THE STORY OF A DARING MAN
"What a pity no one knows what became of little Virginia Dare," said
Lucy, sadly. "I hope she wasn't killed by the Indians. I'd rather think
she died of the measles or scarlet fever."
"Poor little child," said Uncle Sam softly. "It must have been a rough
life for her in the wild woods of the New World at that time, even if
the cruel savages had let her alone. My heart goes out also to Sir
Walter Raleigh, for he worked so hard to have English people settle
here. The saddest part of it is that he did not succeed.
"He lived long enough, however, to hear of other people going to
Virginia and making a home there. They would surely have failed, too,
if it had not been for Captain John Smith."
"What a common name that is," said Joe. "I know two boys named John
Smith."
"A common enough name, to be sure," answered Uncle Sam. "But the John
Smith I am thinking of was very different from any other. If you
children can stay long enough this evening, I will tell you about him."
"Mother said we needn't come home till eight o'clock unless you got
tired of us before that time."
"The idea of my getting tired of you and Joe, Lucy! I would be a lonely
old man if it were not for you children. You help to keep me young.
I can't think what I should do, either, if I had no one to listen to
the stories that keep running through my head. Just now it is fairly
bursting with the brave deeds of John Smith."
"Dear me! Don't let it burst, Uncle Sam. Do begin the story this very
minute," cried Lucy, trying to look frightened.
A moment afterward the little sitting-room was so still that anyone
could have heard the big clock ticking in the corner. Then Uncle Sam
began to tell of the strange life of
CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH
Once upon a time there was a little boy who lived on a farm in England.
When he was born his father and mother said, "We will call our son
John."
As soon as he was old enough he was set to work at a trade. His parents
were poor and they thought, "It is a good thing to have a trade, for
then a man can always get his own living."
The young John Smith could not agree with them. He did not like his
work, so he did what other boys sometimes do. He ran away. Then his
troubles began, for he had a hard life. He tried all sorts of things.
He became a soldier and later he went to sea and was out in such a
terrible storm that his ship was wrecked. Again he was out in a ship
when another storm came up.
"John Smith carries bad luck wherever he goes," the men whispered to
each other. "He has brought this storm upon us."
They threw him overboard. As he was a good swimmer and not far from
land, he managed to reach the shore in safety.
This is only one of the stories John Smith told of his strange life
when he was a young man.
Not long after that adventure he took part in a war against the Turks.
He was as brave as ever, for at one time he killed three Turks and cut
off their heads. He had no one to help him do it, either.
He did not succeed as well afterwards, for the Turks caught him and
made him a slave. His cruel master fastened an iron collar around his
neck and made him work very hard. He had to thresh wheat.
One day when he was working in the wheat field his Turkish master rode
up on horseback and began to whip him. How angry he was! He seized his
heavy flail and killed the Turk with one blow.
He must lose no time in getting away now. He lifted a bag of wheat to
the back of the horse, jumped up behind it, and off he rode as fast as
he could go.
He wandered through the wilderness for a long time. At last he reached
the seashore and got on board an English ship. When he reached England
there were many people ready to listen to his wonderful adventures.
On the other hand, John Smith heard many stories about the land across
the great ocean—of little Virginia Dare and her lost people, and of
the Red Men who lived such a free life in the forests of America. This
was not all, however, for people were saying:
"Why not try again to settle in Virginia? It is a beautiful country.
The weather is warm and pleasant there. It must be easy enough to live
in such a place, if we can only get along with the Indians."
John Smith eagerly listened to all this talk. England was too quiet for
him. He did not enjoy his life there, he liked excitement too well. He
said:
"If a party sails to Virginia I should like to join it."
He soon had a chance, for a number of men were at that time getting
ready to start. They were not the best kind of people to make a new
home in a strange land. Very few of them knew how to do any kind of
work. They had heard that the Spaniards found gold in America. They
thought they themselves might pick it up on the ground in Virginia.
They said to each other:
"We will get rich in the easiest way in the world."
They did not know how hard work it would be to make themselves safe, as
well as comfortable.
They settled at a place they called Jamestown, in honor of James, the
king of England.
