considerable quantities, rewarded their exer 
 tions ; they produced some samples of glass ; dug a well 
 of excellent water in the fort, which, till then, had been 
 very much wanting ; provided nets and seines for taking 
 fish ; built twenty new houses ; repaired the church, and, 
 the better to prevent thieving, and to check the incursions 
 of the savages, raised a block-house on the isthmus of 
 Jamestown, which neither Christian nor Heathen was suf 
 fered to pass without order or permit from the President. 
 Thirty or forty additional acres of land were also broken 
 up and planted ; and such new care taken of pigs and 
 poultry that their increase became marvellous. The for 
 mer were carried to an islet, which was called Hog Island, 
 and here a block-house was also built, and a garrison 
 established, which should give notice of any approaching 
 skipping. The soldiers here were not, however, left tc 
 
298 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 keep the place in idleness, but for their exercise and 
 amusement were required to fell trees, and split clapboards. 
 A fort was also begun, as a place of retreat for they 
 had no reason to suppose themselves free from the Spanish 
 rovers upon a commanding hill near a contiguous river 
 The plan of this fortress rendered it difficult of assault, and 
 easy of defence ; but, before it was quite finished, a more 
 pressing matter arrested the workmen. 
 
 It was found that their corn, their entire stock, which 
 had been put up in casks, and probably in a damp condi 
 tion, was half rotten, and so much injured by the rats of 
 which reptile, a colony of several thousands had been 
 transferred from the ships to the shore that it was ren 
 dered almost wholly worthless for the future use of the 
 people. This put a stop to all their labors and enterprises, 
 those only excepted which went to supplying them with 
 food ; and this last necessity, as our President acknow 
 ledges, " drove them to their wits end." There was 
 nothing to be procured in the country, except that which 
 came from the hands of nature. The Indian women of 
 Youghtanund and Mattapanient, when sharing with them 
 their last supplies, did it with tears and lamentations, 
 which forbade the idea of ravishing from the poor savages 
 their little remaining store. The two Indians whom Smith 
 had seized as hostages for the return of the chief of Pas 
 pahegh, and who were described as the " two most exac 
 villaines in all the country," had refused to leave the set 
 tlement even when they recovered their enlargement, but 
 made themselves useful, and were found particularly 
 valuable in teaching the whites how their fields were to 
 be prepared and planted. These " exact villaines" exer 
 cised a proper influence over their people, who, in the 
 distress of the colony, brought daily supplies of game 
 " squirrels, turkies, deere, and other wilde beasts." With 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 299 
 
 common industry and skill, starvation in such a country 
 was impossible ; but it became necessary to scatter their 
 forces, that they might more readily procure their game. 
 Accordingly, sixty or eighty, with Ensign Laxson, were 
 sent down the river to feed upon oysters ; twenty with 
 Lieut. Percy, to Point Comfort, to live by fishing ; " Mas 
 ter West, with as many more, went up the falls, but 
 nothing could be found but a few acornes, of which every 
 man had a fair proportion." The industry of some thirty 
 or forty enabled them, even under these hard conditions, 
 to live tolerably well, and with something of comfort. 
 These had always before been the persons to supply the 
 colony. They now contrived to supply themselves. 
 Sturgeon were in abundance, and these fish dried and 
 pounded, and " mixed with caviare, sorrel, and other 
 wholesome hearbes, would make good bread and meate ;" 
 while the Toyhwogh and other roots would yield bread 
 enough in a day to keep the gatherer a week. But the 
 greater number of the colonists, who had hitherto found 
 their food wholly in the toils of others, were not satisfied 
 to adopt the habits of industry even at a period of such 
 extreme necessity, and " had they not been forced, nolent 
 volens, perforce to gather and prepare their victuall, they 
 would all have starved or have eaten one another." If 
 was the painful struggle with our Captain, from the first 
 commencement of the settlement in Virginia, to protect 
 the greater number of his followers from themselves. 
 Their own blindness, and wickedness, and wilfulness; the 
 perversity and malice in their hearts; the profligacy, at 
 once, of moral and understanding with which they suffered, 
 constituted the greater part of the toils and vexations with 
 which he had to contend from the commencement. And 
 now, when, with ordinary painstaking, it was so easy to 
 gather good food and in abundance, these miserable 
 
300 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 wretches, with idleness, and gluttony, and a pernicious will 
 thoroughly ingraining their whole nature, preferred infinitely 
 Ihe sacrifice of all that had been done, and all that the} 
 possessed, rather than undergo the moderate amount of 
 toils which the necessities of their condition required 
 They preferred rather to sell their implements of culture, 
 of work and defence, their hoes and kettles, their swords, 
 guns and ordnance, in exchange with the savages for the 
 poor remains of corn they had in store. Powhatan, hear 
 ing of their emergency, had, with a rare and noble magna 
 nimity, sent them half his stock ; yet were these profligate 
 wretches on the eve of mutinying because Smith would not 
 yield to their clamors, in endeavoring to wrest from him 
 the residue. Failing in this object, their evil humors 
 took another direction ; and finding that some of them seri 
 ously meditated the abandonment of the colony, he seized 
 upon the ringleader of the faction, one Dyer, " a crafty 
 fellow, and his ancient maligner," and having " worthily 
 punished" him, made a talk to his comrades, in the fol 
 lowing form and manner : 
 
 " Fellow-soldiers, I little thought there could be any 
 among you so false to report, or so simple as to believe 
 that I intended to starve you, or that Powhatan, at this 
 season, had any corn for himselfe, much less for you ; or 
 that I would not procure it for you, if I knew where it 
 were to be had. Neither did I think any cf you so mali 
 cious as now I see a great many. Yet this shall not so 
 provoke my passion, but that I will do my best for my 
 worst maligner. But you must dream no longer of any 
 help from Powhatan, nor that I will forbear to force you, 
 if you are idle, and punish you when you wrangle. And if 
 I finde any more runners for Newfoundland with the pin 
 nace, let him assuredly look to arrive at the gallows. You 
 cannot deny but that, by the hazard of my life, many a 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 301 
 
 time I have saved yours, when (might your owne wills 
 have prevailed) you would have starved, and would do so 
 still whether I will or noe. But I protest, by the God 
 that made me, since necessitie hath not power to force 
 you to gather for yourselves those fruites which the 
 earth doth yield, you shall not onely gather for yourselves, 
 but for those also who are sicke. I have shared with the 
 meanest of you in provision, and now my extra allowance 
 shall be distributed among the sicke. They, at least, shall 
 not suffer. You shall help to provide for them. They 
 shall partake of all pur labors. As for this savage fare 
 which your mouths so scornfully repine at, your stomaches 
 can digest it. If you would have better you should have 
 bought it. I will take a course which shall make you 
 provide what is to be had. He, therefore, who gathereth 
 not each day as much as I doe, shall be set the next be 
 yond the river, and be banished from the fort as a droan 
 till he mend his condition or starve." 
 
 They murmured at his tyranny, but submitted, and 
 thrived accordingly. They did not perish from the famine 
 that was so much feared ; but the fishermen to his nets, 
 the fowler to his weirs, the fanner to his fields, all pros 
 pered in obeying that imperative will, which saved them 
 in spite of their own. Many were billeted among the 
 Indians, and thus acquired their languages, their modes of 
 life, their forest craft, and the medicinal and culinary vir 
 tues of their plants and roots, in the use of which the 
 savages have proverbially great success and skill. And 
 they suffered no injury thus living among their rude and 
 wandering neighbors. Captain Smith was a name of so 
 much power and terror among them, that " they durst not 
 wrong us of a pin." So grateful did this sort of life be 
 come to many of the whites, that they afterwards ran 
 away to their forest friends when the necessity for leaving 
 20 
 
302 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 the fort had ceased to exist. But they were soon taught 
 by the Indians that the power was supposed to reside in 
 Captain Smith rather than the race over which he ruled. 
 The simple savages had long learned to distinguish between 
 his endowments and those of his companions ; and the 
 treatment of the fugitives, who were always finally brought 
 back by the Indians, was in some cases full of admirable 
 justice. The two savages, Kemps and Tussoree, the 
 u two most exact villaines in all the country," made them 
 selves sport by subjecting the runaway whites to a treat 
 ment such as that which Smith had made them endure 
 while in captivity : " feeding them with this law" a 
 favorite maxim with our Captain " that he who would 
 not work must not eate," until they nearly starved the 
 spiritless fugitives to death. Nor were they suffered to 
 escape, but were kept closely watched, and under the 
 uplifted club, until opportunity was found for bringing them 
 back to the settlements, with all that they had stolen. 
 Such had been the effect of our hero s training upon these 
 " poore salvages, of whom there was more hope to make 
 better Christians and good subjects than the one halfe of 
 those that counterfeited themselves both." 
 
 Among the first public labors which engaged the atten 
 tion of our President when the emergencies of the colony 
 in regard to food were fairly at an end, was one to recover 
 possession of the Dutchmen who had been left with Pow- 
 hatan, and another fugitive, named Bent ley, who had 
 found his way to the same place of harborage. By this 
 time the treachery of those reprobates was well known in 
 the colony, and the desire of Smith to obtain possession 
 of their persons had its origin quite as much in the wish 
 to lessen their influence upon the profligates at Jamestown, 
 as with the view to their own punishment. To effect 
 this object, Smith despatched one William Volday, a 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 303 
 
 Swiss, who undertook to procure their return to the 
 colony. He was authorized to promise their pardon foi 
 past offences, and good treatment hereafter. But Volday 
 himself was no sooner in the t^nts of Powhatan, than he 
 followed the traitorous example of those whom he had 
 been sent to recover. He had probably been one of their 
 confederates before, but so secretly and adroitly had he 
 played his game that none had ever suspected him. His 
 hypocrisy was of the most odious sort, since he obtained 
 the confidence of Smith chiefly by his openly declared dis 
 approbation and loathing of the Dutchmen whom our 
 author styles " his cursed countrymen." Volday was a 
 more daring, as well as a more subtle villain than the rest. 
 He proposed to Powhatan and his associates to proceed 
 more vigorously in their objects, and offered to the former 
 that, with his forces, he would undertake, while the Eng 
 lish were thus scattered abroad over the face of the country 
 for food, to cut them off, and bring into his service all ihose 
 whom it was not absolutely necessary to destroy. They 
 were to fire Jamestown, seize the pinnace, slay the hogs, 
 and effectually root out the settlement. Whether Pow 
 hatan entertained this plot, to be put in execution at a 
 proper season, or not, we are not advised ; but the plan 
 was revealed to Smith in sufficient time to guard against 
 its dangers by two of his own people, Thomas Douse and 
 Thomas Mallard, to whom, as to his confederates, Volday 
 had made it known. Repenting of their connection with 
 this traitor, they betrayed his secret, which Smith caused 
 them still to conceal, while they continued to intrigue 
 with the conspirator. His object was that the plot should 
 itpen, " onely to bring the irreclaimable Dutchmen, and 
 the inconstant salvages, in such a manner, amongst such 
 ambuscados as he had prepared, that not many of them 
 should returne from our Peninsula." But the rumor got 
 
304 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 abroad among the pejple, who importuned the President 
 to pursue and destroy the traitors. Lieutenant Percy and 
 Mr. John Cuddrington, u two gentlemen of as bold and 
 resolute spirits as could possibly be found," with many 
 others, volunteered to go and cut the throats of these 
 wretches in the very presence of Powhatan. But Smith 
 had other employments for these. He, nevertheless, gave 
 way to the voice of the multitude, and suffered " Master 
 Wyffin and Sergeant Jeffrey Abbot to goe and stab or 
 shoot them." But this commission came to nothing. 
 Powhatan signified to the messengers of death that the 
 Dutchmen were at their disposal. He did not keep them ; 
 nor would he offer to protect them. But when they lis 
 tened to the representations of the criminals, they began 
 to differ in opinion as to the propriety of executing judg 
 ment upon them. Wyffin was for carrying out. the pur 
 pose on winch he came, hut Abbot opposed it. The 
 Dutchmen accused Void ay, suspecting him of revealing 
 the plot. He, meanwhile, seems to have eluded observa 
 tion, and probably sought shelter in the forests, from 
 whence he subsequently made his way to England, where 
 ne imposed upon sundry merchants with a story of rich 
 mines which he had discovered in Virginia. He was 
 sent out by them with Lord Delaware ; but his impos 
 tures were soon detected, and he died miserably and in 
 deserved disgrace. Of the other Dutchmen, one remain 
 ed with the Indians, while the other accep!e .1 tl.e pardou 
 which was tendered him by Smith, and returned to the 
 colony. Subsequently, availing himself of a period of 
 confusion in the settlement, he fled again to Powhatan, 
 with Francis, one of his confederates, whose history has 
 already been given, and shared his fate ; the brains of 
 ooth of them being beaten out by the Indians, as double 
 traitors, whom no party could trust. 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH 305 
 
 Meanwhile, the return of the several parties, which, in 
 obedience to instructions from England, had been sent 
 out to ascertain the fate of the missing colony of Sir Wal 
 ter Raleigh, proved the mission to be fruitless. Mr. 
 Sicklemore had explored the Chawwonoke, but found no 
 traces and as few traditions of the lost settlers ; and quite 
 as little to reward his toils in the search after "silk-grass," 
 or Pemminaw, as the Indians call it. The soil he found 
 well timbered and exceedingly fertile. " Master Nathana- 
 el Powel and Anas Todkill" who had been sent under 
 guidance of two of the people of Quioughnohanocks, to 
 explore the country of the Mangoags a tribe not under 
 the sway of Powhatan, but dwelling on the upper branches 
 of the Nottoway were equally unfortunate. " Three 
 dayes journey they conducted them through the woods, 
 into a high country towards the southwest ; where they 
 saw, here and there, a little cornefield, by some little 
 spring or small brooke, but no river could they see." Ex 
 cept in language, they found the savages of this region in 
 manners and appearance to resemble all they had yet seen. 
 They lived upon the wild beasts and roots of the forest, 
 wild fruits, and their slender crops, and carried on a trade 
 with the people along the coasts, exchanging their peltry 
 for fish and other commodities. The Quioughnohanocks 
 were a small nation of Indians, who dwelt on the south 
 side of James River, about ten miles above Jamestown. 
 Their chief was always a fast friend to the English. This 
 " promise-keeping king, of all the rest, did ever best 
 affect us ; and though to his false gods he was very zea 
 lous, yet he would confesse our God as much exceeded 
 his as our guns did his bow and arrowes i and often sent 
 our President many presents to pray to his God for rame, 
 that his corn might not perish his own gods being angry.* 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 WHILE Captain Smith, by his address and energy, waa 
 thus retrieving the fortunes of ;he colony, and laying the 
 solid foundations of a permanent empire, he received let 
 ters from England, which were very far from doing justice 
 to his services. These were brought by Captain Argall, a 
 gentleman then engaged in a contraband trade, but who 
 afterwards became a governor in the country. They re 
 proached our hero with the necessities of the colony, with 
 his hard usage of the natives, and with the failure of the 
 ships to return with freights. The accounts of his mode 
 of dealing with the savages came from Newport, and others 
 of his class and calibre. The stern decision of Smith, his 
 knowledge of human nature, his skill in war, his stratagem 
 and adventure, all these, so far superior to the qualities 
 possessed by his rivals had inflamed them with an unap 
 peasable hate and envy. To accuse him and to decry his 
 merits and misrepresent his services, was, in fact, to furnish 
 the most obvious mode of justification for their own failures 
 and defeats. Smith, alone, had succeeded, succeeded in 
 establishing the colony ; but this was not the sort of suc 
 cess which the proprietors at home desired. They had 
 set out with false notions of the returns which should flow 
 from their expenditure. The history of Spanish conquest, 
 always sounding in the precious metals, was continually pre 
 sent to their thoughts ; and their imaginations were too much 
 disturbed by the gorgeous vision of uncounted treasure in 
 the southern parts of America, not to insist, equally in 
 nature s and in reason s spite, that the northern regions of 
 the New World should unfold spoils of equal value and 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 307 
 
