List Of Contents | Contents of Captain John Smith by, Charles Dudley Warner
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heirs of the king's sisters, "for the kings have as many women as
they will, the subjects two, and most but one."

After Smith's return, as we have read, he was saved from a plot to
take his life by the timely arrival of Captain Newport.  Somewhere
about this time the great fire occurred.  Smith was now one of the
Council; Martin and Matthew Scrivener, just named, were also
councilors.  Ratcliffe was still President.  The savages, owing to
their acquaintance with and confidence in Captain Smith, sent in
abundance of provision.  Powhatan sent once or twice a week "deer,
bread, raugroughcuns (probably not to be confounded with the
rahaughcuns [raccoons] spoken of before, but probably 'rawcomens,'
mentioned in the Description of Virginia), half for Smiith, and half
for his father, Captain Newport."  Smith had, in his intercourse with
the natives, extolled the greatness of Newport, so that they
conceived him to be the chief and all the rest his children, and
regarded him as an oracle, if not a god.

Powhatan and the rest had, therefore, a great desire to see this
mighty person.  Smith says that the President and Council greatly
envied his reputation with the Indians, and wrought upon them to
believe, by giving in trade four times as much as the price set by
Smith, that their authority exceeded his as much as their bounty.

We must give Smith the credit of being usually intent upon the
building up of the colony, and establishing permanent and livable
relations with the Indians, while many of his companions in authority
seemed to regard the adventure as a temporary occurrence, out of
which they would make what personal profit they could.  The new-
comers on a vessel always demoralized the trade with the Indians, by
paying extravagant prices.  Smith's relations with Captain Newport
were peculiar.  While he magnified him to the Indians as the great
power, he does not conceal his own opinion of his ostentation and
want of shrewdness.  Smith's attitude was that of a priest who puts
up for the worship of the vulgar an idol, which he knows is only a
clay image stuffed with straw.

In the great joy of the colony at the arrival of the first supply,
leave was given to sailors to trade with the Indians, and the new-
comers soon so raised prices that it needed a pound of copper to buy
a quantity of provisions that before had been obtained for an ounce.
Newport sent great presents to Powhatan, and, in response to the wish
of the "Emperor," prepared to visit him.  "A great coyle there was to
set him forward," says Smith.  Mr. Scrivener and Captain Smith, and a
guard of thirty or forty, accompanied him.  On this expedition they
found the mouth of the Pamaunck (now York) River.  Arriving at
Werowocomoco, Newport, fearing treachery, sent Smith with twenty men
to land and make a preliminary visit.  When they came ashore they
found a network of creeks which were crossed by very shaky bridges,
constructed of crotched sticks and poles, which had so much the
appearance of traps that Smith would not cross them until many of the
Indians had preceded him, while he kept others with him as hostages.
Three hundred savages conducted him to Powhatan, who received him in
great state.  Before his house were ranged forty or fifty great
platters of fine bread.  Entering his house, "with loude tunes they
made all signs of great joy."  In the first account Powhatan is
represented as surrounded by his principal women and chief men, "as
upon a throne at the upper end of the house, with such majesty as I
cannot express, nor yet have often seen, either in Pagan or
Christian."  In the later account he is "sitting upon his bed of
mats, his pillow of leather embroidered (after their rude manner with
pearls and white beads), his attire a fair robe of skins as large as
an Irish mantel; at his head and feet a handsome young woman; on each
side of his house sat twenty of his concubines, their heads and
shoulders painted red, with a great chain of white beads about each
of their necks.  Before those sat his chiefest men in like order in
his arbor-like house."  This is the scene that figures in the old
copper-plate engravings.  The Emperor welcomed Smith with a kind
countenance, caused him to sit beside him, and with pretty discourse
they renewed their old acquaintance.  Smith presented him with a suit
of red cloth, a white greyhound, and a hat.  The Queen of Apamatuc, a
comely young savage, brought him water, a turkeycock, and bread to
eat.  Powhatan professed great content with Smith, but desired to see
his father, Captain Newport.  He inquired also with a merry
countenance after the piece of ordnance that Smith had promised to
send him, and Smith, with equal jocularity, replied that he had
offered the men four demi-culverins, which they found too heavy to
carry.  This night they quartered with Powhatan, and were liberally
feasted, and entertained with singing, dancing, and orations.

