thigh did not heal, Captain Smith sailed back to England in the
next vessel, never to visit Jamestown again. But when quite cured
he explored the northeast coast of our country, and drew a good map
of it, calling that part of America New England. It was in reward
for this service that the king gave him the title of "Admiral of New
England." Being now too old to continue his journeys any longer,
Smith spent the rest of his life in writing an account of his
travels and of the founding of Jamestown.
Some people say that Captain Smith, like many sailors, was so fond
of spinning yarns that he did not always tell the exact truth. He
cannot have been a bad man, however, for when he died, those who
had gone out to Jamestown with him said that he hated baseness,
laziness, pride, and falsehood; that he never sent any one into a
danger he was not ready to share; that he was strictly honest in
all his dealings; and that he loved actions more than words; and he
was honored and mourned by all. Brave Captain Smith was buried in
London, where his friends placed this inscription over his grave:
"Here lies one conquered, that hath conquered kings."
After Captain Smith left them, the Jamestown colonists became idler
than ever, and treated the Indians so unkindly that even Pocahontas
refused to visit them any more. The result was that they could not
buy any corn, and as they had no crops of their own, they had so
little food, when winter came, that only sixty out of about six
hundred colonists managed to live.
This terrible winter in Jamestown is known in history as "Starvation
Time;" and some people say that the settlers became so desperate
from hunger that they actually turned cannibals. Their sufferings
were so great that those who survived determined to go home in the
spring. So they put their scant stock of provisions on board their
ships, and prepared to sail.
But before leaving they wanted to set fire to the houses they had
built, and destroy the place where "none had enjoyed one happy
day." The governor, however, refused to let them do this. To make
sure his orders should not be disobeyed, he embarked last, after
seeing that all was safe.
The little band of discouraged settlers now sailed slowly down the
James River. But on reaching its mouth, they were overjoyed to meet
three ships coming from England, with a stock of provisions and
many new colonists. They therefore turned around and went back to
Jamestown, where, you may be sure, they were very thankful to find
their houses still standing and all ready to receive them.
XXVI. THE VISIT OF POCAHONTAS TO ENGLAND.
A new governor, named Dale, now took charge of the Jamestown colony,
and seeing that the colonists were lazy and indifferent, he tried to
find out the cause. He soon discovered that the workers thought it
unjust that they should have to feed the lazy, for the rule had been
that all supplies should go into a common storehouse, and that each
man should receive an equal share.
As the company had in 1609 received a new charter from the king,
granting them land for four hundred miles along the coast, and
thence "up into the land throughout from sea to sea, west and
northwest," they were very anxious that the Jamestown colony should
thrive. Dale, therefore, now said that each man should work for
himself only. The result was that those who were willing to labor
were soon very comfortable, while the lazy colonists became poorer
and poorer. Still, seeing that they must work or starve, the idlers
now did enough to keep themselves alive.
Other laws were made at the same time, and it was decided that
those who disobeyed them should have their tongues pierced with a
red-hot iron. From this time on Jamestown prospered; more colonists
came, grain became plentiful, and instead of digging for gold, the
settlers planted tobacco to sell in England.
The English had by this time learned to like tobacco, although
King James disapproved so strongly of smoking that he wrote a book
called "A Counterblast to Tobacco." In fact, the use of this weed
was so general that the colonists, finding they could get about
seventy-five cents a pound for it, raised all they could, thus
following the example set by John Rolfe, one of their number.
Four years after Captain Smith left the Jamestown colony, the
English captain Ar´gall, remembering how useful Pocahontas had been,
determined to capture her. Hearing that she was with a neighboring
tribe, he bargained with the chief to lure her on board his vessel
and leave her there.
The chief consented, and walked off in triumph with his reward,--a
shiny copper kettle,--leaving Pocahontas in the hands of Captain
Argall. He took her to Jamestown, where she was kindly treated. John
Rolfe converted the young prisoner, and made her his wife as soon as
she had been baptized. Powhatan and many of his tribe were invited
to this wedding, the first between an Englishman and an Indian girl.
Of course it was a great event in the colony, so when the next ship
went back to England it carried this piece of news to court.
[Illustration: Marriage of Pocahontas.]
When the king heard it he was greatly displeased, for he fancied
that, after marrying the daughter of the King of Virginia, Rolfe
might want to rule over the country. But Rolfe wished nothing of the
kind, and after growing tobacco for a while, he took his Indian wife
to England.