 ADundance. To conquer a foothold an ong the furious 
 savages of Apalachia, to lay deeply and broadly the 
 foundations of a great commercial empire to maintain 
 himself, in spite of faction and feeble resources, cold, and 
 want, and sickness with traitors within and unrelenting 
 and unsleeping enemies without, were not such services 
 as could impress themselves upon a world which had been 
 dazzled by the wondrous good fortune of Cortes in Mexico 
 and Pizarro in Peru, or pacify the demands of those more 
 immediately interested, who, having unwisely trusted their 
 outlay in the hands of incompetent persons, and committed 
 numerous blunders by their own misconception of their 
 proper policy, were now disposed to wreak their indignation 
 upon the only man who had shown himself really respon 
 sible. Smith \vas to be superseded. A new charter, 
 bearing date the 23d May, 1609, was obtained from the 
 Crown, containing larger privileges and more ample 
 powers than the former. The local Presidency and Coun 
 cil were to be abrogated, and the colonists were expressly 
 commanded to yield obedience to those only who should 
 receive their appointment from the Council in England. 
 Under this new system, Lord Delaware was made Captain- 
 general of the colony ; Sir Thomas Gates his Lieutenant ; 
 Sir George Somers, Admiral ; Capt. Newport, Vice Ad 
 miral ; Sir Thomas Dale, High-marshal ; Sir Ferdinandc 
 Wainman, General of the Horse ; and other officers were 
 designated, and other appointments made, by which the in 
 fant colony of Virginia, which had made no returns, and 
 which had barely maintained itself in an uncertain ex 
 istence through the vigilance and courage of one man, was 
 to be lifted into an establishment of very imposing exterior. 
 The new charter was granted to the Earls of Salisbury, 
 Suffolk, Southampton, Pembroke, and other Peers, to the 
 number of twenty-one ; and to knights and noble gentlemen 
 
308 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 almost without number. The enterprise became fashion 
 able. So many persons of power and fortune embarking in 
 it, encouraged the more timid capitalists, and enabled the 
 Captain-general and his associates to send off such an 
 armament as never before had floated in the waters of Vir 
 ginia. Nine ships and five hundred people, were des 
 patched, under the command of Sir Thomas Gates, Sir 
 George Somers and Captain Newport. To each of these 
 gentlemen, a commission was furnished, with w r hich, the 
 first who arrived, was to supersede that by which the 
 colony was held. In this first proceeding, was planted the 
 seed of difficulty and confusion. Unwilling that either 
 should reach the promised land before the other, the three 
 Commissioners concluded to embark together in the same 
 vessel. They sailed from England, accordingly, in the 
 latter part of May, 1609, in a vessel called the Sea- Ven 
 ture, which was parted from the rest of the fleet in a 
 hurricane, and wrecked upon the Bermudas. Their lives 
 were saved, and, after a long delay and many hardships, 
 they finally reached Virginia ; but not until Captain Smith 
 had left it, to return to it no more. One other of the ves 
 sels in this expedition shared a worse fate a small ketch, 
 which foundered in the gale. The seven remaining ships 
 reached their port in safety. Unadvised of their coming, 
 Smith, at their approach, assuming them to be Spaniards, 
 prepared for them as enemies. Putting his men under 
 arms, and his fort in a posture of defence, and strengthened 
 by a large body of Indians, who, glad to conciliate our 
 Captain, came forward promptly with an offer of their 
 services, he little feared the arrival of the supposed Spa 
 niards, nor doubted that he should encounter them suc 
 cessfully. But he was soon relieved of his apprehensions 
 from this quarter, though it is very certain that an invasion 
 of Spaniards would have proved less hurtful to the colony 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 309 
 
 than those who came. Among these were some of whom 
 we already possess some knowledge. These were Cap 
 tains Martin, Archer and Ratcliffe, or Sicklemore, as we 
 are told he should properly be called "a poore counter 
 feited imposture," as Smith describes him in a letter to 
 the Council, " whom I have sent you home lest the com 
 pany should cut his throat." It is a sufficient proof of the 
 success with which his enemies work d against him in 
 England, that there should have been sent out, on this 
 expedition, and in some command, all the persons with 
 whom he had been compelled to struggle, in maintaining 
 successfully the interests of the colony. These persons, 
 unhappily, succeeded in impressing the new colonists 
 generally with some share of their ill-feeling towards oui 
 Captain. They were, accordingly, prepared to dislike and 
 distrust him before they had yet encountered his person. 
 It was easy to influence them in this manner. The greater 
 number among them were profligate youth, whose friends 
 were only too well satisfied to give them ample room in 
 remote countries, where they might escape the worse des 
 tinies that threatened them at home. Poor gentlemen, 
 bankrupt tradesmen, rakes and libertines, such as were 
 more apt to ruin than to raise a commonwealth. A small 
 sprinkling of better men among them, a few well-designing 
 persons, of better sense and more experience, \vere soon 
 disabused of the prejudices which the enemies of Smith 
 had striven to inculcate. They had only to see his pro 
 ceedings, and to hear the representations of his old sol 
 diers, to arrive at just conclusions ; but the wholesome 
 leaven was quite too small for such a lump, and the colony 
 very soon presented a spectacle of most admired uproar 
 and confusion. 
 
 Smith, hurt at the injustice of which he had been the 
 victim, was disposed to fold his arms, as a quiet and in- 
 
310 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 different spectator, while the new-comers ran riot in 
 their abuse of order and authority. His presidency had 
 not yet been superseded. The power to take nis place 
 had only been conferred upon those who had been wrecked 
 upon the Bermudas, and his commission was still sove 
 reign against all competitors. But, in his pique, he was 
 not disposed to assert its virtues, nor were his enemies 
 disposed to acknowledge them. He prepared to return to 
 England, and suffered misrule, for some time, to play its 
 fantastic tricks, without offering any obstruction to its pro 
 gress. Led by Ratclirle, Martin and Archer, this " lewd 
 rout" passed from one mischievous proceeding to another. 
 They assumed the reins of government, and, on a small 
 scale, were as wanton as the young charioteer whom 
 Phrebus, according to classic fable, entrusted with his 
 steeds. At one moment they chose one governor, who 
 was soon made to give place to another to-day they 
 were for the old commission, to-morrow for the new, and 
 the third day found them flinging away the restraining in 
 fluences of all. " Happie," says one of our authorities, 
 " had we beene had they never arrived, and we for ever 
 abandoned ; for on earth, for the number, was never more 
 confusion or misery than their factions occasioned." Wan 
 ton, indolent and feeble, they presented one of those 
 mournful spectacles of impotence and vanity in power, 
 which the great poet assumes must make angels weep a 
 spectacle so ridiculous, as well as mournful, that it might 
 well prompt their laughter also. The scorn of Smith 
 seasoned his indignation. He looked on with pity and 
 contempt, until the evil grew too serious to suffer any 
 longer such feelings to prevail. He was too little selfish 
 in his nature too much the patriot to hold himself aloof 
 when such dangers threatened the work of his hands^ 
 which had already cost him so much risk and labor. The 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH 311 
 
 sturdy followers of his past fortunes, most of whom had 
 learned properly to estimate his worth and virtues, were 
 true to the colony, and disposed to sustain him in the due 
 maintenance of its interests. A part of the newly arrived 
 were soon made to see that their hope lay in the energy 
 and will which distinguished his command. Having 
 waited for some time in the hope that the new commission 
 would arrive, upon which he might devolve the legal re 
 sponsibility, it became necessary for the public good that 
 he should re-assert his own, and he did so with his wonted 
 promptness and resolution. Ratcliffe, Archer, and other 
 factious spirits, were laid by the heels after a long contest, 
 and the strong hand which had so successfully swayed 
 the power of this colony for its good, wielded it once more 
 for its safety. This was not done without a struggle. " It 
 would be too tedious, too strange, and almost incredible," 
 says our authority, " should I particularly relate the infi 
 nite dangers, plots and practices, he daily escaped among 
 this factious crew ;" but the ringleaders once in prison 
 and awaiting their trial, the restoration of order was com 
 paratively easy. To lessen their power of mischief, and 
 the tendency to it, Smith distributed them in sufficiently 
 large bodies for defence and settlement about the country. 
 Mr. West, with a hundred and twenty chosen men, was 
 sent to make a settlement at the Falls of James River, and 
 Captain Martin, with as many more, to Nansemond. 
 These were furnished with provisions according to their 
 numbers; and, with tools to work with, and weapons in 
 their hands, had it in their power to found and to establish 
 themselves in well-fortified and pleasant abodes. 
 
 The disorders of the colony being quelled, and the ma 
 chine of government and society once more working fairly 
 on its wheels and hinges, Smith evinced the nobleness of 
 his nature by giving^up his authority. The year of his 
 
312 LI t E OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 Presidency was nearly expired, and he yielded his seat to 
 Capt. Martin. But Martin had some saving grains of 
 sense and honesty, and had hardly taken possession of 
 the government before the oppressive weight of its respon 
 sibility, with a conviction of his personal unpopularity, 
 overcame his ambition, and he resigned it again into the 
 hands of Smith, and hurried back to his establishment at 
 Nansemond. But his rule here was quite as unequal to 
 the exigency as it would have been with the whole colony 
 resting on his shoulders and wisdom. Though kindly 
 treated by the Nansemond Indians, yet, in his anticipations 
 of mischief, or in his wantonness of power, he surprises 
 their chief in the midst of his festivities, and takes posses 
 sion of the island upon which be lived, with all his houses 
 and treasure. Here he fortified himself, but so feebly, and 
 so bad was the watch which he kept, that the savages 
 took his fortress by assault, killed many of his men, res 
 cued their kino*, and carried off a thousand bushels of corn 
 
 O / 
 
 Smith was at the Falls when intelligence reached him of 
 this disaster, together with an entreaty from Martin for 
 thirty soldiers. These were sent him, but he showed 
 himself so little capable of using them, that they abandon 
 ed him in disgust, and made their way back to James 
 town, where they were soon followed by Martin himself, 
 who left his people to take care of themselves. 
 
 The establishment made by West at the Falls \vas 
 scarcely more successful. Smith, making him a visit to 
 examine the new settlement, was confounded to find 
 West on his way to Jamestown, already sick of his experi 
 ment. The survey which our Captain made of what had 
 been done, proved the competence of the leader to be no 
 greater than that of Martin. The settlement had been 
 fixed on a site which had no single quality to recommend 
 it. The spot was so low as to be Ijable to the inundations 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 313 
 
 of the river. It was also subject to other and equally seri 
 ous objections. Smith, as usual, compelled to take the 
 business in hand, determined to abandon the place, and to 
 seek another of more eligible qualities. To effect this, he 
 negotiated with Powhatan for the district of country which 
 went by that chieftain s name. Hither he proceeded to 
 transfer the colony which had been assigned to West, but 
 he was met by resistance and final violence on the part of the 
 infatuated wretches whom he strove to serve. Under the 
 impression that the territory in which West had set them 
 down was one abundant in the precious metal, they refus 
 ed to abandon it ; refused, indeed, to suffer among them 
 any addition to their numbers, even from among their own 
 people, lest the individual share of spoil to each should 
 be too greatly diminished. Besides, they were not dispos 
 ed to yield much deference to the tenure by which Smith 
 held the Presidency looking momently to the arrival of 
 those by whom his commission was to be superseded. 
 Smith, at first, pitying their blindness and folly, endea 
 vored to convince them of the reasons by which he was 
 moved in his selection of a site for their establishment. 
 But they treated his expostulations and authority with 
 equal contempt. He was not the man to submit coolly to 
 such indignities, and, though attended by five men only, 
 he proceeded to take certain of the most factious of their 
 number into custody. But they did not suffer him to pro 
 ceed. Remote from home, from the restraining and cor 
 recting influences of civilized life, and desperate in their 
 resolve to seize the gold which they believed to be grow 
 ing in the fertile earth around them, and to be had for the 
 gathering, they arrayed themselves in force against the 
 audacious individual, whom they had been taught to hate 
 and to distrust from the beginning, by whom they were to 
 be torn from their Dorado. Five men against one hun- 
 
314 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 dred and twenty, suggested a greater inequality of force 
 than it was within the courage even of a spirit so fearless 
 as that of Smith to encounter. He retreated to his boat, 
 accordingly, and with that readiness of resource which 
 seemed never to desert him, he changed his plan of attack 
 by arms, for one w r hich promised less peril and greater 
 success. He surprised the vessel which contained all 
 their stores and provisions, and, after J a delay of several 
 days, in which he strove to afford the mutineers time and 
 counsel for return to their obedience, he set sail for James 
 town, leaving these besotted wretches to their deserts. 
 
 They did not long elude their proper punishment. With 
 the same wild and reckless spirit with which they had 
 met the attempts of Smith to bring them to order, and put 
 them in safety, they behaved to the simple savages in 
 whose vicinity they had settled themselves. These they 
 robbed and maltreated, dispossessed them of their food 
 and stores, despoiled and drove them from their dwellings, 
 and, when they complained, took them into custody. The 
 Indians, as soon as they perceived the hostile attitude 
 which they took with regard to Smith, whom they had 
 learned equally to venerate and fear, volunteered in num 
 bers to fight his battles. They complained to him, with 
 justice, that he had brought among them, on the plea of 
 protecting them, a far worse enemy than they had ever 
 before had reason to fear ; and urged that, since they 
 could not look to him for protection, ho must not be sur 
 prised or offended if they struggled t^ protect themselves 
 Smith, of course, refused them aid, and exhorted them to 
 c orbearance. He counselled the refractory whites of their 
 danger from this source ; but had the fortune, like Cas 
 sandra, to have his predictions laughed at. The mutineers 
 soon paid the penalty of unbelief. The departure of Smith 
 was the signal for the rising of the savages. He had 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 315 
 
 scarcely set sail when a simultaneous attack was made 
 upon the fort, and such of the whites as were straggling 
 in the woods. Many were slain, and the rest so frighten 
 ed, that it was no longer a difficult matter for Smith to 
 obtain a hearing. His vessel having grounded in the 
 river, within reach of the terrified fugitives, they appealed 
 to him for protection, and at once submitted themselves to 
 his mercy. For once, our Captain found the Indians to be 
 excellent auxiliaries. Taking advantage of their fears, 
 he selected six or seven of the ringleaders for punish 
 ment, and having laid them by the heels, conducted the 
 rest of them to the proposed settlement at Powhatan ; 
 where he took possession of the fortress, " readie built 
 and prettily fortified with poles and barkes of trees," as it 
 had been raised by that sturdy emperor. The work is 
 described as sufficient to have protected them against all 
 the savages in Virginia ; and there were lodging houses 
 ready for use, and more than two hundred acres of land 
 in planting condition. Of so much strength and beauty 
 was the site thus secured to these undeserving runagates, 
 that Smith preferred it to all others he had seen in the 
 country. Accordingly, he called it Nonsuch. He had 
 subdued his malcontents for a season ; seated them in 
 abodes of pleasantness ; and, reconciling them to the Indi 
 ans, left them to the enjoyment of a peace and security 
 which their merits had scarcely obtained of themselves. 
 Captain West, making his appearance, now that all the 
 troubles of the settlement had been composed, had nearly 
 again revived them by the mistaken efforts which he made 
 for the release of the mutineers who had been selected for 
 an example. He succeeded in prevailing with Smith 
 who was now completely sickened with the toil of serving 
 men equally against their destiny and will to give them 
 up. This was done, and our Captain departed for James- 
 
< D LIFEOF CAPTAIN SMITH 
 
 to\vn. But Nonsuch, however desirable and beautiful, 
 could not long content these unhappy people ; who, pos 
 sessed with the dream of finding gold in the country of the 
 Monacans, as soon as they had recovered from the fright 
 which the savages had given them, once more abandoned 
 their settlement, arid made their way back to that from 
 which they had been expelled. We need not pursue theii 
 history. From this moment the connection ceases be 
 tween them and our adventurer. 
 
