King James had ordered that the country of Virginia should be
explored, and in the fall, Smith, with a few men, set out for
this purpose. As they were rowing up the Chickehominy River some
Indians came down to the bank and made signs of friendship. They
told Smith that if he wanted a smaller boat to go up higher they
would give him one, and also guides to show him the way.
Smith accepted the offer, and the canoe was brought. He got into
it with one of his men and some Indians; and then, ordering the
rest of his men not to leave the big boat nor to go ashore during
his absence, he set off in his canoe to explore the river higher
up. He was hardly out of sight when the men disobeyed him and
went on shore. The Indians attacked them suddenly, driving them
back to the boat, and taking one of them prisoner. Then they
hastened up the river after Smith.
They soon overtook him; for, after going some distance, he had
stopped and landed, and, taking one of the Indian guides with
him, he had set out on foot to look at the country.
He was going through the woods with his guide when a flight of
arrows came from behind some trees, and the Indians rushed upon
him. He was, indeed, in great danger. He fired his gun at the
Indians, and this frightened them so much that he might have
escaped had he not run into a swamp. The ground was so soft that
before he knew it he sank to his waist. The Indians then rushed
quickly upon him and took him prisoner.
Things now seemed hopeless. He was in the hands of his enemies,
and had very little doubt that they would put him to death. He
tried what he could do with their chief. It chanced that he had a
small pocket compass with him, and this he explained to the
chief, and made a present of it to him. By this means he gained
some time, and also the favor of the chief. When, at last, the
warriors bound him to a tree and bent their bows to shoot him,
the chief came forward, waving the compass, and ordered them
to stop.
After this he was carried through many Indian villages, and was
at last led before Powhatan, their king. His case was soon
decided. The Indians hated the whites, and now that they had
their leader in their hands they resolved to put him to death. A
large stone was brought in and Smith's head was laid upon it.
Then, at an order from the king, a tall savage raised a club to
beat out his brains. In a moment the club would have fallen, and
Smith would have died; but a kind Providence watched over him.
An Indian girl, twelve or thirteen years old, sprang toward him.
From her dress, it was plain that she was a princess. The large
feather in her black hair was like that worn by Powhatan, and her
moccasins were embroidered like the old king's. On her arms were
bracelets of shells, and from her shoulders fell a robe of
doeskin, covered with the feathers of birds, and lined with down
from the breasts of wild pigeons.
This girl was Pocahontas, the favorite daughter of the old king.
She was filled with pity for the poor prisoner, and ran and threw
her arms about him, looking up to her father as she did so. The
heavy club did not fall. The blow would have killed Pocahontas,
as Smith's head was clasped to her breast; and Powhatan ordered
that the prisoner's life should be spared. He was, therefore,
unbound, and Powhatan soon showed him that he had nothing to
fear. In a few days he was allowed to go back to Jamestown.
Captain Smith had many other adventures while he was in Virginia,
but at last a painful accident changed all his plans. As he was
rowing down James River one day some powder in his boat took
fire, and he was terribly burned. His clothes were all in flames,
and he jumped into the water in order to put out the fire. But he
was so overcome by the pain that he could not swim, and he was
almost drowned before his men could help him back into the boat.
There was no surgeon in Jamestown to dress his wounds, and he
made up his mind to go to England and find one. A ship was about
ready to sail, and he at once took passage for home.
That was the last that was seen of John Smith in Virginia. He had
come over in the spring of 1607, and he went back in the autumn
of 1609. It seems a very short time--not three years in all; but
in this time he had laid, broad and deep, the foundations of the
Commonwealth of Virginia.
--From "Stories of the Old Dominion."
DEFINITIONS:--Venison, the flesh of deer. Ducats, gold coins
worth nearly seven dollars each. Tymor, a Turkish officer. Flail,
a wooden club used for beating out grains
EXERCISE.--On the map trace John Smith's various journeys in
Europe. Find England, Holland, the English Channel, France,
Marseilles, the Mediterranean Sea, Rome, Nice, Egypt, Austria,
Transylvania, Turkey, Constantinople, Sea of Azov, Russia, Paris,
Spain, London. Trace the course of John Smith's first voyage to
America. Find the West Indies, Florida, the Carolinas, Chesapeake
Bay, James River, Chickahominy River.