When the Red Men saw these newcomers, they were not pleased. They were
not willing to have the Englishmen settle in their country. They said:
"We will kill these white men before they have a chance to save
themselves."
The English were taken by surprise. They did not have their guns with
them when the Indians drew near with their bows and arrows. It would
have been a sad day for John Smith and his party if the Indians had not
been frightened off.
Something came whizzing over their heads. The next moment the branch of
a tree came tumbling down in the midst of them.
"It is thunder," they thought. "The Great Spirit is angry with us."
They fled from the place as fast as their legs would carry them. They
did not stop to look around to see what had happened. If they had seen,
they would not have understood.
But the white men knew. Some of their friends on board of the ship had
seen their danger. They had fired a cross-bar shot from a cannon. That
was a bar of iron with a cannon-ball at each end. Such shot are not
allowed to be used now-a-days.
Although John Smith and his friends were saved at this time, many other
troubles were waiting for them.
They made some houses to live in, but made them so poorly that they
leaked and were very damp. They had brought food with them, but there
was not enough to last long. It is not strange that many of the party
became sick and died.
Those who still lived looked at the gardens of the Indians with a great
longing. They watched the fields of corn waving in the breeze, and when
it was ripe they tried to buy the grain.
They could not get it by offering money to the Red Men, for the savages
had no use for money—that is, for our kind of money. John Smith said
to his people:
"I will tell you what I will do. I will take some beads and other cheap
trinkets and will go up the river in a boat. I can surely get some corn
if I am willing to give the trinkets in return."
When the Indians saw the beads, bits of looking-glass, and other
ornaments, they longed to have them. They wanted them so much that they
gladly gave Smith a boatload of corn. In this way he saved his people
from sickness and death.
These white men called themselves "gentlemen." They had never done any
work in England. John Smith showed them they could only save their
lives by work. It must be hard work, too.
If it had not been for him they would not have known enough even to
build their houses. He taught them how to plough the ground and plant
corn so as to raise a crop for themselves. He said to them:
"We ought to protect our settlement by setting up a wall of stakes
around it."
Such a wall is called a palisade. It would have been helpful in keeping
their enemies away. The wall was not built, however. The men were lazy
and they thought:
"Captain Smith cannot be right. We are able to defend ourselves without
any palisade."
King James very much wished the settlers to look for three things. They
were to search for Virginia Dare and her people; they must find gold,
and they were also to look for some waterway through the land leading
to the Pacific Ocean, or the South Sea, as it was then called.
It was more than a hundred years since Columbus discovered America. Yet
still no one dreamed of the size of this country. How surprised John
Smith and his people would have been to learn that they would have to
travel three thousand miles westward before they reached another ocean.
As soon as Captain Smith had a chance he sailed along the shores and up
the rivers. He was looking for a way to reach the South Sea. One day he
went up the James River in a boat with two of his friends. They came to
another and smaller river flowing into the James.
"Let us see where this will carry us," said Smith.
They went on and on. The river became narrower and narrower. At last
Smith jumped ashore and left the other two men in charge of the boat.
He told them to guard it and on no account to leave it for a minute. He
would go inland to see what he could find.
He had not gone far when some Indians crept out of the woods. They took
the two men by surprise and killed them. Then the savages hurried after
Smith. He fought hard and managed to make a prisoner of one of the
Indians.
Quick as a flash, he bound his prisoner in front of him. In this way
he made a shield for himself. The Indians could not shoot at the white
man without running the risk of killing one of their own people.
By this time they had driven Smith into a swamp. The brave man was
sinking deeper and deeper into the mud. It was not long before he sank
up to his waist in it. He could no longer run nor fight. He would have
to give himself up.
He made a sign to his enemies that he would let them take him.
Even after they had taken him ashore he had hope. With quick thought
he drew a small compass from his pocket and offered it to the leader
of the party. He told the Indian to look at the needle. He showed how
it pointed. He explained that anyone who carried it could tell in what
direction he was going.
The savage was so pleased that he would not let the others do Smith any
harm. They started for their home with their prisoner. They did not
travel like white men. They walked in single file and made no noise.