CHAPTER XHL 
 
 OUR Captain begins to show a certain degree of weariness 
 and exhaustion, in the protracted struggle which he has 
 been compelled to maintain, as well against, as in behalf of, 
 the oddly assorted community confided to his charge. 
 The elastic spirit of youth with which he rather rejoiced 
 in difficulties, even as trie brave swimmer prefers to strug 
 gle against the billowy currents, than float without effort 
 on the slumberous lake, no longer buoys him up against 
 all opposition ; and the sense of service treated with injus 
 tice, and of true and substantial merits denied their du. 
 acknowledgment, reconciles him to those irregularities, 
 and that wilful disposition to err and suffer, on the part of 
 the settlers, which he has hitherto encountered with the firm 
 and decisive rule of the patriarch. When, therefore, the 
 people under West u returned againe to the open ayre at 
 West s fort, abandoning Nonsuch" that delightful, secure, 
 and sheltered spot, which he had been at such trouble to 
 procure for them from Powhatan he makes no further 
 opposition, and sees them hurrying anew to " the height 
 of their former factions," with an indifference which be 
 trays the exhaustion of his patience, rather than any 
 want of sympathy in the interests of the colony, The 
 proprietors of the establishment seem to have kept pace 
 with the colonists, in weaning him from those attachments 
 to the region and to the enterprise, which naturally grew 
 out of his connection with them ; and it needed but a very 
 small immediately impelling motive to cause him to aban 
 don Virginia, as he had just abandoned to their fortunes. 
 21 
 
318 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 the unstable and obstinate people under West. That im 
 pelling circumstance was now at hand. Passing down the 
 river, on his way from Nonsuch to Jamestown, an event 
 occurred which nearly deprived him of life. While he 
 slept, his powder-hag was accidentally fired by one of the 
 crew, and the powder exploding, tore and lacerated his 
 body in a most shocking manner. Roused by the sudden 
 torture from his sleep, he leapt instantly into the river, 
 from which he was extricated with the greatest difficulty, 
 and not before he was almost drowned. In this condition, 
 without the means of comfort or surgical assistance, he 
 had yet nearly a hundred miles to travel in an open boat 
 before he could arrive at either. Suffering thus dreadfully, 
 he was not permitted to forget the cares of his public trust, 
 in his physical disquiets, but found it necessary, on reach 
 ing Jamestown, to address his energies and thoughts much 
 more to the troubles of those around him, than to any of 
 his own. There he found everything in disorder from the 
 activity of Ratcliffe, Archer, and the other malcontents 
 whom he had arrested for their mutinies. The time for 
 their trial was approaching, and their guilty consciences 
 counselled them rather to anticipate that period by new 
 commotions, than quietly await its issues. Accordingly, 
 these creatures were busy, and so active and audacious 
 that Captain Smith was compelled, on his return, maimed 
 and mangled as he was, to put the settlement in such trim 
 as would enable it to meet the exigencies of a sudden as 
 sault. While thus making his preparations, and particu 
 larly striving to increase the store of provisions for the 
 garrison, his miserable condition of body " unable to 
 stand, and neere bereft of his senses by reason of his tor 
 ment" -they conceived a more prompt and happy expe 
 dient for escaping trial. His feebleness inspired their 
 courage, and emboldened them to try an experiment, which, 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 319 
 
 in his armor, er^ct, and " ready with his conclusions," 
 their cowardly spirits would never for a moment have enter 
 tained. They laid their plans to assassinate him in his 
 bed. But the heart of thd base creature who had been 
 chosen to do the deed, failed him at the proper moment. 
 He dared not "give fire to that mercilesse pistoll." We 
 are not told whether the waking eye of Smith encountered 
 the assassin, but, if it did, he was probably quelled and 
 paralyzed, as was the savage Cimbrian w r ho had been sent 
 by the magistracy of Miniums to butcher Caius Marius. 
 The voice, the eye, and probably the bare aspect of a man 
 whom even the worst enemies of Smith in Virginia had 
 been wont to fear, must have done, for his safety, that 
 which his own skill and strength could no longer have 
 achieved in this moment of his impotence. The murderer 
 shrunk from the duty assigned him, and other modes be 
 came necessary by which the confederate malignants should 
 still elude the justice which they feared. To usurp the 
 government seemed the only process. Smith was advised 
 of their plans in time to baffle them ; and, at this period, his 
 old soldiers gave him a new proof of their loyalty and 
 attachment. Gathering around his bed, they importuned 
 him to suffer them at once to take off the heads of the 
 conspirators, and thus, at a single stroke, take away those 
 branches, which had been so fruitful of disease and hurt to 
 the growth of the colony. But Smith, with great magna 
 nimity, refused to avail himself of this short and summary 
 method of revenge. He was sick of the struggle, and 
 saw no reason to persevere in a conflict, for which, whether 
 right or wrong, whether he- failed or triumphed, he was 
 still likely to suffer blame. His hurts of body contributed 
 also in great degree to lessen those nervous energies which 
 might have made his mind eager to redress itself to 
 punish his enemies, and to overcome all the difliculiies 
 
820 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 which they might raise upon his path. But why should 
 he still continue to build for others ? Why build for 
 those who, coming after him, might only cast down his 
 fabrics ? His labors for several years the arduous con 
 flict which he had maintained for the establishment of the 
 colony the firm basis upon which he had founded the 
 little community from Europe, in spite of all savage oppo 
 sition, in the forests of America ail that he had don 
 with what recompense, and with what toil, and peril, and 
 annoyance was about to pass to strangers ! What mo 
 tive for farther exertion, with a frame writhing in agony, 
 with a spirit vexed and wearied by disappointment ? His 
 resolves were more pacific and more honorable than his old 
 soldiers would have had them. Contenting himself with 
 taking order for the safety of the colony, by placing the 
 government in the hands of Mr. Percy, he sailed in the 
 autumn of 1609 from Virginia, which he was never again 
 to behold. 
 
 Of his services in founding the English colony, the his 
 tory of which has so far been his own, we have endea 
 vored to afford an account as lively and correct as possible. 
 We cannot doubt that it survived only through his wis 
 dom, his courage, and his great enterprise. He was the 
 master spirit of his little empire ; for one year its presi 
 dent ; and, during the whole term of his stay in the coun 
 try something more than two years its chief support 
 and security. To those accustomed to measure events by 
 their magnitude alone, the petty details which character 
 ize an infant settlement such as we have described the 
 small cares of providing food for wandering men, and con 
 tending for their lives against bands of naked savages it 
 will seem something of an extravagance, not to say absurd 
 ity, to claim for him, whose life is consumed in such 
 performances, the merits of great heroism P\tf we are 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 32 1 
 
 free to express our conviction, that the successful conflict 
 with the minor necessities of life, in strange situations, 
 against active hostility from without, and an antipathy 
 within quite as active, though less overt, and with such 
 inadequate resources as were in the possession of our 
 Captain, require resources of thought, will, courage, 
 energy, and magnanimity, quite as great as are usually 
 exercised by the victorious chieftain ; the vastness of 
 whose performance, alone, rather than its value, and the 
 obstacles which have opposed it, constitutes his whole 
 claim to renown and eminence. Smith, in the employ 
 ment of a company who had but a vague idea of their own 
 objects, and an imperfect notion of the sort of adventure 
 upon which he went, was continually under the check and 
 rebuke of a power which could neither direct his labors 
 nor appreciate his performances. They could find no 
 merit in obtaining a foothold in a foreign and hostile re 
 gion, from which their extravagant fancies anticipated 
 nothing less than treasure. The vast utility of what he 
 succeeded in doing, in founding his colony, in spite of 
 inadequate numbers, deficient materials, starvation, sick 
 ness, and mutiny, was not to be felt or understood, where 
 such insane fancies prevailed in the face of all sober rea 
 son and reflection. That he should not have satisfied his 
 employers who sat in silken security at home, is by nc 
 means matter of surprise. That he should not have pleas 
 ed the effeminate and the profligate with whose preserva 
 tion he was burdened, and whom he made to toil in un 
 wonted labors, when it was their passion to live wholly 
 on the toils and risks of others, is. quite as little within 
 the range of expectation ; and that his career should have 
 proved grateful to the savage tribes whom he overcame 
 whom he alone could overcome whom he subdued to 
 whom he made tributary to his necessities and 
 
322 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 upon whose territories he fixed a foot so fast that no 
 improvidence in his successors, however extreme, could 
 enable them to fling it off was not within the bounds of 
 reason and belief. And yet, in the respect of all these, 
 he secured such a place, that we find the savages volunteer 
 ing their arms to strengthen his power against the profligate 
 and refractory of his own people ; we find the veterans 
 whom he had trained to successes by his strict and undis- 
 criminating justice, forgetting all their prejudices, and 
 proffering to bring him the heads of his enemies ; and 
 in regard to his general merits in the establishment of the 
 colony, we discover that, surviving all the misrepresenta 
 tions of that scurvy pack, the Archers, the Newports, and 
 the Ratcliffes, the world of England, very soon after he 
 left Virginia, justly accorded him the credit of being its 
 true founder and sole parent. Time, that great avenger, 
 has ratified the awards of justice, and posterity confirms 
 the decision which even contemporaneous history was dis 
 posed to make in the case of our hero. But, unless our 
 narrative has satisfied the reader of his great and superior 
 merits, any summary at this stage in our progress will 
 utterly fail to supply the deficiency. It will be enough 
 here to furnish that which we have at the hands of certain 
 of his followers in Virginia. One of the authorities from 
 which we derive our materials, thus rudely but forcibly 
 accumulates, in one paragraph, and characterizes his per 
 formances. " By this you may see for all those crosses, 
 trecheries, and dissentions, how he wrestled and overcame 
 (without bloodshed) all that happened ; also what good 
 was done ; how few dyed ; what food the country natu 
 rally afFordeth ; what small cause there is men should 
 starve, or be murthered by the salvages, that have discre 
 tion to manage them, with courage and industrie. The 
 two first yeares, though by his adventures, he had oft 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 323 
 
 brought the salvages to a tractable trade, yet you see 
 how the envious authorise ever crossed him, and frustrat 
 ed his best endeavors. But it wrought in him that expe 
 rience and estimation amongst the salvages as otherwise 
 it had bin impossible he had ever effected what he did. 
 Notwithstanding the many miserable, yet generou? and 
 worthy adventures he had oft and long endured in the 
 wide world, yet, in this case, he was againe to learne his 
 lecture by experience. Which, with thus much adoe 
 having obtained, it was his ill chance to end, when he had 
 but onely learned how to begin." 
 
 This is well and honestly stated. The writer proceeds 
 to hint what was the contrast between his successes and 
 those of the persons by whom he was succeeded. <c And 
 though he left those unknowne difficulties made easy and 
 familiar to his unlawful successors (who onely by living 
 in Jamestowne presumed to know more than all the world 
 could direct them) now, though they had all his soul- 
 diers, with a tripple power, and twice tripple better 
 meanes, by what they have done in his absence, tne 
 world may see what they would have done in his presence 
 had he not prevented their indiscretions : it doth justly 
 prove what cause he had to send them for England, and 
 that he was neither factious, mutinous, nor dishonest. But 
 they have made it more plaine since his return for Eng 
 land, having his absolute authoritie freely in their powei, 
 w r ith all the advantages and opportunity that his labours 
 had effected." 
 
 It does not belong to our present labors to continue the 
 history of events in Virginia after the departure of our 
 hero, yet, in confirmation of the preceding extract, and to 
 show by relative results what were his real claims upon 
 the admiration of those who appreciated the deeds of a 
 proper manhood, it may be well to mention that his de- 
 
324 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 parture from the colony was followed by misery and 
 disaster. The seditious portion of the population got the 
 ascendency ; Martin and West abandoned their separate 
 settlements with the loss of half their men; the Indians, 
 as soon as they were sure of the absence of that command 
 ing genius which had always held them in such complete 
 subjection, revolted and murdered all whom they met. 
 Instead of one, the colonists had twenty Presidents, each 
 with his bullies and retainers ; the provisions which Smith 
 had gathered with so much care were soon wasted, and 
 West and Ratcliffe, going forth to trade for supplies with 
 the Indians, the former fled to England, and the latter, set 
 upon by the savages, was slain with thirty of his soldiers : 
 but one boy of the number escaped, preserved by the mer 
 ciful interposition of Pocahontas. It was not long before 
 the worst enemies and maligners of Smith, subdued by 
 suffering and danger to a proper sense of their equal feeble 
 ness and undesert, deplored his absence, and, in the bitter 
 ness of their hearts, cursed their destinies by which that 
 event had been precipitated. 
 
 Such was the distress and suffering of the colonists, from 
 famine and the unremitting hostility of the savages, that, of 
 five hundred persons whom Smith left behind him in the 
 colony, there remained living, at the end of six months, 
 scarcely more than sixty men, women, and children 
 and these preserved a wretched existence by living upon 
 roots and herbs, acorns, and wild nuts, and berries of 
 the wood. From the Indians they got little else than 
 scoffs and wounds. They traded away their swords and 
 firelocks for food, and thus fell easier victims to their foes. 
 Famine, in its most horrid forms, assailed them. The 
 very skins of their horses were devoured. A portion 
 among them disinterred an Indian, who had been slain and 
 ouned, and, having eaten him, followed up the horrid 
 
LITE OF CAPTAIN SMITH 325 
 
 taste for human food, by preying upon one anothei One 
 miserable wretch slew his own wife, and had devoured a 
 portion of the carcass before he was detected. But we 
 gladly turn from a spectacle so wretched, which nothing 
 but the rare conduct, ability and courage of our hero had 
 kept from being seen in the colony before. The day 
 of retribution was not long deferred after his departure, 
 and no more triumphant attestation of his wonderful 
 merits, for such a, service, could be found, than in the con 
 trast between the history of Virginia during his adminis 
 tration, and that of the first six months by which it wag 
 succeeded. We must now follow him to England. 
 
BOOK FOURTH. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 OF " our Captaine," returned to his native land, we near 
 little or nothing for several years. A period of physical 
 repos-e seems to have been necessary to his career after 
 so long a conflict with danger and privation. It is proba 
 ble that he suffered for some time after reachin^ England 
 
 G O 
 
 from his injuries by gunpowder ; for, just before leaving 
 Virginia, we are told, " so grievous were his wounds, and 
 so cruel his torments, that few expected he could live." 
 He did live, but his cure was probably a tedious one ; and 
 habits of reading and study, induced by the confinement 
 of his chamber, in all probability opened new resources to 
 his mind, particularly at a period of great physical exhaus 
 tion. It is likely that he conceived, while in this situa 
 tion, those plans of study, and followed out those inqui 
 ries in history, which led him subsequently to become a 
 somewhat voluminous writer. In 1612 he published his 
 " map of Virginia, with a description of the countrey, the 
 commodities, people, government and religion." To this 
 work was annexed the history published under the name 
 of William Simmons, " Doctour of Divinitie ;" to which 
 the biographers of Smith have been so largely indebted. 
 And we have no doubt that, during the interval between 
 his departure from Virginia, his voyages to, and disco- 
 verv in New Kno-land, about five years, he employed no 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 327 
 
 portion of his time in a course of study, of which his 
 youth had been neglectful supplying those deficiencies 
 of his early education, which he might ascribe as much 
 to his own erratic temper as to the indifference and self 
 ishness of his guardians. Smith, indeed, became some 
 thing of a literary man. He held the pen quite as vigor 
 ously as he did the sword ; used it with a flourish ; and. 
 if frequently rude and incoherent in his style, he some 
 times made ample amends for his short-comings by snatch 
 ing "a grace beyond the reach of art." He was bold in 
 the use of figures ; and, where he wrote from his own 
 experience, and without affectations, he was sometimes 
 uncommonly spirited, and even eloquent. His associates 
 seem to have been men of letters. Some of his followers 
 in Virginia were verse makers like himself. The custom 
 of that time was to hail the appearance of the successful 
 author with ode and sonnet, insisting upon his merits and 
 peculiar claims upon the muse. It was a custom that had 
 its beneficial uses, though liable to some objections. His 
 volumes are introduced to the public by epistles from his 
 admirers. R. Brathwait tells him : 
 
 " Two greatest shires of England did thee beare, 
 Renowned Yorkshire, Gaunt-stild Lancashire :" 
 
 reminds him of his conquests over the affections of Tra- 
 gabigzanda, the Lady Callarnata, Pocahontas, &c., all of 
 whom did for him 
 
 " What love with modesty could doe ;" 
 
 and concludes, punning upon his name, with the wisn that 
 we had 
 
 " Many such Smiths in this our Israel." 
 
 Anthony Fereby writes in better, and bolder, and truei 
 verses : 
 
328 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 Thou hast a course most full of honour runne : 
 
 Envy may suarle as dogges against the sunne, 
 
 May bark, not bite ; for what deservedly 
 
 With thy lilt s danger, valour, policy, 
 
 duaint, warlike stratagems, ability 
 
 And judgment thou hast got, fame sets so high 
 
 Detraction cannot reach : thy worth shall stand 
 
 A patterne to succeeding ages, and 
 
 Clothed in thine owne lines ever shall add grace 
 
 Unto thy native country and thy race." 
 
 Edward Jordan writes in a long strain, of which these 
 lines will serve our purpose : 
 
 " I know none 
 
 That like thyself hast come, and gone, and runne, 
 To such praiseworthy actions." 
 
 Richard James, after enumerating the martial virtues 
 of his subject, thus insists upon his literary as well as mili 
 tary merits : 
 
 " Whose sword and pen in bold, ruffe, martial-wise, 
 Put forth to try and beare away the prize 
 From Csesar and Blaize Monluc." 
 
 M. Hawkins notices yet other qualities which the lover 
 of military glory does not often insist upon 
 
 " None can truly say thou didst deceive 
 
 Thy soldiers, sailors, merchants or thy friends, 
 
 But all from thee a true account receive." 
 
