their rocky staircases. When the second Zaldivar summoned them to
surrender, they mocked him, bade their medicine men curse him, and
flung showers of arrows and stones down upon him. The Spaniards,
unable to reach their foes, were obliged to take refuge under the
overhanging rock to escape the missiles hurled down upon them.
All night long they heard the shrieks of the Indians. They were
holding a monster war dance overhead, and fiercely illustrating the
tortures they meant to make the Spaniards suffer the next day. This
prospect, however, did not frighten Zaldivar's brave men, and while
their foes shouted and danced, they made a clever plan to surprise
the city.
Early the next day, Zaldivar and part of his force pretended to
storm the north side of the rock. But while they were thus engaging
the attention of the Indians, twelve of their number slowly crawled
up a neighboring pinnacle of rock, dragging a small cannon after
them. No one noticed what they were doing, and it was only when the
cannon was in place, and the first stone ball came crashing into the
adobe houses, that the Indians perceived their danger.
The rock upon which the Spaniards had planted their cannon was on a
level with Acoma, separated from it by a chasm only a few feet wide
but about three hundred feet deep. From this point the Spaniards
shot ball after ball into the town. When night came on, they crept
down again, cut several trees, dragged the trunks up to the top of
their rock, and at dawn flung one of them across the abyss.
In spite of a hail of stones and arrows hurled by the Indians,
twelve Spaniards rushed boldly across this dizzy bridge before the
log was accidentally jerked out of place by one of their number.
Cut off from their companions, and unable to retreat, these brave
men were now in great danger, for they had to face all those raging
savages alone.
Seeing their peril, one of their comrades drew back as far as he
could on the outlying rock, and rushing forward took a flying leap
across the chasm! By great good fortune he landed safely on the
other side, drew the log into place once more, and thus enabled the
other Spaniards to cross with their cannon.
One house after another was now battered down, and at the end of
three days' hard fighting the Spaniards were complete masters of
the Sky City of Acoma. But they soon left it, and many years later,
when Fray Ramirez (rah-me´reth), a Spanish priest, came thither and
began climbing the staircase, the Indians tried to keep him away by
flinging a shower of stones down upon him.
Spanish priests, however, were ready to risk everything for the sake
of their religion, so Fray Ramirez calmly continued to climb up. In
the general excitement a little Indian girl drew too near to the
edge of the rock, and, losing her balance, fell over! Although her
people fancied she had fallen to the ground and been killed, she had
only dropped to a narrow ledge, where they could not see her. Fray
Ramirez, looking upward, saw the accident. Climbing carefully along
the ledge, he picked up the little maiden, and soon reappeared on
the staircase, carrying her on his shoulder.
The Indians, believing the child dead, now cried out that this was
a miracle, and suddenly ceased throwing stones. When the priest
reached the plateau they ran to meet him, listened quietly to his
teachings, and even built a church in Acoma under his directions.
And it is in memory of his coming among them that the stone stairway
of Acoma is still known as the "Path of the Father."
XXI. AROUND THE WORLD.
After the voyages of the Cabots in 1497-1498, the English for some
time took little interest in the New World. But in the middle of the
sixteenth century several noted seamen visited America. One of these
men was Hawkins, who brought over from Africa a cargo of negroes. He
sold these as slaves to the Spaniards in the West Indies.
Until then prisoners of war had often been sold as slaves, and the
Indians on the newly discovered islands had, as we have seen, found
cruel taskmasters in the colonists. But as these savages were not
used to hard work, they soon died.
Hawkins fancied he was doing a very wise thing in bringing negroes
over from Africa to replace them. Indeed, he was so proud of this
idea that he had a slave painted on his coat of arms, and said, like
Columbus, that it was much better for the negroes to be slaves among
Christians than free among heathens.
It was thus that the negro slave trade began, and for two hundred
and fifty years slave ships plied to and fro across the Atlantic
Ocean, bringing over countless colored people, who were sold first
to the Spaniards and later to the Americans.
The English were so anxious to discover a northwest passage to India
(that is, a way to sail through or around the northern part of
America) that they sent Frob´ish-er out to search for it in 1576.