To please Captain Smith, the queen welcomed Pocahontas kindly. She
appeared at court in fashionable English clothes,--which must have
seemed very uncomfortable to an Indian,--and was presented as the
"Lady Rebecca," for since her baptism her name had been changed.
Pocahontas spent a few months in England, and she had just started
to return to Virginia, when she was taken ill and died. But she
left a little son, who lived to grow up and became the ancestor of
several noted families in Virginia.
[Illustration: Wives for the Virginians.]
The colonists soon found tobacco so profitable that they planted it
even in the streets of Jamestown, and used it for money. Instead of
saying a thing was worth so many dollars, as we do now, they said it
was worth so many pounds of tobacco. They rapidly grew rich, and as
they no longer feared starvation, all longed to have wives to make
them comfortable.
They therefore wrote to England, asking that women should be sent
out to them, offering to give from one hundred to one hundred and
fifty pounds of tobacco to pay for their passage. The next ship,
therefore, brought over a cargo of young women, and the men who
wanted wives rushed down to the wharf, and wooed them so eagerly
that there were soon many happy homes in Virginia.
As tobacco crops rapidly exhaust the soil, the colonists occupied
more and more land, settling generally near a stream, so that
vessels could come and load at their private docks. And because
tobacco is planted, and not sown, their lands were called
plantations, a name still used in the South for any large farm. Some
people, however, say the name was given to any settlement planted in
a new place.
To make sure they would always have a good government, the Virginia
planters, who in 1619 had eleven settlements, or boroughs, chose
two men from each borough to sit in a House of Bur´ges-ses at
Jamestown. These burgesses helped to make a set of laws, called
the "Great Charter." The fact that the colonists now had a share
in ruling themselves, made them take special pride in their new
homes, although they still spoke lovingly of England as the "mother
country."
Strange to relate, the same year that the Virginia colonists claimed
their right as freemen to help govern themselves, a Dutch ship
brought twenty negroes to Jamestown, and sold them as slaves. But
although these were the first colored people in our country, they
were not the first or only slaves, for the king had already sent out
a number of convicts and homeless children to serve the colonists.
There was always a great difference between white and colored
slaves. White men were sold only for a certain length of time, after
which they again became free; but the negroes were sold for good and
all, and they and their children were to be slaves forever.
XXVII. HUDSON AND THE INDIANS.
While the English were gaining ground in Virginia, the other nations
were not idle. The Spaniards, as we have seen, had settled in
Florida and New Mexico, and, in the latter place especially, their
priests started several mission stations.
This was very dangerous work, because they often had to go alone
among the Indians, who at times rose up against them and even
tortured them to death. But these priests were quite ready to die
for the sake of their religion, and although in the course of the
next one hundred years more than forty were murdered, others were
always ready to take their places.
After many failures the Spaniards finally made friends with and
converted most of the Pueb´lo Indians, who learned to live on
peaceable terms with the white men, as they still do to-day. In
fact, although they had but one small town, Santa Fé, the Spaniards
had many missions and eleven churches in New Mexico before the
Jamestown colonists first sat in the House of Burgesses.
The French Huguenots, as already said, tried to make a settlement
in the southern part of our country, but had been murdered by their
Spanish neighbors. Next, some Frenchmen tried to settle in Maine,
but soon gave up the attempt. Their first lasting settlement was
therefore made in 1604, at Port. Royal in A-ca´di-a, where they
at first suffered much, but afterwards prospered greatly and had
comfortable homes.
The Dutch, living near the ocean, were great seamen and traders, so
you will not be surprised to hear that they, too, sent ships across
the Atlantic before long. One of these vessels, the _Half-Moon_,
under Henry Hudson, came over here to look for the northwest
passage. Sailing along the New England coast, and thence southward,
Hudson entered Del´a-ware and New York bays. He also sailed up a
great stream, then called the North River, but now generally known
as the Hudson (1609).
At first Hudson thought this broad river must be the long-sought
road to India, because at high tide the water was salt many miles
upstream. But sailing on, he finally discovered that it was a river,
which he explored to the point where Al´ba-ny now stands. It was in
September, the weather was beautiful, and Hudson and his crew were
in raptures over the lovely views. The coming of this vessel created
a great sensation among the Indians, who rushed to the edge of the
water to see the "great white bird." They called the _Half-Moon_ a
bird on account of its spreading sails.
[Illustration: Hudson on the River.]
Hudson traded with the natives for tobacco and furs, and once when
they tried to steal some of his trinkets he gave them a terrible
fright by shooting off his cannon. On his return he landed on
Man-hat´tan Island, where the Indians gave him a feast, breaking
their arrows to show he need fear no treachery on their part.