 He adds and thus furnishes the proof of what he asserts, 
 
 " Yet naught to thee all these thy virtues bring. " 
 Richard Meade gives him that credit of 
 
 " Founding a common weale 
 In faire America," 
 
 the proofs of which are, we humbly think, conclusively 
 embodied in this volume ; and so we are furnished with 
 the testimonies of Edward Ingham, M Gartner, Brian 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 32& 
 
 O Rourke, S. Tanner and others, all of which prove the 
 esteem if not the poetical endowments of his contempora 
 ries. Some of his followers in Virginia are among these 
 tribute-bringers. J. Coddington signs himself "your 
 sometime souldier, now templar." Raleigh Crashaw 
 writes, " in the deserved honour of my honest and worthy 
 Captain, John Smith and his work." He says, among 
 other things, 
 
 " With due descretion and undaunted heart, 
 I oft so well have scene thee act thy part 
 In deepest plunge of hard extremitie, 
 As forct the troops of proudest foes to flee, 
 Though men of greater rank and less desert, 
 Would pish-a.\va,y thy praise it cannot start 
 From the true owner." 
 
 " Michael Phettiplace, Will Phettiplace and Richard 
 Wyffin, gentlemen and souldiers under Captain Smith s 
 command," give similar evidence, but in greater detail * 
 
 " Thou heldst the King of Paspahegh enchained, 
 Thou all alone this salvage sterne didst take. 
 Pamaunkee s king wee saw thee captive make 
 Among seven hundred of his stoutest men, 
 To murder thee and us resolved, when 
 Fast by the haire thou ledst this salvage grim, 
 Thy pistoll at his breast," &c. 
 
 Of Smith s own lines the specimens are few, and they 
 do not impress us with the poetry of his verse, though his 
 prose writings are full of evidence that he possessed a 
 warm and lively fancy. There is, at the opening of his 
 work about New England, a copy of verses entitled the 
 " Sea-marke," which appear as coming from his pen. 
 They possess considerable merit, and are dec dedly better 
 than many other samples of this order which have been pre 
 served to us. They remind us of such writers as John 
 Davies and Philip Quarles, and have that peculiar quaint- 
 
330 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 ness of tone which marked the verses of the Elizabethan 
 period. It is but fair that we give them to the reader in 
 this connection. They are better lines than those of his 
 eulogists. 
 
 THE SEA-MARKE. 
 
 Aloofe, aloofe, and come no neare, 
 The dangers doe appeare, 
 Which, if my mine had not beene, 
 You had not seene : 
 I only lie upon this shelfe 
 
 To be a marke to all 
 
 Which on the same may fall, 
 That none may perish but myself. 
 
 If in or outward you be bound 
 
 Do not forget to sound ; 
 
 Neglect of that was caused of this 
 
 To steer amisse. 
 
 The seas were calm, the winde was faire, 
 
 That made me so secure, 
 
 That now I must endure 
 All weathers, be they foule or faire. 
 
 The winter s cold, the summer s heat* 
 
 Alternatively beat 
 
 Upon my bruised sides, that rue, 
 
 Because too true, 
 
 That no reliefe can ever come ; 
 
 But why should I despaire 
 
 Being promised so faire, 
 That there shall be a day of Dome. 
 
 The moral counsel in these verses is not confined to the 
 seaman. The caution was such as Smith practised whe 
 ther on land or sea. Ke had, in rare proportion, that 
 u due discretion" for which his admirer gives him praise, 
 along with the merit of " great valiantnesse." Certainly, 
 never was the courage of the soldier more happily coupled 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 331 
 
 with the calm over-ruling judgment of the Captain than in 
 the case of Smith. 
 
 Such, then, for five years after he left Virginia seem 
 to have been the exercises we must not call them amuse 
 ments in which our adventurer indulged. But though 
 he read in books, and mixed with literary men, his studies 
 had but one direction.. The books which he grappled 
 were those of adventure and discovery. The books he 
 wrote were of war, travel, and colonization ; how coun 
 tries were to be explored and settled ; and how men were 
 to be trained for such objects and employments. He was 
 not forgetful of Virginia. His heart was still fondly set 
 upon the fortunes of that colony. After alleging, in the 
 opening of his treatise entitled u The Pathway to Kxpe- 
 rience to erect a Plantation, that " all our plantations 
 have been so foyled and abused, their best good willes 
 have been for the most part discouraged and disgraced ;" 
 he adds, " but pardon me if I offend in loving that I 
 have cherished truly, by the losse of my prime, fortunes, 
 meanes and youth." This is a melancholy sentiment, 
 which is but too frequently heard to fall from the lips of 
 those who fall the victims to their own enthusiasm, in the 
 service of the selfish. His youth speaking comparatively 
 gone, his means exhausted, his successes questioned, 
 and the prospect of future employment small, the forwai d 
 glance of Smith must have shown him but a gloomy ar d 
 cheerless pathway. He might well look back upon tLe 
 history of past struggles in Virginia with mixed feelings 
 of fondness and mortification. He had been successful 
 there ; he had done what no other person could have 
 done ; and of this neither malice nor envy could despoil 
 his name. His successors were offering daily proof to the 
 nation which tended to the elevation of Smith s abilities 
 and virtues. We have already afforded a glimpse of the 
 
332 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 ruin and disaster by which his departure had been distin 
 guished. The continued history of the settlement while 
 he lay unemployed in England, conclusively showed how 
 entirely the colony had been indebted to the one man foj 
 its preservation in past years. To this history we must 
 return during the period of Smith s sojourn in England ; 
 not so much with a view to its details, as with regard to 
 the fortunes of certain individuals in whom our sympathies 
 have been awakened by the previous narrative. The 
 name of Pocahontas is too nearly associated with that of 
 Smith to suffer us to lose her from our sight ; nor can we 
 part abruptly with the grim chief, her shrewd and politic 
 old father. These, with the remarkable savage, Ope- 
 chancanough, will demand just enough of our attention to 
 give a dramatic interest to our biography. 
 
 A continual change of governors followed the departure 
 of Smith, and indicated quite as much as anything else 
 the evil administration of the colony. Percy succeeded 
 Smith ; was succeeded by Sir Thomas Gates ; he by Lord 
 Delaware ; Delaware by Percy again ; Percy by Sir Tho 
 mas Dale ; Dale by Gates again ; Gates by Dale once 
 more ; and Dale by Mr. George Yeardly ; and all these 
 changes were made in the short space of six years. In 
 this brief period the colonists were deeply and irretrieva 
 bly embroiled with the Indians, whom they soon began to 
 massacre, and whose villages they devoted to the flames. 
 They were followed by flames and massacre in turn. The 
 Indians, driven to fury, took courage against their tyrants ; 
 and what with their hostility, and the idleness and mutinous 
 dispositions of the colonists, the latter were soon in danger 
 of famine. They were saved only by supplies from Eng 
 land. New towns were established, and old ones taken 
 from the savages. The temper of Povvhatan was not im 
 proved by these events. The sympathy which Poca- 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 333 
 
 hontas expressed for the pale-faces had estranged from 
 her the affections of the vindictive old man. She lived 
 with him no longer, but found her abode in some secresy 
 with her relations, the King and Queen of Potomack. 
 She was no longer able to influence her father s mind in 
 behalf of the English captives, and she fled from exhi 
 bitions of cruelty which her entreaties failed to arrest. 
 She thought herself safe in the keeping of her relatives 
 She was yet to find herself painfully deceived. Thfc 
 English, under Capt. Argall, obtained intelligence of hei 
 hiding place, and the cupidity of Japazaws and his wife, 
 with whom she found shelter, was excited by the bribes 
 of Argall. They were prevailed upon to bring her on 
 ooard the ships of the English. Pocahontas had already 
 seen the great canoes, but the wife of Japazaws had been 
 less fortunate. Her curiosity became a passion which 
 must be gratified, and Pocahontas yielded to her entrea 
 ties. Why should she fear evil at the hands of the Eng 
 lish ? She, who had so frequently interposed to save 
 them who was even then under the frown of her father, 
 because of her unnatural love for his enemies ! Certainly, 
 unless by assuming for them a character of the utmost 
 ingratitude, she had no reason to apprehend treachery 
 from them. 
 
 Her confidence was misplaced. Once in the vessel of 
 Argall, she was decoyed into the gun-room, and there 
 informed that she was a prisoner. Her prayers availed 
 her nothing. Her tears were wasted upon the selfish 
 nature of the English captain. Old Japazaws and his 
 treacherous wife were loud in their bowlings and entrea 
 ties, the better to persuade the unhappy girl of their inno 
 cence, but they were quite satisfied when they were put 
 ashore with their copper-kettle, which had been the price 
 of their miserable treachery. 
 
334 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 The lesson which Argall thus put in practice was 
 out of Spanish books. Failing to compass the capture of 
 the king, his daughter was a prize that promised a goodly 
 ransom. She was the favorite of her sire had been the 
 nonpareil in the days of Captain Smith s administration. 
 It was assumed that Powhatan would pay with liberal 
 hands that she might be restored to his eyes. A messenger 
 was dispatched to him. He was told that his daughter 
 could only be ransomed by a prompt restoration, to the 
 English, of all the men, the guns, tools and weapons, which 
 he had obtained by theft, purchase or conquest from the 
 English. From Smith, Powhatan never succeeded in pro 
 curing arms. But the factious and lazy colonists, after hre 
 departure, in the loose rule which followed, procured their 
 corn and tobacco from the savages by giving them their 
 swords and matchlocks. Smith says sarcastically, " And 
 the loving salvages, their kinde friends, they trained so 
 well up to shoot in a piece, to hunt and kill their fowle, 
 they became more expert than our owne countrymen." 
 
 It was necessary to recover the weapons so improvi- 
 dently entrusted to their hands, and hence the conditions 
 for the ransom of Pocahontas. They were too stringent 
 for the ambitious nature of Powhatan, though the news of 
 his daughter s capture troubled him much beyond all ordi 
 nary cause of grief. He made an effort to obtain her 
 release. He sent back seven English prisoners, with each 
 an unserviceable musket. He promised them, upon the 
 release of his daughter, to make them satisfaction for all 
 injuries, to enter with them into a treaty of peace, and to 
 give them five hundred bushels of corn. But this did not 
 satisfy her captors. They demanded that he should return 
 everything, give up his whole treasure of English arms, 
 upon which he had set his heart from the first moment of 
 his knowledge of their use. The love of the father wan 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 335 
 
 not equaJ to the ambition of the king. He indignantly re 
 fused any answer to the demand, and for some time they 
 heard nothing from him. They carried her up to Wero- 
 wocomo under a strong guard of one hundred and fifty 
 men, apprised him that they came to restore her to his 
 arms, but repeated the original terms of her ransom. He 
 refused to see them, and answered their propositions only 
 with scorn and defiance. Some skirmishes ensued, in 
 which the Indians suffered some injury and had their houses 
 burnt, but the stern old emperor was implacable. The 
 brothers of Pocahontas were permitted to visit her on 
 board of the English vessel, but the concession led to no 
 thing. The whites were compelled to return to James 
 town, leaving the savages more embittered than ever 
 against them. 
 
 But a new agent was busy in bringing about a pacifica 
 tion, upon which neither the English nor the Indians had 
 made any calculation. This was love. Pocahontas was 
 now about eighteen years of age. She had, from her ear 
 liest knowledge of the English, been impressed with their 
 superiority. She had loved them as a race beyond her 
 own, and had given her entire veneration to their sagacious 
 leader. A tenderer sentiment consoled her in her capti 
 vity. Her affections were won by John Rolfe, an Eng 
 lishman of good family and worth. His addresses were 
 sanctioned by Sir Thomas Dale, the then Governor of 
 Virginia, and finally received the sanction of Powhatan. 
 But he would not risk his person to be present at the mar 
 riage. He sent one of her uncles, Opachisco, and two of 
 his sons, to witness the ceremonies, which were solemnized 
 in the spring of 1613. This event softened the asperities 
 between the opposing races. It subdued the hate, if it did 
 not secure the love of Powhatan for the stranger people, 
 and a treaty of peace, followed by a resumption of al] 
 
3 36 LIFEOF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 friendly relations, was the result of an event which all par* 
 ties considered auspicious. a Powhatan s daughter," says 
 Sir Thomas Dale, in a letter from Jamestown, dated June 
 18, 1614, "I caused to be carefully instructed in the 
 Christian religion, who, after she had made such progress 
 therein, renounced publicly her country s idolatry, openly 
 confessed her Christian faith, was, as she desired, baptized, 
 and is since married to an English gentleman of good un 
 derstanding (as by his letter unto me, containing the rea 
 sons of his marriage unto her, you may perceive) ano 
 ther knot to bind the knot the stronger. Her father and 
 friends gave approbation of it, and her uncle gave her to 
 him in the church. She lives civilly and lovingly with 
 him, and 1 trust will increase in goodnesse as the know 
 ledge of God increaseth in her. She will goe into Eng 
 land with mee, and were it but the gaining of this one 
 suih, I will think my time, toile and present stay welJ 
 spent." 
 
CHAPTER H. 
 
 THE resources of Captain Smith were no doubt very much 
 diminished by the life of comparative repose which he led 
 in England, and by the expenses attending his cure. On 
 this subject we are left wholly to conjecture. But, whe 
 ther he finally obeyed the impulses of his nature, or the 
 necessities of his condition, we find him in 1614 engaging 
 in new perils and adventures, such as he had endured and 
 abandoned in Virginia. It is safe to assume, that a tem 
 perament so active and a mind so curious after discovery, 
 could not rest in idleness, whatever might have been his 
 worldly means. His studies were of a sort to keep up in 
 his bosom a passion for adventure ; and his spirit yearned 
 to lay bare the secret resources of that new continent, in 
 the fate of which his sympathies were deeply engaged. 
 He longed to emulate the achievements of the Spaniards 
 in the southern portions of the country, though with a 
 very decided English abhorrence of their faithless and 
 bloody processes for conquest. To seek Virginia, a second 
 time, though Virginia really seemed to need his genius for 
 its preservation, was not to be entertained, while a sense 
 of the injustice with which he had been treated by the 
 proprietors of that colony, was still fresh and rankling in 
 his memory. His eyes were fixed, accordingly, on that 
 portion of the English discovery which was then entitled 
 North Virginia. Attempts had been made, probably with 
 his advice, by a company of London merchants, who sent 
 forth one or more expeditions in this quarter. A settle 
 ment had actually been made by the Plymouth Company, 
 
338 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 on the coast of Maine, in 1607, and a small colony had 
 passed a cheerless winter in that region. Their experi 
 ence was such as to prompt their abandonment of the 
 country, of w r hich they gave a most discouraging account ; 
 the effect of which was to prevent other attempts of the 
 same sort, until the peculiar genius of Smith was brought 
 to shape the enterprise. In the month of April, 1614, ne 
 set sail from London with two ships. The expenses of 
 the outfit were defrayed by himself and four London mer 
 chants. At this time, the land to which his prows were 
 directed, was regarded as a most inhospitable desert a 
 vast tract of barren waste and rock which was known 
 in Europe as Nurembega, Canada, Penaquida, North 
 Virginia, &c., precisely as it suited the tastes of those to 
 call it by whom its uninviting coasts were ranged. Nor 
 was it the leading purpose of the present voyage that a 
 settlement should be made in the country. The scheme 
 of the adventurers was partly the whale-fishery, partly a 
 search after mines of gold and copper ; and, in the event 
 of their failure in the search after these objects, then " fish 
 and furs were to be their refuge." But "we found this 
 whale-fishing a costly conclusion. We saw many, and 
 spent much time in chasing them, but could not kill any." 
 The search after gold was as little profitable. " It was 
 rathor the master s device to get a voyage that projected 
 it, than any knowledge we had of any such matter." 
 Fish and furs next demanded the attention of our voya 
 gers, but here again it was discovered that their quest 
 was likely to be in vain. " By our late arrival and long 
 lingering about the whale, the prime of both these seasons 
 was past ere we perceived it." Some fish were taken, 
 but not enough to defray the charge of the expedition. 
 About sixty thousand cod were the fruit of a month s 
 fishing of eighteen men, while Smith, with eight others 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 339 
 
 ranging the coast in an open boat, obtained from the 
 savages moie than ten thousand beaver, one hundred mar 
 tin, and as many otter skins. These were procured at 
 small expense. On this progress, Smith amused himself 
 with making a chart of the coast, and writing down all the 
 particulars which he could gather of the country, to which 
 he gave the name of New England, which it now bears, 
 and will probably bear for ever. 
 