He sailed northward until he came to the bay which still bears his
name. He landed there, and, to his delight, found some yellow ore,
which he carried home. This was what is now known as fool's gold, or
pyrites; but the English, thinking it was real gold, quickly sent
out a ship to bring home a whole cargo of the worthless stuff.
Some time after this visit of Frobisher's, Da´vis sailed still
farther north, only to be driven back by the ice in the strait
which still bears his name. Although he did not know it, Davis had
discovered the entrance to the long-sought northwest passage; but it
could never be used to reach Asia, as people hoped, on account of
the great icebergs which block it up nearly all the year.
Another great English seaman of this time was Francis Drake, who
first sailed with the slave trader Hawkins. When he came to the
Spanish settlements in the West Indies and Mexico, and saw how
much gold was shipped to Spain, he wanted to get some of it for
his country, too. He therefore set out with several vessels, and
although war had not yet been declared between England and Spain,
he boldly attacked the Spanish colonies and ships, and secured much
booty.
When war broke out Drake became more daring than ever, and running
unexpectedly into the Spanish ports, he began plundering. Then,
setting fire to the shipping, he sailed off again, after thus
"singeing the King of Spain's beard," as he called it. During one
of his many journeys, Drake landed on the Isthmus of Panama, where,
climbing the mountains, he was the first Englishman to behold the
Pacific Ocean, about fifty years after it had been seen by Balboa.
In the course of his piratical expeditions Drake sailed through the
Strait of Magellan into the Pacific Ocean, and, after securing much
booty from the Spaniards in Peru, coasted about until he came to
the Californian bay which still bears his name. He called this part
of the country New Al´bi-on, and made such friends with the Indians
there that they invited him to stay and be their king.
But Drake was anxious to carry his treasures home; and as he knew a
Spanish fleet was lying in wait for him near the Strait of Magellan,
he boldly crossed the Pacific, and went back by way of the Cape
of Good Hope. He was thus, as he said, the first Englishman who
"plowed a furrow around the globe." Queen E-liz´a-beth was so proud
of this fact that she knighted Drake on board of his own ship, the
_Pelican_, and graciously accepted all the stolen jewels he gave her
(1580).
[Illustration: The Pelican Chair.]
The _Pelican_ was carefully preserved for about one hundred years,
and when it fell to pieces a chair was made from its timbers, and
given to the Oxford University, where it can still be seen. As for
Drake, he lived to continue his journeys some time longer, and to
take part in the great naval battle against the Spanish Ar-ma´da;
and he finally perished while on his way to make an attack on the
West Indies.
XXII. NOTHING BUT SMOKE.
The greatest of all the English seamen of this time was Sir Walter
Raleigh (raw´ly). A poet, philosopher, historian, courtier, and
colonizer, Raleigh was also a favorite of Queen Elizabeth. We are
told that he won this lady's approval by once spreading his new
cloak on the ground so that she might pass dry-shod over a muddy
spot.
Raleigh's great ambition was to "plant an English nation in
America." He and his half-brother, Sir Humphrey Gil´bert, therefore
obtained Elizabeth's permission to start a colony in any part of
the New World not yet occupied by any other Christian power. Then
Gilbert started across the Atlantic with several ships and took
possession of Newfoundland. While cruising near there, one of his
vessels was wrecked.
On his return voyage his little fleet was overtaken by a storm.
Gilbert was on a leaky vessel, but as the other ships were not large
enough to contain all his men, he refused to leave it for a safer
one. When they told him that he was in great danger, he quietly
answered, "Heaven is as near by water as by land," and calmly went
on reading his Bible. The storm increased. All at once the other
boats missed the light of Gilbert's ship! They peered anxiously out
into the darkness, but all in vain, for the vessel had sunk with its
brave captain and all its crew.
[Illustration: Raleigh and Queen Elizabeth.]
Undaunted by this first failure, Raleigh soon sent out a new
expedition. It brought back such favorable reports of the coast
farther south that Raleigh named the country Virgin´i-a, in honor
of Elizabeth, the virgin (or unmarried) queen, who gave him a grant
of land there.