They carried Smith to several Indian villages. Everyone was curious to
see him. Many of their people had never looked at a white man before.
They said to each other:
"Is he a friend or an enemy to us? He is certainly very wise and brave."
They looked at the compass and saw that it would really tell
directions. They thought:
"No common man could have such a wonderful thing as that."
Smith wrote a letter to his friends in Jamestown and asked the Indians
to send it to them. When the Red Men had done this and found that those
queer marks on a piece of paper told a story to the white men, they
were even more surprised. They said:
"We do not dare to kill our prisoner, he is too powerful."
What should they do with him? While they were trying to make up their
minds about this, they kept Smith shut up in a hut. They were not cruel
to him, however. O, no. They brought him quantities of food to eat.
There were bread made of corn, roasted deer meat, and all the dainties
which they themselves liked best. Smith thought:
"They are trying to make me fat before they kill me."
This thought took away all wish for food. The poor man could scarcely
eat.
Day after day went by until at last the Red Men said:
"We will take our prisoner to the great chief, Powhatan, and he will
tell us what to do."
Smith was brought out and carried in a strange procession to the
village in which the chief was then living. He was kept there for some
time before the chief would receive him.
When the day came at last, Powhatan was dressed in the grandest Indian
fashion. He wore a long robe made of feathers. His face and arms were
painted. His people stood around him. He wished Smith to think he was
great and powerful.
The white man was brought before him. Smith eagerly watched to see if
there were any signs of mercy in the stern face.
Powhatan talked for some time with his warriors. Then two of them got
up and went to the side of their white prisoner.
They led him off a short distance and stretched him out on the ground.
They placed his head on a stone.
"They are going to kill me," Smith said to himself. "I am bound so
tightly I cannot possibly get away. There is no help for me now."
Then a strange thing happened. Just as one of the Indians raised his
club to end the white man's life, a young girl rushed to his side. She
was Powhatan's favorite daughter. She threw her arms around Smith's
neck. Then, turning toward her father, she cried:
"Spare this man's life for my sake."
The beautiful girl had grown to love Smith during his stay in the
village. While he was shut up as a prisoner he had made whistles and
strings of beads for her. His kindness pleased her and her gentle heart
was filled with pity for the white man.
Powhatan could not refuse the daughter he loved so dearly. He said:
"I will spare the man's life for the sake of my child. He shall stay
among us and spend his time making ornaments for Pocahontas."
This is the story Smith afterwards told of the time when he was in the
hands of the Indians. Some people, however, do not believe it is quite
all true.
At any rate, his life was saved and Pocahontas was the friend of the
white people ever after.
In a few weeks Powhatan said to John Smith:
"You may go back to Jamestown if you will promise to send me two
cannons and a grindstone as soon as you arrive."
Smith was quite willing to make the promise.
When he was once more safe among his own people he found they were in
great trouble. Some of them were planning to run away in the only large
boat. The others would then be left to the mercy of the Red Men. They
were all much in need of their wise leader.
The promise to Powhatan was not forgotten. The Indians, however, who
had come back with Smith to get the cannons and the grindstone could
not carry them home. They were too heavy. So the men were quite willing
to take some trinkets instead.
Many times after that the people of Jamestown suffered because they did
not have enough to eat. They were saved again and again by Pocahontas,
who filled her boat with baskets of corn and paddled down the river to
her white friends.
One evening she heard her people making a plan. They said:
"We will creep upon the Englishmen and take them by surprise. Then we
will kill them."
She was brave as well as good. She did not lose a moment, but hurried
away through the dark woods. She did not stop till she reached
Jamestown. Then she told of the Indians' plot. She warned Smith to be
on his guard. Then she hurried away into the darkness once more.
The white men tried again and again to make friends with Powhatan. They
gave him a bedstead, a red cloak, and a wash-basin. They thought he
would now be willing to sell them corn.
Not so, however. After he received these presents, the great chief
became so proud he would not think of trading with the Englishmen.
They were almost starving when Smith thought of a new plan. He took a
box of blue glass beads and showed them to Powhatan. He said:
"These beads are made of the same stuff as the sky itself."