 Within six months after leaving the Downs, he returned 
 with one of his ships, leaving the other in the command 
 of Captain Thomas Hunt, who was instructed to carry his 
 fish to Spain for a market. The choice of this man was 
 unfortunate. Taking advantage of the absence of Smith, 
 and governed by considerations of the most base and mer 
 cenary character, he decoyed twenty-four of the savages 
 on board his vessel, and, in cruel return for the kindness 
 with which the English had been treated by their people, 
 he sold them into slavery at Malaga. The proceeds were 
 a little private perquisite for himself. Smith ascribes to 
 him a more subtle policy namely, to discourage any set 
 tlement of the country by making the English name odious 
 to the natives, " thereby to keepe this abounding country 
 still in obscuritie, that onely he and some few merchants 
 more might enjoy wholly the benefit of the trade." This 
 object is not so apparent. The sufficient motive for the 
 inhuman proceeding of such a wretch is to be found in the 
 petty profits of a trade upon which no return need be made 
 to the owners. It was no atonement to the people he had 
 wronged that he was dismissed with indignation from em 
 ployment. 
 
 Smith presented his map and the record of his proceed 
 ings to Prince Charles, afterwards the unfortunate Charles 
 the First, whose sanction he entreated for the adoption of 
 the new nomenclature which he proposed to employ for 
 
340 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 his discoveries. But, though Charles graciously com 
 plied with this request, he has not been successful always 
 in the rejection of the former names. Cape Cod still stub 
 bornly keeps its sturdy epithet, and will not be persuaded 
 into the adoption of the more gentle title of Cape " James. " 
 Cape Ann is too easy of utterance to be surrendered for 
 Tragabigzanda, even though in tribute to the Turkish dam 
 sel \vho \vould have bestowed her charms on our hero. 
 Even the name of Smith himself, conferred modestly on a 
 Httle group of isles, it better pleased the English lip to 
 convert into the insignificant title of the Isles of 8-hoals. 
 Surely, w r e might yield this little verbal tribute to him who 
 was the first Admiral of New England. Numerous other 
 names of places were changed by our explorer, who seems 
 not to have affected the euphony of the Indian syllables. 
 These, with very questionable taste, he repudiates for 
 well-known English words. We cannot regret that the 
 aboriginal words have been found of too sturdy a growth 
 to be eradicated by the will of our adventurer. 
 
 Smith, on his return to England, put into Plymouth. He 
 esteems it his ill luck to have done so ; for, " imparting 
 his purpose to divers whom he thought his friends," 
 they engaged his services for the Plymouth Company 
 under a patent which had long lain dormant. They 
 encouraged him with large promises, and thus secured his 
 services which his late associates were quite unwilling to 
 lose. His more recent engagement seems to have gives 
 offence to those, whose favoring and friendly opinion he 
 was anxious to retain. But his faith was given, and he 
 was not the man to seek escape, whatever might be hi* 
 loss, from his engagement. 
 
 The effect of this difficulty was to lead to the employ 
 ment of a master, named Michael Cooper, on the part of 
 the South Virginia Company ; and Smith s own facts and 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH 34J 
 
 suggestions being seized upon, Cooper put to sea with 
 four vessels, long before the Plymouth Company had 
 made any provision for him. The success of iiis cod- 
 fishery, under all its disadvantages, and the copious par 
 ticulars which the frank nature of our Captain prompted 
 him but too freely to make public, thus led to the antici 
 pation of his own plans by others, who never would havi 
 conceived them. Fifteen hundred pounds had been real 
 ized by his first voyage of six months. By knowing the 
 season for furs better than the English, the French, dur 
 ing the same period, had obtained twenty-five thousand 
 beaver skins. These, with other facts, gathered from 
 Smith s relation, together with his unwitting engagement 
 with the Plymouth Company, had given unwonted provo 
 cation to their rivals, who had thus taken the start of 
 them in the adventure, to the great detriment of the 
 former. Yet all the advantages, except that of capital, 
 were with the latter. Could the two companies have 
 united, and sent forth a single expedition from Plymouth 
 under our Captain, the results would have amply rewarded 
 all parties. But commercial rivalry forbade the proper 
 wisdom. " Much labor I had taken to bring the Lon 
 doners and them to joyne together, because the Londoners 
 have most money and the western men are most proper 
 for fishing ; and it is neere as much trouble, but much 
 more danger, to saile from London to Plimouth, than from 
 Plimouth to New England, so that halfe the voyage 
 would thus be saved ; yet by no meanes could I prevails, 
 so desirous were they both to be lords of this fishing." 
 
 Smith, on engaging with the Plymouth Company, had 
 been promised four good ships, which wore to be ready 
 by Christmas. In January, with two hundred pounds 
 cash, fjr private adventure, he left London, accompanied 
 by six of his friends, and went to Plymouth. His sail- 
 
34 J L IKK OF (A I- TAIN SMITH. 
 
 guine expectations were doomed to disappointment. The 
 ships were not ready ; and the Company, owing to dis 
 couraging reports of disaster to other voyagers, had cooled 
 in their desire for the enterprise. Yet, in behalf of this 
 Company, Smith had declined the command of the London 
 expedition the four ships sent out under Cooper which 
 had been first tendered to him. Ordinary men would 
 have desponded under these circumstances. Certainly, 
 fortune warred spitefully against our hero. But he was 
 not discouraged. His soul was always too much in his 
 scheme to yield readily to denials or reverses. He went 
 to work with his wonted energy in beating up supplies 
 and recruits. His friends came forward, he invested all 
 that he himself had, and succeeded in getting furnished 
 one vessel of two hundred and another of fifty tons. Six 
 teen persons were engaged to go in this expedition, with 
 the view to a permanent settlement of the country. This 
 was a favorite scheme with our adventurer. He says in 
 one of his narratives " Nor will I spend more time in 
 discovery or fishing till I may goe with a company for a 
 plantation." He had the just notion of what was essential 
 to the permanence of conquest. 
 
 The two vessels were soon made ready for the sea, and 
 left Plymouth in March. But the ill luck which had thus 
 far baffled him, was not disposed to forego its hostility. 
 He had sailed little more than a hundred leagues, when the 
 two vessels were separated by a tempest the ship of Smith 
 was dismasted, and he was compelled to return to Plymouth 
 under jurymast, the crew being kept at the pumps with 
 every watch, with the dread of foundering momently be 
 fore their eyes. The vessel, probably old and worthless 
 at the outset, and only patched up for the exigency, was 
 not worthy of repairs, and we find our voyager resuming 
 his adventure in a small bark of sixty tons, with but thirty 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 343 
 
 men, instead of the seventy which he had in the former 
 snip. He left Plymouth on the 24th of June. His con 
 sort, from whom he had separated, weathered the gale in 
 safety, and, ignorant of the fate of the larger ship, pro 
 ceeded on her voyage, which was profitable in its results. 
 But the evil eye was still upon our captain, and the adven 
 ture, so far as his progress was concerned, was one of mis 
 haps and disappointments. His first danger w r as from an 
 English pirate, a bark of one hundred and forty tons, 
 manned by eighty men, and armed with thirty-six cannon. 
 The little vessel of Smith was of three scoi-e tons only, with 
 thirty seamen and four guns. His master, mate, pilot and 
 others were very importunate with him to yield, and he had 
 more trouble in the contest with their fears than he expect 
 ed to have with the foe. He was stubborn in his resolution 
 to fight it out with the pirates, and made his preparations 
 accordingly. But, when the enemy drew nigh, and recog 
 nized our adventurer, they became pacific. Their leaders 
 recognized him as their former captain. They proffered 
 him the command of their vessel. They were willing that 
 he should lead them at his pleasure. They were prepared 
 to confide in him rather than in themselves. In fact, there 
 was a mutiny among them. They had lately rua from 
 Tunis, lacked provisions, and were divided into contending 
 factions 
 
 It was unfortunate that Smith refused their aLiance. 
 He afterwards repented that he had not accepted the com 
 mand which they proffered him. But he was discouraged 
 by their mutinous condition, and had his heart too -deeply 
 set upon the leading object of his adventure, to /rouble 
 himself with the unnecessary task of reforming these pro 
 fligates. But his own crew proved even le^s tract 
 able. Near Fayal he was encountered by two other 
 pirates. But these were Frenchmen. One of them was 
 
344 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 of two hundred and the other of thirty tons. Here again ; 
 his crew were terrified at the disparity of force, and posi 
 tively refused to go to the guns. But our captain was no* 
 to be disgraced in this manner. He had a process of coer 
 cion which they learned to fear more than the enemy, and 
 he prepared to fire his magazine, and blow his bark in air, 
 rather than yield while he had any powder left. This 
 brought his mutineers back to their duty. They saw de 
 termination in his eye, and the approach of the pirate was 
 welcomed with a cannonade. A running fight followed, 
 in which the English succeeded in making their escape. 
 
 But their temporary good fortune was about to leave 
 them, Near Flores they were chased and overtaken by 
 four French men-of-war, all well armed, and each of 
 them superior to the little craft of our Captain. He was 
 made to go aboard of the French admiral and show his 
 papers. These proved him to be neither Spaniard nor 
 pirate, against whom the French vessels were then cruis 
 ing. But the laws of nations were but little insisted on in 
 those days, where there was no adequate power to enforce 
 them. Though Smith showed the broad seal of England 
 to his commission, it was the policy of the Frenchman to 
 believe him pirate, Spaniard, or what he pleased. They 
 respected neither him nor his papers; detained him a 
 prisoner ; rifled his vessel ; manned her with Frenchmen; 
 and distributed the English as prisoners among their own 
 ships. After several days detention they capriciously 
 restored his vessel to our adventurer, restored his men 
 and provisions, and left him to pursue his voyage. This 
 he resolved to do, much against the wishes of his crew ; 
 but before he could separate from the French admiral, the 
 latter sent his boat for him, requesting once more to see 
 him. He obeyed the invitation, which was, in other 
 words, a command ; and, while on board the admiral, a 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 345 
 
 sail was espied, which sent all the ships forward in pur- 
 6U it all but the English vessel. Here, his discontents 
 availing themselves of Smith s absence, the confusion of 
 the chase, and the approach of night, turned their prow 
 for England ; leaving " our Captaine in his cap, bretches, 
 aud waistcoat, alone among the Frenchmen." Smith 
 asserts that his detention among the French was inten 
 tional, and induced in some degree by the machinations 
 of two of his own seamen, Edward Chambers, the master, 
 and John Miller, the mate, who had been discontents 
 from the beginning of the voyage. They represented 
 that he would " revenge himself upon the Banke, or in 
 Newfoundland, upon all the French he should there en 
 counter." The mutineers reached Plymouth in safety, 
 having divided Smith s personal property among them. 
 A commission was instituted before the vice-admiral of 
 England to investigate the proceedings, and the particulars 
 thus given were derived from the statements, on oath, of 
 six of the crew. Whether the mutineers were ever pun 
 ished for this proceeding does not appear. The proba 
 bilities are against it. " The greatest losse," says Smith, 
 u being mine," u the sailers did easily excuse themselves 
 to the merchants in England that still provided to follow 
 the fishing : much difference there was betwixt the Lon 
 doners and Westerlings to ingrosse it, who now would 
 adventure thousands, that when I first went would not 
 adventure a groat." Indeed, so completely had our Cap 
 tain shown the way, that he might almost as justly claim 
 to have founded New England as Virginia. 
 
 Smith remained during the whole summer a prisoner on 
 board the Frenchman. He soon discovered that his cap 
 tors were little better than pirates. They certainly sailed 
 under a commission which conferred great privileges. 
 They scrupled at no sort of game. Nothing came amiss 
 
346 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 that promised to compensate the trouble and the cost OJ 
 capture ; and the cruise was one which promised to be 
 profitable in a high degree. English ships were as fre 
 quently plundered as any other; and our Captain was 
 frequently pained to see wrongs done to his countrymen, 
 such as he himself had suffered, which he had not the 
 power to prevent. But the English ships were sometimes 
 hard customers for our French admiral ; and Smith indulges 
 in a tone of laudable exultation when he finds the courage of 
 his tribe asserting itself, now and then, triumphant over the 
 cunning and treachery of their enemies. The details of 
 what he witnessed during his captivity will scarce con 
 cern us here. Our business is rather with himself. He 
 was not idle during his captivity. Some time was spent 
 oy the French admiral in the neighborhood of the Azores. 
 Here, " to keepe his perplexed thoughts from too much 
 meditation of his miserable estate," he employed himself in 
 writing a narrative of his voyages to New England, with an 
 account of that country. His mind was never idle. His 
 eye took in the details of a subject at a glance, and his 
 thoughts compassed all its demands and necessities the 
 moment after. Nor did our Frenchmen leave him unem 
 ployed. They were glad to use him whenever they fought 
 with the Spaniards, and he seems to have been no ways 
 unwilling to encounter the national enemy. But when 
 the foe was English, then he was again made a prisoner. 
 His readiness in these cases secured the favor of his cap 
 tors. The French captain promised to put him ashore at 
 the Azores, but broke his promise, and it was not till the 
 summer was over that he was permitted to approach the 
 land. Reaching Rochelle, the fair promises of the cap 
 tain were forgotten, and Smith, instead of freedom and 
 reward, was made a close prisoner, and charged with hav 
 ing burnt Port Royal in New France, in 1613 a deed that 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 347 
 
 was done by Capt. Argall. The object of this accusation 
 was to .scare him into giving them a discharge before the 
 Judge of Admiralty. 
 
 Our hero was very much in their power. It was not 
 easy to find justice for an Englishman in France, during 
 the feeble foreign administration of any of the Stuart family. 
 Besides, it was a time of great civil commotion among the 
 French " a time of combustion, the Prince of Condy with 
 his army in the field, and every poor lord or man in 
 authority, as little kings of themselves." 
 
 Smith reasoned justly when he concluded that his 
 chief hope must rest upon himself. He determined to 
 escape, if possible. He watched his opportunities ac 
 cordingly, and, one dark night, at the close of a storm, 
 which had driven the Frenchmen into close cover be 
 low, he let himself down into their boat, and with a half 
 pike instead of an oar, he set himself adrift in the hope to 
 reach a contiguous islet. But the current was against 
 nim, and carried him out to sea. Here, in a small boat, 
 without even the proper implement by which to work his 
 way, amidst gust, and rain, and darkness, for the space of 
 twelve hours our fearless adventurer, struggling manfully 
 all the while against his fate, looked momentarily to be 
 hurried to the bottom. " But it pleased God that the wind 
 should turn with the tide," and while " many ships were 
 driven ashore and divers split," his boat was drifted upon 
 a marshy islet, where he was picked up the next day by 
 " certaine fowlers, neere drowned and halfe dead with 
 water, cold and hunger." His escape had been a narrow 
 one. In flying from captivity he had also flown from 
 death. The ship of his captors had been driven ashore 
 and her captain drowned with half of his crew. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THUS preserved by the special mercies of Providence, 
 amidst so many disasters, and even against his own expec 
 tations, Smith found the means for getting to Rochelle by 
 pawning the boat which had borne him through his dan 
 gers. At this place he preferred his complaint to the 
 Judge of Admiralty, against the Frenchman who had cap 
 tured him, and was listened to with patience and many 
 promises. Here he first received tidings of the wreck of 
 the vessel in which he had been detained, and the drown 
 ing of her commander. Some of the survivors whom he 
 encountered he caused to be arrested, and their story, on 
 examination, confirmed his own. These particulars, pro 
 perly put on record, he placed in the hands of the English 
 ambassador, then at Bordeaux. But nothing seems to 
 have come of his complaint. The foreign relations of the 
 Government of Great Britain, under the feeble administra 
 tion of James, were not of a sort to command much res 
 pect among the natives of the continent. Smith says 
 " of the wracke of the rich prize, some three thousand six 
 hundred crownes worth of goods came ashore and were 
 saved, with the caraval, which I did my best to arrest ; 
 the Judge promised I should have justice ; what will be 
 the conclusion as yet I know not. But, under the colour 
 to take Pirats and the West Indie men (because the Spa 
 niards will not suffer the French to trade in the West 
 Indies), any goods from thence, though they take them 
 upon the coast of Spaine, are lawful 1 prize, or from any 
 of his territories o\it of the limits of Europe : and as they 
 
LIKE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 349 
 
 betraied me, tnough I had the broad seale, so did they rob 
 and pillage twentie saile of English men more, besides 
 them I knew not, of the same yeere." 
 