Among other strange things, Raleigh's explorers brought back
potatoes, which had never yet been seen in England. Raleigh planted
these on his estate in Ireland, where people were at first afraid
to eat them, lest they should be poisonous. Before long, however,
potatoes became so common that they have been the chief food of the
Irish peasants for many a year.
The first colony established by Raleigh, on Ro-a-noke´ Island, in
what is now North Carolina, suffered many hardships. The people
were so discouraged by the time Drake came to visit them, that
they persuaded him to carry them back to England. Then a second
colony was started on the same spot, which thus became the home of
the first little English baby born in our country. She was called
Virginia, in honor of her birthplace.
A war with Spain prevented Raleigh's sending supplies to this
colony for several years, and when the grandfather of the first
English-American child finally visited Roanoke, little Virginia had
vanished, as well as all the rest of the colonists. No one has ever
known what became of them, but it is supposed that they were all
killed by the Indians. The only trace ever found was one word carved
on a big tree, the name of the neighboring village of Croa-tan´.
These ventures, and his many journeys, made Raleigh so poor that he
finally had to give up all his rights to the land.
As we have seen, Raleigh was a great favorite of the queen,
therefore many stories are told about him. For instance, it is
related that he was the first Englishman to use tobacco, which the
Indians said "cured being tired." One day, when Raleigh was smoking
in his room, a new servant came in with a pitcher of water. Seeing
smoke come out of his master's mouth and nose, the man fancied that
Raleigh was on fire, and hastily upset the water on his head to put
out the flames!
We are also told that Raleigh taught Queen Elizabeth how to smoke,
and that they two enjoyed many a pipe together. On one occasion
Raleigh made a bet with the queen that he could tell the exact
weight of the smoke from her pipe. First he carefully weighed the
tobacco she put in her pipe; then, when she was through smoking,
he weighed the ashes, and won his wager by telling her that the
difference in weight between tobacco and ashes was that of the
smoke! Elizabeth paid the money cheerfully, but remarked that, while
she had often heard of turning gold into smoke, he was the first who
had turned smoke into gold.
About twenty years after Raleigh founded his first colony, another
English seaman, named Gos´nold, decided that it was very foolish to
take the roundabout way by Iceland or the Azores Islands to reach
America. He therefore boldly steered straight across the Atlantic,
thus shortening the trip by about one thousand miles.
The first land he saw he named Cape Cod, because he found so many
codfish there. Soon after he stopped on Cut´ty-hunk Island, near
the coast, where he built a house. Then, after securing a cargo of
sassafras, which was at that time used as a medicine for almost
every disease, Gosnold sailed home, leaving his house tenantless.
XXIII. SMITH'S ADVENTURES.
Sir Walter Raleigh was in favor as long as Elizabeth lived, but when
she died he was accused of treason and put in prison by James I.
While in his cell this brave man wrote a history of the world for
young Prince Henry, who often visited him, and longed to free him.
He once said: "Only such a king as my father would keep such a bird
in such a cage." The same monarch finally ordered Raleigh to be put
to death. Mounting the scaffold, the prisoner asked to see the ax,
and, running his finger along its edge to test its keenness, said:
"This is a sharp medicine, but a cure for all evils."
Before going to prison Raleigh had given up all his claims in
America to English merchants. They formed two bodies, the London
Company and the Plym´oŭth Company, and persuaded the king to give
each of them a piece of land in North America one hundred miles
square.
This matter being decided, the London Company sent out a shipload of
settlers, who, in 1607, sailed into Ches´a-peake Bay. They called
the capes on either side Charles and Henry, in honor of the two
princes; then, passing up a river, they landed on a marshy cape,
where they founded the first lasting English colony in the United
States. River and town were both named after King James, who had
selected their officers and made their laws.
The James´town colonists were nearly all gentlemen, who had come
without their families because they intended to stay only long
enough to get rich. As there were only four carpenters among them,
these men were kept very busy. But, instead of building comfortable
houses, and plowing and sowing, the rest of the settlers spent all
their time looking for gold. The result was that their supplies
gave out, and as the Indians were unfriendly and would not give
them food, they were soon in danger of starving. Besides, Jamestown
was on low, damp ground, and the water was so bad that the ill-fed
people suffered from malaria, and about half of them died.
