Captain Smith was born at Willoughby, in England, in the month of
January, 1579. His parents died when he was a mere child, and he
was left alone in the world without any one to take care of him.
Yet he was a brave and independent boy, and he soon showed that
he was well able to make his own way in the world. He was fond of
adventure, as most boys are; and while he was still a youth he
wandered away to Holland, and spent some time with the English
army which was there.
When he came back to England, he began to train himself for the
life of a soldier. Instead of passing his time in idleness with
other young men of WilloughLy, he went out to the woods near by
and built a sort of house for himself of the boughs of trees.
Here he intended to stay; and as for food, he meant to shoot
deer, and live on the venison. In this "Bower," as he called it,
he got together as many books on warlike matters as he could
find; and he spent the greater part of his time in studying them.
Young John Smith had a horse and lance with which he practiced
every day, riding swiftly and trying to strike a ring or other
object from the bough of a tree to which it had been hung. He
also practiced with his sword to make his eye keen and his wrist
tough; and he fired at trees with his pistol, to become a good
marksman. By such means as these he fitted himself for the life
of a soldier; and then he set out in search of adventures.
He crossed the English Channel and landed in France; but three
Frenchmen who had come over with him in the ship treated him very
badly. They saw that he was but a mere boy, and stole the trunk
in which were all his clothing and his money. They left him in
great trouble, for he was in a strange country without friends.
But he kept a brave heart, and soon showed that he could take
care of himself. He wandered on through France, meeting many kind
persons on the way who helped him, until at last he came to the
city of Marseilles on the Mediterranean Sea.
As his plan was to go and fight the Turks, he went on board a
ship bound for Rome, which was on his way. The ship set sail, but
soon a great storm arose, and the vessel was tossed about, and in
danger of being wrecked. Some of the men on board said that
Smith, being a stranger, had brought them bad luck, and that the
only way to escape the storm was to get rid of him; so they
seized him and threw him into the sea.
The waves were running very high at the time, and there was great
danger of his being drowned. But he was a good swimmer, and
struck out for the nearest land. This was a small island, called
the Isle of St. Mary's, not far from the coast of Nice, and here
he was thrown on shore by the waves. The weather was very cold,
and he had nothing to eat. But soon another ship came in sight;
he was seen by the crew; and a boat was sent to take him off of
the island. As he went on board the ship he was overjoyed to find
that the captain was an old friend of his.
The ship was bound for Egypt; but as Smith was in search of
adventures, he cared nothing for that. He agreed to go to Egypt,
and as usual something happened to him on the way. They met with
an enemy's ship; a sharp fight took place, and the enemy's ship
was taken. As young Smith had fought bravely, he received about
two thousand dollars in gold as his share of the prize money.
This made him quite rich, and he resolved to go on in search of
further adventures. The captain of the ship put him ashore, and
he set out for Transylvania, east of Austria, where there was
fighting between the Christians and the Turks. He had to pass
through a rough, wild country, but he did so safely, and at last
reached the Christian army, and was enrolled as a soldier in it.
He soon proved to his friends that he was no common soldier.