 And there was no redress for the subject, whether from 
 France or England. The feebleness of the latter invited 
 the aggressions of the former. A Cromwell was the only 
 necessary cure for these foreign evils, and his day was 
 approaching. But he came too slowly for the help of 
 Smith. Our adventurer would have been reduced to sad 
 straits in France, wanting means, but that he met good 
 friends. It was his good fortune to meet his " old friend, 
 Master Crampton, that no less grieved at his losse," than 
 willingly, to the extent of his resources, supplied his 
 wants ; and " I must conlesse," he adds, " I was more 
 beholden to the Frenchmen that escaped drowning, to the 
 lawyers of Bourdeaux," and to another whom we shall 
 name hereafter, than to " all the rest of my countrymen I 
 met in France." This other was of the gentler sex a 
 Madame Chanoyes, of Rochelle who, he tells us," boun 
 tifully assisted" him. Smith was always fortunate in find 
 ing favor with the ladies. His person was good, his man 
 ners easy and dignified. His mind was essentially pure 
 and elevated. His delicacy was distinguished. He had 
 few or no vices ^ and, stern in battle, rigid in rule, and 
 uncompromising with his foes, he was yet in every sense 
 of the word a gentleman. One of his eulogists, who signs 
 himself " Your true friend, sometimes your souldier, Tho. 
 Carlton, writes : 
 
 " I never knew a warrior yet, but thee, 
 From vrine, tobacco, debts, dice, oaths, so free." 
 
 The line sums up a great many of those vices, from one 
 or other of which, soldiers of fortune are seldom free ; and 
 
 when we regard the trials and vicissitudes, the necessities 
 23 
 
350 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 and the frequent irresponsibility of his career, we mnst 
 allow that, but for a native delicacy of character, Smith 
 could scarcely have escaped contamination from one or 
 other of the practices here enumerated, and which, vicious 
 mostly in themselves, are but too much regarded as venial 
 because of their common use. One of his poet-eulogists 
 ascribes the favor of Madame Chanoyes to a far tenderer 
 feeling than that of simple humanity : 
 
 " Tragabigzanda, Callamata s love, 
 Deare Pocahontas, Madame Shanois too, 
 Who did what love with modesty could doe." 
 
 But this is probably an exaggeration of the versemonger. 
 We have nothing in proof of the insinuation. Smith him 
 self affords no countenance to the suggestion, and in no 
 instance suffers himself to speak of either of these ladies, 
 but in terms of proper and respectful gratitude. 
 
 " Leaving thus my businesse in France, I returned to 
 Plimoth, to finde them that had thus buried me amongst 
 the French, and not only buried me, but with so much 
 infamy as such treacherous cowards could suggest to 
 excuse their villanies." They pretended, in short, that 
 he was about to convert his vessel into a man-of-war in 
 other words to become a pirate. " The chieftaines of this 
 mutiny that I could finde, I laid by the heeles ; the rest, 
 like themselves, confessed the truth." Our narrative of the 
 second voyage to New England, as far as they were con 
 cerned in the events, has been drawn from this confession. 
 But Smith gained nothing for his own, in bringing the mu 
 tineers to their deserts. The fisheries, to which he had 
 opened the way, yielded vast profits to the adventurers. 
 The fishers of Iceland and Newfoundland abandoned these 
 places for those of the waters of New England. New 
 England herself was laid open as a rich prize to other co 
 lonists, in consequence of Smith s discoveries and repre 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 351 
 
 sentations. He alone pined with denial, while he beheld 
 others grow prosperous and insolent in the wages of his 
 adventure, and the spoils that should have rewarded his 
 genius only. " Now, how I have, or could prevent these 
 accidents, having no more meanes, I rest at your censures; 
 but to proceed to the matter, yet must I sigh and say, 
 ; How oft hath fortune in the world brought slavery free- 
 dome, and turned all diversely. The disasters all hap 
 pened to him and not to the enterprises which he set on 
 foot. Two lines, seemingly his own, are made to finish 
 his desponding fancies with a well-known sarcasm : 
 
 " Fortune makes provision 
 For knaves, and fools, and men of base condition." 
 
 Denied to seek adventures because of the sad and prolonged 
 hostility of fortune, the indefatigable nature of Smith coun 
 selled him to put on record, and in proper circulation, his 
 discoveries. He wrote a book called u New F. Aland s 
 Trial." The trial was in fact his own. It embodied all 
 that he had endured in his two voyages, all that he had 
 seen and heard, his comments upon his facts, and a sprink 
 ling of his moral philosophies, drawn from his reading and 
 his experience. Much of the matter of this volume was 
 written while he was a captive with the Frenchman. 
 Much of it appears scattered over his other writings. In 
 the preparation of his pamphlets he was quite desultory, 
 and frequently refers to, and sometimes repeats, the matter 
 which we find in other places. The present work, 
 which was published in 1616, was put forth in quarto form. 
 It gives such sketches of New England as he formerly gave 
 us of Virginia. It describes the shores, and seas, and 
 islands, along the coast, the people of the country, their 
 manners, customs and superstitions. It has its value to 
 this day, and is the source of much of the information of 
 succeeding historians. It was accompanied by a map of 
 
352 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 New England, and one edition of the work contained 
 several maps, as well of that region as of Virginia. Colo 
 nization in New England was still the object upon which 
 his desires were set. To effect this object he traversed 
 England, distributing his book. Thousands of copies were 
 given to chartered companies of London, in the hope that 
 they might be persuaded to embrace his suggestions. But 
 his time seems to have been thrown away, if not his know 
 ledge. Non-e of it enured to his benefit. The opinion 
 began to spread about that he was unlucky, and to be un 
 lucky is, unhappily, in the vulgar estimate, to be some 
 thing worse than vicious and unwise. No imputation, 
 indeed, so certainly forfeits for its subject the sympathies 
 of the selfish multitude. Smith answers this imputation 
 of ill luck with a cheerful defiance. " Some fortune-tel 
 lers say I am unfortunate. Had they spent their time as 
 I have dou. -, they 1 would rather believe in God than in 
 their calculations." This is very nobly said. His own 
 want of means his poverty was urged against him as the 
 only fruit of all his adventures. But this he answers, still 
 as nobly. These profitless adventures which have given 
 him empire and conquest, and which have left him unsel 
 fish, have been to him " as children they have been my 
 wife, my hawks, my hounds, my cards, my dice, and in 
 totall, my best content." He has exercised his own na 
 ture in his adventures he has brought into play the best 
 affections of his soul his troubles have taught him a 
 knowledge of his resources his privations and poverty 
 have not brought remorse, regret and repentance in their 
 train. " I would yet begin againe with as small means as 
 at first, not that 1 have any encouragement more than 
 lamentable experience." Of the discoveries of those who 
 have followed him, he says, coarsely but with natural ener 
 gy, " they are hut pigs of my own sow" "Had mt:D 
 
LIFE OP CAPTAIN SMITH. 353 
 
 been as forward to adventure their purses, and perform the 
 conditions they promised mee, as to crop the fruits of my 
 labours, thousands ere this had been bettered by tbese de- 
 signes." " They dare now adventure a ship, that, when 
 I first went, would not adventure a groat." 
 
 Still, though they glean from his suggestions, they 
 cannot do them proper justice. He has learned to feel a 
 manly confidence in his own genius, if not in his fortune. 
 It is Smith, only, that can properly work out the schemes 
 of Smith, to a happy consummation. " For I know my 
 grounds, yet every one to whom I tell them, or that reads 
 this book, cannot put them in practice." He is not illi 
 beral even to those who seek to pilfer from his plans. 
 " Though they endeavor to worke me out of my own 
 designes, I will not much envy their fortunes ; but I 
 would be sorry their intruding ignorance should by their 
 defailments bring these certainties to doubtfulnesse." The 
 eagerness which he feels to continue his career of coloni 
 zation and discovery, qualified by the mournful results of 
 his own struggle, hitherto, to impress his convictions 
 upon others, declares itself in a highly bold and spirited 
 figure, taken from the manege of the days of chivalry. 
 u Thus, betwixt the spur of desire and the bridle of rea 
 son, I am near ridden to death in a ring of despaire." His 
 own demands, in the event of success, were moderate 
 enough. He asks only to be rewarded out of the results 
 of the adventure, according to his pains, quality, and con 
 dition. If he fails " If I abuse you with my tongue, take 
 my head for satisfaction." 
 
 But he had survived his fortunes. He was a lingerer 
 on the stage. Who keeps the guide when the way is 
 once made clear ? Who needs a Columbus to place the 
 egg upright when he has flattened the point already to their 
 hands ? The claims of justice are always urged imperti- 
 
354 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SM 
 
 nently when it is in the power of men to thrust them from 
 sight with impunity ; and great men, having achieved the 
 leading event in their lives, are not willingly believed in 
 any longer, since they always require to be compensated 
 for future services, with some regard to the value of the 
 past. Smith urged his arguments and distributed his 
 books in vain. His mission was at an end with regard to 
 all new discovery. But he could still be of service ; and 
 we find him called upon without scruple by those who 
 never knew how to compensate him, when his experience 
 and opinions might be esteemed of importance to the inte 
 rests which he had already acquired for them. We must 
 once more turn our eyes upon the colony in Virginia. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 WHILE Smith was struggling with misfortune at home, the 
 colony which he had founded in Virginia was rising into 
 greater strength and consequence. Its military charac 
 teristics were, however, much more conspicuous than its 
 social. It warred not only upon the Indians but upon the 
 French and Dutch. Early in 1614, Sir Thomas Dale, the 
 governor of the colony, sent Captain Argall with a force 
 against certain settlements which the French had made 
 in Acadia. These were broken up and the colonists dis 
 persed. They subsequently adapted themselves to the 
 habits of the Indians, and were incorporated among the 
 tribes. Hudson s Dutch settlement, now New York, was 
 also made to acknowledge the King of England, and to 
 pay a tribute to the Governor of Virginia ; and, waxing inso 
 lent with success, and with the gradual increase of power, 
 another demand was made upon Powhatan. Sir Thomas 
 Dale thought it advisable to insist upon other pledges 
 besides Pocahontas, but of a like description. Powhatan 
 had another and a younger daughter. She had become 
 her father s favorite, who now yielded her that place in 
 his affections which had formerly been solely occupied by 
 the former. The attachment of Pocahontas for the Eng 
 lish, her marriage with an Englishman, and her entire 
 withdrawal from his sight, had served, in a great degree, tc 
 wean from her his regards, and, accordingly, to lessen that 
 influence upon his mind which she had formerly possess 
 ed, and which was of so much importance to the colonists. 
 it will scarcely be believed, that the selfishness of the 
 
356 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 colony was of such a nature as to make its government 
 heedless or hlind to the cruelty of the requisition which 
 it made upon the aged Emperor, for the other child of 
 his affections. Mr. Ralph Harner was sent upon this 
 mission, and the details of his interview with Powhatan 
 have been preserved to us. Hamer was accompanied by 
 Thomas Savage, the interpreter, a youth who had bctu 
 given by Newport to the king. Powhatan recognized the 
 boy, whom he had restored some years before to the Eng 
 lish. " You were my boy," he said, " and I gave you 
 leave, four years ago, to visit your friends ; but I have 
 never seen ror heard of you, nor of my own man, Namon- 
 tack, since ; though many ships have gone and returned." 
 Then, turning to Hamer, he demanded the chain of pearl 
 the string of wampum which, when a treaty of peace 
 had been made with the English, at the time of his daugh 
 ter s marriage, ho had sent to Sir Thomas Dale. That 
 string of pearl was to be a token between them ; and in 
 proof that the messenger came from the English, when 
 ever Dale should send to him hereafter. Failing in this, 
 Powhatan was to take and bind the alleged messenger, and 
 send him back to Dale as a deserter. Hamer had not 
 provided himself with this chain. The requisitions of 
 the Indians were apt to be treated heedlessly. Powhatan 
 looked doubtfully upon his visitor, but Hamer found some 
 ingenious reason for showing that the stipulation could not 
 relate to him, and Powhatan admitted the exception. He 
 inquired after Pocahontas, and his unknown son, and was 
 pleased to hear of their prosperity. When told that his 
 daughter was so well satisfied w T ith her new condition that 
 she would not, upon any account, return to live with him, 
 he laughed heartily, as if his old affections were rejoiced 
 at the happiness of his child. 
 
 But when Hamer came to declare his business to show 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 357 
 
 the cruel purpose upon which he came the face of the 
 old chief grew troubled. His countenance fell and darken 
 ed. Of course, the application was made in a form of as 
 much mildness as was consistent with the rapacious harsh- 
 ne-ss of the demand. " His brother, Dale, had heard of the 
 fame of his youngest daughter,, intended to marry her to 
 some worthy English gentleman, which would be highly 
 pleasing and agreeable to her sister, who was very desir 
 ous to see and have her near her ; and, as a testimony of 
 his love," the father was desired to send her also t& 
 the English. 
 
 Powhatan, conscious of the power of the colonists, and 
 unwilling to offend them, endeavored to evade the demand. 
 " He had parted with his daughter he had already given 
 her in marriage to a chief had sold her to him, and re 
 ceived his pay." When pressed and driven from these 
 objections, he at length declared himself frankly with the 
 feeling of a father and the dignity of a prince. He desired 
 Hamer to urge him no more upon the subject, but to 
 return to his brother Dale this answer : 
 
 " That he held it not a brotherly part to endeavor to 
 bereave him of his two darling children at once : That, 
 for his part, he desired no farther assurance of Dale s 
 friendship than his promise : That, of his own, the English 
 had a sufficient pledge in one of his daughters ; which, as 
 long as she lived, would be sufficient ; and should she die, 
 then he should have another. Tell him further," said he, 
 " that even were there no pfedge, there need be no dis 
 trust of me or my people. We have had enough of war. 
 Too many already have been slain on both sides. With 
 my will there shall be no more. I have the power here, 
 and I have given the law to my people. I am now grown 
 old. I would end my days in peace and quietness. My 
 Country is large enough for both, and even though you 
 
358 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 give me cause of quarrel, I will rather go from you than 
 fight with you. Take this answer to my brother." 
 
 And the agent in this unworthy mission received no 
 other. He returned to his principal as he went. How 
 far Pocahontas may have been privy to the application is 
 not said. Her name is not otherwise mentioned in the 
 transaction than as it appears in Hamer s report of the 
 message which Dale had sent to Powhatan. It is scarcely 
 possible that she willingly gave her consent to a scheme 
 for depriving her aged sire of the only thing which he had 
 chosen to comfort him after her desertion. 
 
 Pocahontas seems really to have been fully satisfied, as 
 Hamer reported to her father, with her English associations 
 and condition. She had been baptized, and had received 
 the Christian name of Rebecca. It was only after this 
 event that the colonists discovered that her real name was 
 Matoaka or Matoax, and that the name of Pocahontas was 
 one. only assumed when she was spoken of to English ears. 
 A superstition, which prevailed among the Indians, led 
 them to fear that, with a knowledge of her true name, it 
 was in the power of the Christians to do her hurt. The 
 superstition of the evil mouth, as well as the evil eye, was 
 quite as common among our aborigines as it has ever been 
 among the various people of the East. Her adoption of 
 Christianity seems to have been fervent and sincere. She 
 is described as of quick intelligence, in learning equally 
 the faith and language of her husband ; and her career from 
 childhood amply declares the aversion which she felt for 
 the wild exercises and coarse brutalities of her own people. 
 She was with them, but not of them a creatuie, as 
 foreign to the sort of world in which she is found, as was 
 that exquisite creation of Goethe the Mignon of the Wil- 
 helm Meister. Her whole nature was gentleness there 
 was in her a spiritual craving, which alone seems to have 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 359 
 
 indicated the necessity for the advent, amoug her tribes, 
 of a superior divinity. The heart which has expelled all 
 other idols, will never be left unoccupied by the true 
 God. 
 
 In the spring of 1616, Sir Thomas Dale embarked for 
 England, taking with him Pocahontas and her husband, 
 and several young Indians of both sexes. He enjoyed the 
 triumph which should have belonged to Smith. Pow- 
 hatan did not see his daughter when she left the country. 
 He never saw her again. The old chief was at this time 
 suffering, not only from the pressure of years, but from 
 the dread of foes at home. He had reason to dread the 
 machinations of Opechancanough a chief every way to 
 be- feared ; a favorite with the people ; a man of great 
 courage and ability. He aimed at the succession, and 
 finally achieved it. Opitchapan (who is sometimes called 
 Itopatin), the favorite brother of Powhatan, was lame and 
 feeble ; and, the latter once removed, could oppose no 
 serious obstacle to the bolder and abler genius of Opechan 
 canough. We shall return to this history again. It IB 
 enough here to say, that the reason given for the failure of 
 Powhatan to see his daughter before her final departure, 
 was the necessity which he felt of watching or avoiding 
 the machinations of the former ; who was suspected of a 
 plan to deliver him hand and foot into the hands of the 
 English. 
 