When the chief heard this he longed to have some for his own. What
precious things they must be!
"I will sell you a boatload of corn for those beads," he promised.
"You will see by this that Captain Smith did not always tell the
truth. It was because of just such deceits as this that the white men
afterwards had so much trouble with the Indians," said Uncle Sam.
The corn was just what Smith wanted, but he would not let the savages
know how glad he was. His boat was quickly filled with the precious
grain and he set out for Jamestown with a happy heart.
His troubles were not yet at an end. One day while he was at work, a
bag of gunpowder exploded near him. Poor Captain Smith was badly burned
and in great pain. Worse still, the burned flesh did not heal after
many days.
"I cannot get well here. I must go back to England," he told his
friends.
With a sad heart he bade them good-bye and left them to get along as
well as they could by themselves.
When Captain John Smith had gone, one trouble after another fell upon
the people of Jamestown. They came near starving to death. They were
glad to eat anything which would keep them alive. Dogs, snakes, and
even toads were killed for food.
Most of the men had already died when some ships came sailing into the
harbor. They brought some more settlers, as well as food and clothing
from England. The worst was now over.
Pocahontas was still the friend of the white men. She grew up to be a
beautiful young woman and married an Englishman named John Rolfe. The
wedding took place in a little church at Jamestown.
From that time the great chief Powhatan was the friend of the white men.
The rest of the story of Pocahontas is soon told. She was a good wife
to John Rolfe, and a year after they were married they had a lovely
baby boy. John Rolfe went to England on business and took his wife and
baby with him. The beautiful Pocahontas was invited to court by the
king. She was treated with great honor as an Indian princess, but it
did not make her vain or silly.
While she was in England she met her old friend John Smith. She had
been told that he was dead and she was much moved at seeing him.
Alas! Pocahontas did not live to see her own home again. Just as she
was about to sail to America a dreadful sickness came up her. It was
the smallpox. She died in a few days, but her baby son went back with
his father to Jamestown and lived to be a noble man.
John Smith is often called the father of Virginia. After his burns had
healed, he left England in search of new adventures.
He sailed again to the shores of America. He came to a place much
farther north than Jamestown. He looked upon a land with rocky shores.
It was not like Virginia. He called this part of America "New England"
and so it has been called ever since.
Smith sailed all along the shores of New England. He went in and out of
its bays and harbors. He made a good map of what he saw. Then he went
back to his own country to show his map to the king.
The next year he sailed on his last voyage. This time he wished to
settle in New England. He met with many troubles. There was a dreadful
storm and he was chased by pirates. Last of all, he was overtaken by a
fleet of French ships and made a prisoner. After a while he managed to
escape and get back to England.
This brave and daring man lived long enough to hear of other people
settling in New England. That is another story, however.
As Uncle Sam stopped speaking, Joe jumped up, crying:
"Hurrah for Captain John Smith! Next to Columbus he was the bravest man
I ever heard of. I wish I could have seen him kill that Turk."
"I should have liked to have been there when he offered those blue
beads to Powhatan," said Lucy. "He must have been laughing inside when
he did it."
"As for me, I like to think of his making those lazy Englishmen do some
work," said Uncle Sam, stroking his chin.
The neighbors all said there was no laziness about Uncle Sam, so it is
no wonder he spoke as he did.
"Uncle Sam is like John Smith in some ways," the children's father said
not long afterwards.
He had come into the back yard where Joe was stretched on the ground
with Lucy's arms around his neck.
"We are playing that I am John Smith and Lucy is Pocahontas. She is
trying to save my life. Uncle Sam told us all about them." Joe sat up
to explain.
"Yes, Uncle Sam is a good deal like John Smith. He is afraid of
nothing. He is always busy, and he can turn his hand to anything. One
time when he was a boy he was out sailing. The sail was an old one and
a sudden gust of wind caught it and tore it badly. Uncle Sam was a long
way from home and the sun was already setting. Quick as a thought he
took off his shirt, tore it open, and patched the sail with it. That
was the very thing John Smith did when he was away from Jamestown on
one of his excursions."