The next day Captain Newport came ashore.  The two monarchs exchanged
presents.  Newport gave Powhatan a white boy thirteen years old,
named Thomas Savage.  This boy remained with the Indians and served
the colony many years as an interpreter.  Powhatan gave Newport in
return a bag of beans and an Indian named Namontack for his servant.
Three or four days they remained, feasting, dancing, and trading with
the Indians.

In trade the wily savage was more than a match for Newport.  He
affected great dignity; it was unworthy such great werowances to
dicker; it was not agreeable to his greatness in a peddling manner to
trade for trifles; let the great Newport lay down his commodities all
together, and Powhatan would take what he wished, and recompense him
with a proper return.  Smith, who knew the Indians and their
ostentation, told Newport that the intention was to cheat him, but
his interference was resented.  The result justified Smith's
suspicion.  Newport received but four bushels of corn when he should
have had twenty hogsheads.  Smith then tried his hand at a trade.
With a few blue beads, which he represented as of a rare substance,
the color of the skies, and worn by the greatest kings in the world,
he so inflamed the desire of Powhatan that he was half mad to possess
such strange jewels, and gave for them 200 to 300 bushels of corn,
"and yet," says Smith, "parted good friends."

At this time Powhatan, knowing that they desired to invade or explore
Monacan, the country above the Falls, proposed an expedition, with
men and boats, and "this faire tale had almost made Captain Newport
undertake by this means to discover the South Sea," a project which
the adventurers had always in mind.  On this expedition they
sojourned also with the King of Pamaunke.

Captain Newport returned to England on the 10th of April.  Mr.
Scrivener and Captain Smith were now in fact the sustainers of the
colony.  They made short expeditions of exploration.  Powhatan and
other chiefs still professed friendship and sent presents, but the
Indians grew more and more offensive, lurking about and stealing all
they could lay hands on.  Several of them were caught and confined in
the fort, and, guarded, were conducted to the morning and evening
prayers.  By threats and slight torture, the captives were made to
confess the hostile intentions of Powhatan and the other chiefs,
which was to steal their weapons and then overpower the colony.
Rigorous measures were needed to keep the Indians in check, but the
command from England not to offend the savages was so strict that
Smith dared not chastise them as they deserved.  The history of the
colony all this spring of 1608 is one of labor and discontent, of
constant annoyance from the Indians, and expectations of attacks.  On
the 20th of April, while they were hewing trees and setting corn, an
alarm was given which sent them all to their arms.  Fright was turned
into joy by the sight of the Phoenix, with Captain Nelson and his
company, who had been for three months detained in the West Indies,
and given up for lost.

Being thus re-enforced, Smith and Scrivener desired to explore the
country above the Falls, and got ready an expedition.  But this,
Martin, who was only intent upon loading the return ship with "his
phantastical gold," opposed, and Nelson did not think he had
authority to allow it, unless they would bind themselves to pay the
hire of the ships.  The project was therefore abandoned.  The Indians
continued their depredations.  Messages daily passed between the fort
and the Indians, and treachery was always expected.  About this time
the boy Thomas Savage was returned, with his chest and clothing.

The colony had now several of the Indians detained in the fort.  At
this point in the "True Relation " occurs the first mention of
Pocahontas.  Smith says: "Powhatan, understanding we detained certain
Salvages, sent his daughter, a child of tenne years old, which not
only for feature, countenance, and proportion much exceeded any of
his people, but for wit and spirit, the only nonpareil of his
country.' She was accompanied by his trusty messenger Rawhunt, a
crafty and deformed savage, who assured Smith how much Powhatan loved
and respected him and, that he should not doubt his kindness, had sen
his child, whom he most esteemed, to see him, and a deer, and bread
besides for a present; "desiring us that the boy might come again,
which he loved exceedingly, his little daughter he had taught this
lesson also: not taking notice at all of the Indians that had been
prisoners three days, till that morning that she saw their fathers
and friends come quietly and in good terms to entreat their liberty."

Opechancanough (the King of "Pamauk") also sent asking the release of
two that were his friends; and others, apparently with confidence in
the whites, came begging for the release of the prisoners.  "In the
afternoon they being gone, we guarded them [the prisoners] as before
to the church, and after prayer gave them to Pocahuntas, the King's
daughter, in regard to her father's kindness in sending her: after
having well fed them, as all the time of their imprisonment, we gave

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