 Pocahontas arrived in England on the 12th of June. 
 Her fame had long since preceded her, and made her an 
 object of consideration. Respect and curiosity equally 
 brought her the attentions of the great She was visited 
 by persons of rank and character, whose hospitality spared 
 no pains to make her satisfied with the strange country in 
 which she found herself. 
 
 Smith was preparing at this time for a third voyage 
 
360 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 to New England. His sanguine temperament seems tr 
 have pers jaded him, against the fact, that he was in a fair 
 way of obtaining the command of a new expedition. 
 With his heart exulting in new hopes of a favorite charac 
 ter, he was yet not unmindful of his Virginia nonpareil. 
 As soon as he heard of her arrival in England, he penned 
 the following letter " To the most high and virtuous 
 Princess, Queen Anne of Great Britain : 
 
 " Most admired Queen, 
 
 " The love I beare my God, my King and countrie, hath 
 so oft emboldened mee in the worst of extreme dangers, 
 that now honestie doth constraine mee presume thus farre 
 beyond myselfe to present your majestic this short dis 
 course : if ingratitude be a deadly poyson to all honest 
 vertues, I must bee guiltie of that crime if I should omit 
 any meanes to be thankful. 
 
 u So it is, that some ten years agoe, being in Virginia 
 and taken prisoner by the power ot Powhatan, their chief 
 king, I received from this great salvage exceeding great 
 courtesies, especially from his son Nantaquuas, the most 
 manliest, comeliest, boldest spirit I ever saw in a salvage, 
 and his sister Pocahontas, the king s most deare and well 
 beloved daughter, being but a childe of twelve or thirteen 
 yeeres of age,* whose compassionate, pitifull heart, of 
 desperate estate, gave me much cause to respect her : I 
 being the first Christian this proud king and his grim 
 
 * Wo have seen in the " True Relation," written at the time, thai 
 he describes her as a child often years old a statement more likely 
 to be correct than the present, as his impressions were necessarily 
 more fiesh and vivid : he speaks of her only as of a child, sweet and 
 wonderful, but still a child. Had she been marriageable then, she 
 would have found an English husband nay, in all probability, as 
 soon as she was marriageable, the idea, never before entertained, was 
 suggested of taking her prisone . 
 
I I F OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 361 
 
 attendants ever saw : and thus inthralled in their barbarous 
 power, I cannot say I felt the least occasion of want that 
 was in the power of those, my mortal foes, iu ^icvent, 
 notwithstanding all their threats. After some six weeks 
 fatting amongst those savage courtiers, at the minute of 
 my execution, she hazarded the beating out of her own 
 braines to save mine ; and not onely that, but so prevailed 
 with her father, that I was safely conducted to James- 
 towne, where I found about eight and thirtie miserable, 
 poore and sicke creatures, to keepe possession of all those 
 large territories of Virginia : such was the weaknesse of 
 this poor commonwealth, as, had the savages not fed us, 
 we directly had starved. 
 
 "And this reliefe, most gracious Queene, was commonly 
 brought us by this Lady Pocahontas; notwithstanding all 
 these passages when inconstant fortune turned our peace 
 to warre, this tender virgin would still not spare to dare 
 to visit us, and by her own faires have been oft appeased, 
 and our wants still supplyed ; were it the policie of her 
 father thus to imploy her, or the ordinance of God thus 
 to make her his instrument, or her extraordinarie affection 
 to our nation, I know not : but of this I am sure, when 
 her father, with the utmost of his policie and power, 
 sought to surprise me, having but eighteen with me, the 
 dark night could not affright her from comming through 
 the irkesome woods, and with watered eyes gave me 
 ntelligence, with her best advice to escape his furie : 
 which, had he knowne, he had surely slaine her. James- 
 towne, with her wilde traine, she as freely frequented as 
 her father s habitation ; and during the time of two or 
 three year- S, slhe, next under God. was still the instrument 
 to preserve this colonie from death, famine and utter con 
 fusion ; which, if in those times had once become dissolv 
 ed, Virginia might have line (lain) as it was at our first 
 
362 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 arrivall to this day. Since then, this business having 
 beene turned and varied by many accidents from that 1 
 left it at : it is most certaine, after a long and troublesome 
 warre after my departure, betwixt her father and oui 
 colonie, all which time she was not heard of, about two 
 years after she herselfe was taken prisoner, being so de 
 tained neere two years longer, the colonie by that meanes 
 was relieved, peace concluded, and at last, rejecting her 
 barbarous condition, was married to an English gentleman, 
 with whom at this present she is in England ; the first 
 Christian ever of that nation, the first Virginian ever 
 spake English, or had a childe in marriage by an English 
 man ; a matter, surely, if rny meaning bee truly consider 
 ed and well understood, worthy a Prince s understanding. 
 " Thus, most gracious lady, I have related to your Ma- 
 jestie, what at your best leasure our approved histories 
 will account you at large, and done in the time of youi 
 Majestie s life, and however this might bee presented you 
 from a more worthy pen, it cannot from a more honest 
 heart. As y^t I never begged anything of the state, or of 
 any, and it is my want of abilitie and her exceeding desert, 
 your birth, meanes and authoritie, her birth, virtue, wam 
 and simplicitie, doth make mee thus bold, humbly to be- 
 seeche your Majestic to take this knowledge of her, though 
 it be from one so unworthy to be the reporter as myselfe, 
 her husband s estate not being able to make her fit to 
 attend your majestie : the most and least I can doe, is tc 
 tell you this, because none so oft has tried it as myselfe ; 
 and the rather, being of so great a spirit, however her sta 
 ture, if it should not bee well received, seeing this king- 
 dome may rightly have a kingdome by her meanes hei 
 present love to us and Christianitie might turn to such 
 scorn and furie as to direc* all this good to the worst of evil 
 where finding so great a Queene shmild doe her some 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 363 
 
 honour more than she can imagine, for being so kind to 
 your servants and subjects, would sc ravish her with con 
 tent, as endeare her dearest blood to effect that your Ma 
 jestic and all the king s honest subjects most earnestly de 
 sire. And so I humbly kisse your gracious hands." 
 
 This letter, earnest as it is, is not written with the usual 
 eloquence and ease of our adventurer. Big with his sub 
 ject, and writing to a Queen, he seems to have been strug 
 gling with his own conceptions, and to have been over 
 come by them. His thoughts are clumsily uttered, and 
 never came to their full proportion in delivery. But he 
 evidently wrote from his feelings, and may be believed 
 when he asserts that, though his statement might be pre 
 sented from " a more worthy pen," it could not come 
 " from a more honest heart." We are not told whether 
 it was to this address that Pocahontas was indebted for 
 those attentions which the Queen of England, as well as 
 her consort, bestowed upon her. She was kindly and 
 honorably entertained at court, though the tradition is 
 that her husband Rolfe was frowned upon for his pre 
 sumption in intermarrying with royal blood. The Scottish 
 Solomon, whose tenacious sense of legitimacy was prob 
 ably the one principle to which he more religiously adhered 
 than to any other, is said to have held the proceeding as 
 little less than treason or misdemeanor. It is fortunate that 
 John Rolfe s ears did not pay the penalty of his ambition. 
 
 Smith did not content himself with simply writing to 
 the queen in behalf of the Lady Rebecca, for such was 
 the name she bore in England. Though earnestly en 
 gaged in his preparations for the voyage to New England, 
 he hurried with several of his friends to see her at Brent 
 ford, whither she had been removed from London. At 
 this time Smith was probably at Plymouth. We have 
 the ace-mat of the interview from himself It waa 
 
364 LIFE OF CAPTA.N SMITH. 
 
 highly touching, but unsatisfactory. His salutation was 
 probably reserved and cautious, and she was in a strange 
 land. She expected the warmest signs of attachment 
 from one whom she had regarded with the devotion of a 
 child ; and he was governed by those fears of offending the 
 suspicious pedant who sat upon the throne of England, of 
 whose opinion, in this very instance, our captain was 
 probably aware. The untutored damsel of the Virginian 
 forests could not understand his reserve, though the real 
 motive of his caution was that she might not prejudice 
 her claims to the patronage of the crown. She felt his 
 coldness, but not his policy. She cared nothing, perhaps, 
 for any countenance but his. " After a modest salutation," 
 such is Smith s statement, " without any word she turned 
 about, obscured her face, as not seeming well contented." 
 How much spirit was in that silence ! What feelings 
 were stirring in that untutored but noble bosom, which 
 could thus move her to shroud and turn away her face ! 
 She had calculated largely, no doubt, upon this meeting 
 with the great warrior of the pale-faces, who had first im 
 pressed her with the greatness of his people. And to be 
 encountered thus, as if he had never been plucked from 
 death by her embrace as if she had never wandered 
 through the midnight woods to save him as if she had 
 not brought him food when he hungered, and taught her 
 maidens to dance about him in strange forest movements, 
 the better to beguile his weariness. In her secret heart 
 she reproached him with want of gratitude at the very 
 moment when he acknowledged no other feeling. 
 
 Smith had told his friends that she spoke the English, 
 and now regretted having done so, for she refused to speak. 
 In this mood they left her for some hours ; when they 
 rejoined her, a more indulgent spirit informed her thoughts. 
 She now spoke, and spoke freely. They spoke together 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 365 
 
 of the past, and she thus reminded him of her former love 
 to the English, and what she had done for them. 
 
 "You did promise Powhatan," said she, " that what 
 was yours should be his, and he made a like promise unto 
 you. You, being in his land a stranger, called him father, 
 and by the same right I will call you so." 
 
 Smith would have objected to this " because she was a 
 king s daughter," and having a fear of King James in 
 his eyes ; but, " with a well-set countenance she said, 
 Were you not afraid to come into my father s country, 
 and cause fear in him and all his people but myself, and 
 do you fear that I should call you father here ? I tell you 
 that I will call you father, and you shall call me child, 
 and so shall it be for ever. They did always tell us that 
 you were dead, and I knew not otherwise until I came to 
 Plymouth. Yet Powhatan believed it not, because your 
 countrymen will lie much, and he commanded Uttomato- 
 makkin* to seek you out and know the truth. " 
 
 * " This salvage, one of Powhatan s counsell, being amongst them 
 held an understanding fellow, the king purposely sent him, as they 
 say, to number the people here, and informe him well what wee were 
 and our state. Arriving at Plymouth, according to his directions he 
 got a long sticke, whereon by notches hee did think to have kept the 
 number of all the men hee could see, but he was quickly wearied of 
 this task."(a) SmitJi s Narrative. 
 
 This cunning savage denied to Smith that he had seen the king 
 (James), though it was known that he had. He argued that, as the 
 king had given him nothing, it could not be a king he had seen. 
 You gave a white dog to Powhatan," said he to Smith, " yet to me, 
 that am better than a white dog, your king has given nothing." 
 
 This shrewd sav.age is sometimes called Tomoccomo, ana some 
 times Uttomaccomach. His accounts of England were unfriendly, 
 and he was disgraced on his return to Virginia. 
 
 (a.) When he returned to Virginia, and was asked the number of 
 the people, he answered, "Count the stars in the sky, the leaves of ihe 
 forest, and ihe sands of the seashore such is the number of the peo 
 ple of England." Stitk. 
 24 
 
3f>6 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 Smith frequently visited her, and enjoyed, with a no*, 
 unbecoming satisfaction, the astonishment of those " divers 
 courtiers and others, my acquaintances," whom she de 
 lighted by her natural gifts, and the happy manner in 
 which she received them. u They did thinke God had a 
 great hand in her conversion, and they have seene many 
 English ladies worse favored, proportioned and beha- 
 viored." 
 
 But the career of the Indian princess was short in Eng 
 land. She sickened and died at Gravesend, early in 1617, 
 as she was preparing to return to Virginia. The event 
 was unexpected, but it did not find her unprepared. She 
 presented to the sorrowing spectators the sweetest exam 
 ple of Christian resignation and fortitude. She left one 
 son, Thomas Rolfe, who was educated by his uncle, Henry 
 Rolfe, in England, and who afterwards became a person 
 of distinction and fortune in Virginia. From an only 
 daughter, whom he left,* some of the first families of Vir 
 ginia trace their descent, with a just and honorable pride. 
 Among these we may mention a recent and distinguished 
 instance, in the person of John Randolph of Roanoke. 
 
 * He left, behind him an only daughter, who was married to Col. 
 Robert Boiling, by whom she left an only son, the late Major Jolin 
 Boiling, who was father to the present Col. John Boiling and several 
 daughters, married to Col. Richard Randolph, Col. John Fleming, 
 Dr. William Guy, Mr. Thomas Eldridge and Mr. James Murray. 
 So that the remnant of the imperial family of Virginia, which long 
 ran in a single person, is now increased, and branched out into a very 
 numerous progeny. SttiJt, 146. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 To attempt any analysis of the character of Pocahontas - 
 to offer any eulogy upon her virtues, so equally delicate 
 and decided as they were, would only result in unneces 
 sary declamation. As there is nothing to question in the 
 propriety of her conduct, so there is nothing which needs 
 defence ; as there can be no doubt of the extraordinary 
 courage which she brought to the support of a benign 
 humanity, equally extraordinary, so nothing is necessary 
 to the full comprehension of her virtues beyond the actual 
 facts in her history. As these virtues were not of the 
 time or the people among whom she was born and nur 
 tured, so they denote a degree of excellence which lifts 
 her beyond her race and period, and links her name and 
 reputation with those of the few noble spirits, like herself, 
 of whom the universal heart everywhere keeps a. tena 
 cious memory. A more incomparable creature never did 
 honor to her sex. A more feminine spirit never was sent 
 to earth for the purposes of humanity. 
 
 Powhatan did not long survive his daughter. He lived 
 long enough to lament her. He died in April, 1618, and 
 was succeeded by Itopatin. For a time Opechancanough 
 seems to have submitted to his sway ; and a hjllow am 
 nesty lulled the colonists of Virginia into full confidence 
 in their treacherous neighbors. They were warned of 
 this impolicy, but treated the warning with contempt the 
 population of the colony increasing annually, and the ad 
 venturers scattering themselves, with few precautions, 
 throughout the forests. But the complete government of 
 
868 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 the Indians was passing into the hands of Opechancanough. 
 Itopatin was a mere puppet at his will. The former was the 
 leading spirit of his people ; bold, subtle, highly popular, 
 enterprising, and possessed of vast powers of dissimulation. 
 With the gradual acquisition of sway over the popular 
 mind, he prepared for the full assertion of his authority. To 
 supersede Itopatin and to extirpate the English, were his 
 favorite objects, and his schemes rapidly ripened for their 
 gratification. The year 1622 was rendered memorable in 
 Virginia by the massacre of nearly four hundred of the 
 thoughtless and unsuspicious settlers. So well was the 
 plan of the Indians laid, and so general was the combina 
 tion, that, at the appointed hour, the several assailing par 
 ties, however remote from one another, were each of them 
 at the appointed places in which the separate tasks of 
 slaughter were to be done. That the massacre was not 
 complete, was not the fault of the Indians, nor because of 
 the vigilance of the English. Their good fortune saved 
 them from utter extermination. 
 
 This terrible e v eit throw the whole country into con 
 sternation, ai d inflicted a most serious blow upon the suc 
 cess of the colony. The excitement w r as great in England, 
 and our Captain was remembered as one whose experience 
 might be drawn upon with profit to find some remedy for 
 so grievous a disaster. He offered, with a hundred and 
 thirty men, to render the colony perfectly safe against all 
 the power of the tribes. His scheme was one which has 
 been largely adopted in the settlement of our borders in 
 after times. It was to employ bands of Rangers, by whom 
 the frontiers were to be continually traversed. u These I 
 would imploy onely in ranging the countries and torment 
 ing the savages, and that they should be as a running 
 army, till this were effected, and then settle themselves in 
 some such convenient place, that should ever remain a 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 garrison of that strength, ready upon any occasion against 
 the savages, or any other, for the defence of the country." 
 Smith was at some pains to urge this, and some other 
 schemes, for the restoration and safety of the colony, upon 
 the proprietors. He was deeply affected by the fate of 
 the settlement. His affections yearned towards it, and he 
 was prepared to forget and surrender his old grudges upon 
 the altar of patriotism. He frankly proposed to take 
 charge of sucn a command as that which he counselled, 
 and his opinions were given at considerable detail, involv 
 ing suggestions of operations by the water courses of the 
 country as well as among the forests. For these services 
 he asked nothing but what he could gather from the 
 country itself. But he addressed ears which were shut 
 by cupidity. The council was divided in opinion. Some 
 favored his project, others were opposed to it ; but all 
 consented that he should be permitted to save their colony 
 at his expense and risk, while they were not unwilling tc 
 share with him the pillage of the savages, whatever that, 
 -might be. We need hardly say that their liberality failed 
 to satisfy one who had so largely suffered already by their 
 avarice. He quietly rejected their offer, and yielded the 
 hope, for a moment entertained, of once more triumphing 
 in Virginia. " They supposed," says he, " that I spake 
 only for my own ends !" In truth, it is the most difficult 
 thing for the mere worldling to comprehend the generous 
 nature which lies at the bottom, the vital principle, of an 
 enterprising genius. " It were good," he adds, " if they 
 themselves were sent thither to make trial of their pro 
 found wisdomes." " I would not give twenty pound for 
 all the pillage that is to be got among the salvages in 
 twenty years." 
 