Among the Englishmen who had come to Virginia there was Captain John
Smith. This man had been a soldier, had traveled a great deal, and
had visited France, Italy, and E´gypt.
We are told that while he was on his way to Egypt a great storm once
overtook his ship. The pilgrims on the vessel cried out that there
must be a wrongdoer, or a Jonah, among them, and in their terror
proposed to draw lots. Finding out thus that Smith was the guilty
person, they hastily pitched him overboard. But although there was
no whale to swallow him, Smith managed to swim ashore, and some time
later, longing for more adventures, he went to fight in Hun´ga-ry.
Here he declared that the teachings of Christ were far better than
those of Mo-ham´med, and offered to prove it by fighting three
Turks. He killed them all, but, being wounded, was soon made a
prisoner and sold as a slave. One day, when Smith was threshing
in the field, his cruel taskmaster beat him severely, although he
had done nothing wrong. Indignant at this unjust treatment, Smith
suddenly raised his flail, and struck the Turk such a hard blow that
the man fell to the ground dead.
Seeing a chance to escape, Smith now quickly exchanged clothes
with the dead man, hid the latter's body under the straw, filled a
bag with corn, and jumping on a horse rode rapidly away across the
plains. After many days of hard riding, he came to a place where his
chains were struck off, and thence continued his journey home.
After several other journeys and adventures, Smith joined the
newly formed London Company, proposing to go out himself with the
colonists. On the way to Virginia he was falsely accused of crime,
and nearly hanged; but when he reached land his innocence was
proved, and he soon became the leading spirit of Jamestown.
Through all the sickness and famine Smith alone seemed brave and
strong. Hoping to secure food for the colonists, he once set out to
find the Indians and trade with them for corn. But at the approach
of the English, we are told that the savages ran away in such haste
that they left their dinner on the fire. The colonists, drawing
near, saw that the Indians had been roasting oysters, and, tasting
them for the first time in their lives, were delighted to discover
a new and delicious kind of food. After shooting a few turkeys, the
English overtook these Indians, from whom they managed to get quite
a supply of corn in exchange for trinkets and a copper kettle.
In another expedition Captain Smith was surprised by the Indians
while he stood in a marsh, picking berries. He seized one of the
savages and held him fast, using him as a shield against the arrows
of the rest until surrounded and made a prisoner.
Instead of showing anger or resisting, Smith now followed his
captors quietly, allowing them to touch and examine him as much as
they pleased. He also tried to interest them by showing them his
compass and explaining its use. Besides, he made friends with the
Indian children and whittled playthings for them. All the prettiest
ones, however, were set aside for Po-ca-hon´tas, the twelve-year-old
daughter of the Indian chief Pow-ha-tan´; and it seems she was
specially pleased with the wooden doll he made for her.
[Illustration: Smith and Pocahontas.]
We are told that Pocahontas soon grew very fond of Captain Smith,
and that when the Indians once tried to kill him, she stood between
him and their raised tomahawks, pleading so hard for his life that
her father declared the white man should not be slain. But this
story is also told of several other explorers, and we do not know if
it is quite true.
XXIV. THE JAMESTOWN MEN.
After several weeks of captivity Captain Smith bargained with
the Indians to set him free, in exchange for a certain number of
trinkets and one of the bright brass cannons they had seen at
Jamestown. This settled, he wrote a letter to the colonists, telling
them what trinkets they were to give the bearers, and warning them
to be sure to shoot off the cannon in the Indians' presence, so that
they should not dare carry it off.
Having finished his letter, Smith gave it to his captors, bidding
them take it to Jamestown. He added that it would tell the English
what they wanted, and that they would hear the big noise which came
out of the bright log (cannon) they coveted. All this, of course,
seemed very mysterious to people who did not know how to write, so
they set out for Jamestown full of curiosity.
When they saw that the white men, after looking at the letter, gave
them all the trinkets they had bargained for, they were amazed. Then
they tried to lift the bright log, and were surprised at its weight.
Motioning them aside, the colonists next shot off the cannon.
The loud noise, and the fact that the cannon ball splintered a
good-sized tree, filled the Indians with such terror that, as Smith
had foreseen, they refused to touch it again. When they got back to
their camp they let Captain Smith go, and he bade a friendly good-by
to the red men, from whom he had learned all he could during his
short sojourn in their midst.