 The distresses of the colony, and its great expense ta 
 the proprietors, finally led to its disparagement. Estimat 
 
370 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 ed by its burdens only, it began to be undervalued 
 Smith answered the aspersions upon the colony " in 9 
 brief relation, written to his majesty s commission." He 
 describes the face of the country, its resources, its impor 
 tance to the crown the feebleness of the savages if pro 
 perly managed and the true causes of all the distresses 
 under which the colony labored ; all of which he insist* 
 could have been avoided had his advice been taken. At 
 the close of this relation he tells us that he spent five 
 years, and more than five hundred pounds, " in procuring 
 the letters patent and setting forward, and neere as much 
 more about New England ;" that " these nineteen 
 yeeies I have, here and there, not spared any thing accord 
 ing to my abilitie, nor the best advice I could, to persuade 
 how those strange miracles of misery could have been 
 prevented, which lamentable experience plainly taught me 
 of necessitie must ensue ; but few would beleeve me, till 
 now 100 dearly they have paid for it. Wherefore, hither 
 to, 1 have rather left all than undertake impossibilities, or 
 any more such costly tasks at such chargeable rates : 
 for in neither of these two countries have I one foot of land, 
 nor the very house I builded, nor the, ground I digged with 
 my own hands, nor any content or satisfaction at all ; and 
 though I see ordinarily those two countries shared before me 
 by them that neither have them nor knowes them, but by my des 
 criptions : yet that doth not so much trouble mee as to heare 
 and see those contentions and divisions which will hazard if 
 not ruinc the prosperitie of Virginia, if present remedy be not 
 found, as they have hindred many hundreds who would have 
 been thfe ere now/ ." 
 
 The unselfish nature of Smith s, here expressed, 
 CJuM Lot be denied, with such proofs of his privations 
 and foV present readiness still to adventure, even with no 
 bet . r encouragement before him. A commission had 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 371 
 
 oeen issued by King James, addressed to certain great per 
 sons, to examine into the condition of the colony, report 
 the transactions of the company, and devise a scheme foi 
 the remedying of evils and abuses. This commission ne 
 cessarily had resort to Smith. They propounded to him 
 numerous questions, to all of which he answered with his 
 usual sagacity. He was better master of his subject than 
 any other of his successors, knew the country and the In 
 dians more thoroughly, and, indeed, the pathways they 
 had subsequently opened, had been only where he had 
 previously made the blaze. To the question, why the 
 colony, left by him in a good state of forwardness, had not 
 better prospered ; he answered, that ii Idleness and care 
 lessness had brought to nothing in six months, what he 
 had taken three years to do." When asked, " Why the 
 country, if good, should produce nothing but tobacco ;" 
 he answered, "that the frequent change of governors 
 makes every man anxious to make the most of his time." 
 As to the cause of the massacres and the use of the Eng 
 lish weapons by the Indians, he ascribes it to the want of 
 martial discipline on the part of the English, and their em 
 ployment of the savages as fowlers and huntsmen ; twenty 
 thousand pounds outfit, he thinks, would have put the 
 colony above hazard, if rightly employed ; and a good sup 
 ply of laborers along with the soldiers, at a further cost of 
 five thousand pounds, well managed, would remedy the 
 present disasters. The defects of the government he 
 ascribes to the multitude of councillors, the number and 
 expense of unnecessary officers, the delay of action, and 
 the waste of time in ceremonials and formalities 
 u the orations, disputations, excuses, hopes" the " ex 
 tortion, covetousness and oppression in a few" 
 and the waste upon governors, deputies, treasurers, 
 marshals, and other unnecessary officers, of the money 
 
372 L I F E O K CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 which should be appropriated only to the necessities of the 
 community. " Thus they spend Michaelmas rent in Mid 
 summer moon, and would gather their harvest before the-y 
 have planted their corne." Smith concludes with a hint, 
 of which James appears to have availed himself; namely, 
 that the government of the colony might, with as much 
 propriety, be taken into his own hands, as left in those by 
 which it was at present administered. In 1624, the Vir 
 ginia company was dissolved accordingly, its powers 
 absorbed in those of the crown, and a special commission 
 was issued for the appointment of a governor and twelve 
 councillors, who were to have the whole management of 
 the colony. 
 
 But, in all these changes, our captain remained without 
 employment. We have seen him hurrying his interview 
 with Pocahontas, in order that he might revisit New Eng 
 land. But the adventure failed. He never proceeded on 
 this voyage, but lived in a vain struggle with the capital 
 ists, fed for a long time upon hopes, that never yielded 
 any better food. Twenty ships were promised him, and a 
 promise so magnificent was well calculated to dazzle the 
 imagination of one with a faith so sanguine, and a passion 
 for enterprise so deeply entertained and eager. But with 
 his soul ever in America, his body remained in England. 
 If he could not go forth himself, he encouraged all who 
 could do so ; and, working to the last in the favorite object 
 of his heart, he seems to have continued to write and to 
 publish until the latest moment of his life. We have 
 already mentioned several of his writings. In 1620, he 
 published a pamphlet, entitled " New England s Trials, 
 declaring the success of twenty-six ships, employed thither 
 within these six yeares." A second edition of this work, 
 with the title, somewhat altered, was published two years 
 after. In 1626, he sent forth his "General Historie of 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 373 
 
 Virginia, New England and the Summer Isles, with the 
 names of the Adventurers, Planters and Governors, from 
 their first beginning, An. 1584, to the present, 1626, &c." 
 To this work, of which we have already spoken, we have 
 been largely indebted in the progress of our biography. 
 In 1630, he published " The true Travels, Adventures 
 and Observations of Captain John Smith in Europe, Asia, 
 AfTrica and America, from 1593 to 1629 ; together with 
 a continuation of his general Historic of Virginia, Summer 
 Isles, New England, and their proceedings since 1624 to 
 the present, 1629 ; as also of the new Plantations of the 
 great river of the Amazons, the Isles of St. Christopher, 
 Mevis and Barbadoes in the West Indies." In 1631, he 
 put forth his " Advertisements for the unexperienced 
 Planters of New England or anywhere, or the Pathway to 
 Experience, to erect Plantations," &c. The volume is a 
 medley, containing many clever things, sometimes marked 
 by an epigram, at others by a passage or paragraph of 
 force, almost amounting to eloquence, and full, in corres 
 pondence with his title, of his various experiences. He was 
 also the writer of a sea grammar, which was highly prais 
 ed by nautical men of his day, and which was republish- 
 ed several times after his death. Of several of these writings 
 we have American editions. He was engaged upon a 
 work, called " The History of the Sea," when surprised by 
 death in 1631. This production seems not to have been fin 
 ished, and the fragment has not survived to our day. Smith 
 died at London in the fifty -second year of his age. He pro 
 bably died in obscurity, for none of the facts attending his 
 demise remain to us. He had survived his uses, at least 
 in the estimation of his patrons and the public. That they 
 erred in this judgment will not be held a matter of doubt 
 by those who have witnessed the proofs, here accumulated, 
 of his good sense, far-reaching sagacity, and great mental 
 17 
 
374 LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 
 
 activity to the last. Our summary of his career and cha 
 racter has already been made. That a more fiery spirit, 
 more admirably tempered by prudence for the most trying 
 adventure, never lived, will be admitted by all to whom 
 this history becomes familiar. That he shared the fate 
 of merit, to be neglected after the completion of his tasks, 
 will not lessen the value of his performance in the regards 
 of posterity. 
 
 Opechancanough, one of the great Virginia opponents 
 of our Captain, survived him for several years, and main 
 tained the same consistent hostility to the whites that he 
 had shown at the beginning. In 1639 he contrived ano 
 ther outbreak of the Indians, to which more than five 
 hundred of the colonists fell victims. His name became 
 more dreaded than that of Powhatan. His resources 
 were greater, and he was fully equal to him in dignity and 
 nobleness of character. His skill in the government of 
 his people at once secured their reverence and affection. 
 He subjected the tribes around him far and near, and 
 extended greatly the domain of his predecessor. But his 
 faculties failed with age. He had become so decrepit 
 that he was no longer able to walk alone, and was carried 
 about in the arms of his people. His flesh was emaciated, 
 the sinews so relaxed, and his eyelids so heavy, that 
 whenever he desired to see, they were lifted by his attend 
 ants. In this condition he was surprised by Sir William 
 Berkeley, the then Governor of Virginia. Thus feeble, and 
 in bonds, the proud spirit of the savage king, and his strong 
 intellect, never failed him. Exposed to the rude stare of 
 the multitude, as a public show, he had his eyelids raised 
 on the approach of Berkeley, and fixing his glance sternly 
 upon him, read him a lesson which, if the English gover 
 nor possessed any remains of noble sentiment, must have 
 made him wince. " Had Sir William Berkeley fallen my 
 
LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. 875 
 
 pnsoncr," ?aid he, " I should not thus meanly have ex 
 posed bin as a show to my people." 
 
 Berkeley designed to send him to England, as a royal 
 captive, gracing his government in the eyes of his sove 
 reign ; but one of his soldiers, with a scarcely greater 
 degree of cruelty, defeated this purpose by shooting the 
 aged monarch through the back. Thus perished, the 
 victim of a base assassin, one of the bravest and most 
 sagacious of all the forest monarchs of America. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 [PAOB 58.] 
 
 SMITH S PATENT OF NOBILITY, 
 
 WITH THE CERTIFICATE OF THE ENGLISH GARTER-KING- AT- ARMS 
 
 SIGISMVNDVS BATHORI, Dei gratia Dux Transilvanta, Walla. 
 c/iia, 4* Vanddorum ; Comes Anchard, Salford ; Growenda, 
 Cunctis his literis significamus qui eas lecturi aut audituri sunt, 
 concessam licentiam aut facultatem lokanni Smith, natione 
 Anglo Generoso, 250. militum Capitaneo sub Illustrissimi & 
 Gravissimi Henrici Volda, Comitis de Meldri, Salmarice fy Peldoics 
 primario, ex 1000. equitibus & 1500. peditibus bello Vngarico 
 conductione in Provincias supra scriptas sub Authoritate nostra : 
 cui servituti omni laude, perpetuaq. memoria dignum praebuit 
 eese erga nos, ut virum strenuum pugnantem pro aris & focis 
 decet. Quare favore nostro militario ipsum ordine condonavi- 
 mus, & in Sigillum illius tria Turcica Capita designare & depri- 
 mere concessimus, quae ipso gladio suo ad V 7 rbem Regalem in 
 singulari praelio vicit, mactavit, atq ; decollavit in Transilvania 
 Provincia : Sed fortuna cum variabilis ancepsq ; sit idem forte 
 fortuito in Wallachia Provincia Anno Domini 1602. die Mensis 
 Novembris 18. cum multis aliis etiam Nobilibus & aliis quibus- 
 dam militibus captus est a Domino Bascha electo ex Gambia 
 regionis Tartar ia, cujus severitate adductus salutem quantam 
 potuit quaesivit, tantumque effecit, Peo omnipotente adjuvante, 
 ut deliberavit se, & ad suos Commilitones revertit ; ex quibus 
 ipsum iiberavimus, & haec nobis testimonia habuit ut majori 
 licentia frueretur qua dignus esset, jam tendet in patriam suant 
 dulcissimam : Rogamus ergo omnes nostros charissimos, conlini- 
 timos, Duces, Principes, Comites, Barones, Gubernatores Vrbium 
 
S78 APPENDIX. 
 
 & Navium in eadem Regione & caeterarum Provinciarum in 
 quibus ille residere conatus fuerit ut idem permittatur Capitaneus 
 libere sine obstaculo omni versari. Haec facientes pergratum 
 nobis feceritis. Signatum Lesprizia in Misnia die Mensis De- 
 cembris 9. Anno Domini 1603. 
 
 SIGISMVNDVS BATHORI 
 Cum Privilegio propria Majectatis. 
 
 UNIVERSIS, & singulis, cujuscunq. loci, status, gradus, ordinis 
 ac conditionis ad quos hoc praesens scriplum pervenerit, Guiliel- 
 mus Segar Eques auratus alias dictus Garterus Principalis Ilex 
 Armorum Anglicorum, Salutem. Sciatis, quod Ego pradictus 
 Garterus, notum, testatumque facio, quod Patentem suprascrip- 
 tum, cum manu propria praedicti Ducis Transiluanice subsigna- 
 tum, et Sigillo suo affixum, Vidi : & Copiam veram ejusdem (in 
 perpetuam memoriam) transcripsi, & recordavi in Arhivis, & 
 Registris OfEcii Armorum. Datum Londini 19. die August!, 
 Anno Domini 1625. Annoque Regni Domini nostri CAROLI Dei 
 gratia Magnae Britannia, Francia, fy ttibcrnia Regis, Fidei 
 Defensoris, &c. Primo 
 
 GVILIELMVS SEGAR, Garterus. 
 
 SIGISMVNDVS BATHOR, by the Grace of God, Duke of Transil- 
 vania, Wallachia, and Moldavia, Earle of Anchard, Salford and 
 Growenda ; to whom this Writing may come or appeare. Know 
 that We have given leave and license to lohn Smith an English 
 Gentleman, Captaine of 250 Souldiers, under the most Generous 
 and Honourable Henry Volda, Earle of Meldntch, Salmaria, and 
 Pddoia, Colonel! of a thousand horse, and fit teene hundred foot, 
 in the warres of Hungary, and in the Provinces aforesaid under 
 our authority ; whose service doth deseive all praise and per- 
 petuall msmory towards us, as a man that did for God and his 
 Country overcome his enemies : Wherefore out of Our love and 
 favour, according to the law of Armes, We have ordained and 
 given him in his shield of Armes, the figure and description of 
 three Turks heads, which with his sword before the towne of 
 Rcgall, in single combat he did overcome, kill, and cut off, a 
 
A P P K N D I X . 379 
 
 the Province of Tmnsilvania. But fortune, as she is very varia 
 ble, so it chanced and happened to him in the province of Wai- 
 lachia, in the yeare of our Lord, 1602, the 18th day of November, 
 with many others, as well Noble men, as also divers other 
 Souldiers, were taken prisoners by the Lord Bashaw of Gambia* 
 a Country of Tartaria ; whose cruelty brought him such good 
 fortune, by the helpe and power of Almighty God, that hee 
 delivered himselfe, and returned againe to his company and 
 fellow souldiers, of whom We doe discharge him, and this hee 
 hath in witness thereof, being much more worthy of a better 
 reward ; and now intends to returne to his owne sweet Country. 
 We desire therefore all our loving and kinde kinsmen, Dukes, 
 Princes, Earles, Barons, Governours of Townes, Cities, or 
 Ships, in this Kingdome, or any other Provinces he shall come 
 in, that you freely let passe this the aforesaid Captaine, without 
 any hinderance or molestation, and this doing, with all kind 
 nesse we are always ready to doe the like for you. Sealed at 
 Lipswick in Misenland, the ninth of December, in the yeare f 
 our Lord, 1603. 
 
 SIGISMVNDVS BATHOR 
 With the proper privilege of his Majestic. 
 
 To all and singular, in what place, state, degree, order, or 
 condition whatsoever, to whom this present writing shall come : 
 I William Segar, Knight, otherwise Garter, and principall King 
 of Armes of England, wish health. Know that I the aforesaid 
 Garter, do witnesse and approve, that this aforesaid Patent, I 
 nave seene, signed, and sealed, under the proper hand and Seale 
 Manual of the said Duke of Transilvania, and a true coppy of 
 the same, as a thing for perpetual memory, I have Hub^cribed 
 and recorded in the Register and office of the Heralds of Armes. 
 Dated at London the nineteenth day of August, in the yeare of 
 our Lord, 1625, and in the. first yeare of our Soueraigne Lord 
 Charles by the grace of God, King of great Britaine, France, anJ 
 Ireland : Defender of the faith, &c. 
 
 WILLIAM SEGAR. 
 
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