Free once more, Captain Smith used all his energies to get enough
grain for his friends; but had it not been for the Indian girl
Pocahontas the colonists would probably have starved to death.
Several times, in the course of that first hard winter, she brought
them game and corn, and, thanks to her pleading, her father Powhatan
became quite friendly, and supplied their most pressing needs.
In 1608 more colonists came over to Jamestown in search of gold; but
they, too, were gentlemen, and intended to remain only a short time.
They unfortunately discovered some pyrites, and in spite of all
Captain Smith could say, there was "no talk, no hope, no work, but
dig gold, wash gold, refine gold, load gold." The result was that
the vessel in which they had come was sent home laden with worthless
dirt, instead of carrying a cargo of lumber, sassafras, or furs,
which could have been sold in England for considerable money.
The only man who did not share this thirst for gold was Captain
Smith. He continued his explorations, and made a complete map of
Chesapeake Bay to send back to England. Then, the governor having
sailed away with the fool's gold, and the others having proved bad
managers, Smith was soon chosen to be head of the colony.
He began his work by making a few very strict rules, which all the
colonists had to obey. The fine English gentlemen, who had spent
their time playing bowls in the streets of Jamestown, priding
themselves upon never having done any labor, were now told that if
they would not work they should not eat.
To stop the constant swearing in which these men freely indulged,
Captain Smith next ordered that a canful of cold water should
be poured down any offender's sleeve. This soon put an end to
profanity, and by the time a third set of colonists reached
Jamestown it was quite an orderly community.
[Illustration: Crowning Powhatan.]
Two women came out with these last-mentioned settlers to make real
homes in Jamestown, the first English city in what is now the United
States. The same ship also brought over presents from King James to
the Indian King Powhatan. These were a bed, basin and pitcher, a
coat trimmed with gold lace, and a crown.
Powhatan was therefore solemnly invited to Jamestown, to receive
these gifts and be crowned. The Indian chief was greatly pleased
with his fine red coat. But no one could make him understand
that he must kneel to receive his crown. Finally, in despair, the
colonists standing on either side of him leaned so heavily upon his
shoulders that they forced him to bend the knee before the governor,
who quickly crowned him.
To the savages' great delight, drums were loudly beaten in honor
of King Powhatan, but when the cannon was shot off, too, the newly
crowned king of Virginia was so amazed that he almost fell over
backward. When he had recovered from his fright Powhatan gave the
governor his old moccasins, or shoes, and a tattered and dirty robe
of raccoon skins, telling him to send them to King James in return
for his gifts!
XXV. SMITH WOUNDED.
The last Jamestown settlers brought over letters in which the
English merchants asked for gold, and urged the colonists to make
diligent search for a passage to India, where so much money could be
made by trading for silks, pearls, and spices. In obedience to these
orders, a new excursion was tried, but of course no such passage was
ever found on the coast of Virginia.
When the ships went back to England, Smith sent a letter to the
company, begging them to send out farmers, carpenters, blacksmiths,
masons, and men to cut down trees, rather than so many fine
gentlemen who did not know how to work.
Then, as soon as the ships had gone, Captain Smith set all the
colonists to work building houses, planting corn, and working hard
in many ways, so as to supply their daily needs. He also ordered
that the Indians should be treated kindly. But the settlers,
thinking they knew better than he, refused to work, and treated
the Indians so unjustly that they secretly planned to kill all the
English.
We are told that this plot was overheard by Pocahontas. She ran
through the forest all alone, one dark night, and, coming to
Jamestown, secretly told Captain Smith of his peril. He was so
grateful to Pocahontas for her warning that he wanted to give her a
present; but she refused it, saying that if her people saw it they
would suspect she had betrayed them.
By Captain Smith's wise measures, the Indians were awed into good
behavior, and for a time Jamestown was safe. But, unfortunately, a
terrible accident soon happened to the brave man who had been the
life of the colony. A gun, shot off by accident, set fire to the
powder in a boat where Smith lay asleep. He was badly wounded, and
would have been burned to death had he not had the presence of mind
to roll out of the boat into the water.