We are told that, in exchange for their hospitality, Hudson offered
the savages some rum to drink. They looked at it, and smelled it,
but passed it on without tasting it. Finally the bottle came to
an Indian who was somewhat bolder than the rest, or who feared to
offend the white man. He drank a great deal of the liquor, but he
had no sooner done so than he fell down senseless, and all his
companions thought he was dead.
After a few hours, however, the Indian awoke from his drunken sleep,
to remark that the Dutchman had the strongest water he had ever
tasted. The other savages were now all eager to try the "fire water"
too; and, having drunk it once, they took such a fancy to it that
before long they were ready to give all they had in exchange for
more. But, as you will see, this fire water was to do them a great
deal of harm.
On his way home Hudson stopped in England, where they kept him
a prisoner, saying an Englishman ought to make discoveries only
for the good of his own country. But Hudson managed to send a
description of his journey to Holland, and he then reported that he
had visited "as beautiful a land as one can tread upon." Hearing
from him also that great bargains in furs could be made with the
Indians, Dutch merchants soon sent out vessels to establish trading
stations near Albany and on Manhattan Island.
While the Dutch were thus bartering, Hudson, set free, started out
on a voyage for England. Sailing farther north, in search of a
passage to India, he came, in 1611, to the bay which still bears his
name. Here his crew suffered so much from the cold climate that,
in their anger against their captain, they put him, his son, and
seven sick men in a boat, and cut them adrift. The ship came back to
Europe in safety, but nothing more was ever heard of Hudson or the
unfortunate sailors with him.
The Dutch soon built Fort Orange on the Hudson, near Albany, Fort
Nas´sau on the Delaware, and, later, a fort on Manhattan Island.
Here, in 1614, they founded the colony later called New Am´ster-dam,
on the very spot where a shipwrecked captain had built the first
Dutch-American vessel about one year before. Little by little the
Dutch now took possession of the land along the Hudson River and New
York Bay. They built comfortable houses of bricks brought over from
Holland, and before long had many thrifty farms in what they called
the New Neth´er-lands.
XXVIII. THE MAYFLOWER.
While the Spaniards were settling in Florida and New Mexico, the
French in Acadia, and the Dutch in the New Netherlands, the English,
as we have seen, had also been busy. In Virginia they had founded
Jamestown, and Gosnold and John Smith had visited and named several
places in New England, such as Cape Cod and the Charles River.
During the next few years several attempts were made to found a
colony in New England, but all failed. Still, although no real
settlements were made, English fishing vessels were often seen
along the coast, where codfish could easily be caught and dried.
The captain of one of these fishing boats is said to have captured
twenty-four Indians, whom he carried off to sell as slaves. Among
these savages was one named Squan´to. He was taken first to Spain
and then to England before he was shipped back to his native land.
When poor Squanto finally reached the New England shores once more
he found everything sadly changed. During his absence a terrible
plague had broken out and swept away nearly all his tribe. Wigwams,
fields, hunting and fishing grounds were now deserted, and the few
Indians who had escaped death had gone to live elsewhere. Squanto
therefore joined another tribe, to whom he soon proved very useful,
for he had learned enough English to serve as interpreter between
them and the fishermen.
Nowadays people can be of any religion they choose, but in the
beginning of the seventeenth century every one was expected to
practice the religion of the country in which he lived. After
following the Roman Catholic religion for about nine centuries, the
English, in the middle of the sixteenth century, suddenly decided
that England should have a church of her own. Their king, Henry
VIII., said that while the pope was head of the Roman Catholic
Church, he would henceforth be head of the An´gli-can or English
Church. He added that all his subjects would have to attend the
services of that church, and pay a tax to him for its support, just
as they had done to the pope.
Although there were a great many people quite willing to do this,
others said that nothing would induce them to give up the Roman
Catholic religion. These people were very firm, and although the
king tried to force them to change their religion, many of them
bravely died rather than do what they considered wrong.
At first there were only Roman Catholics and Anglicans in England.
But after a time some of the Anglicans said that they wanted a
plainer and _purer_ religion. They repeated this so often that
before long they were known all over England as the Pu´ri-tans.
Next, some of the Puritans refused to go to the Anglican Church at
all, or to pay for its support, and because they did this they were
treated just as unkindly as the Roman Catholics.
Those Puritans who separated themselves from their brethren
and refused to go to the Anglican Church were soon called
Sep´a-ra-tists. They were held in great contempt, and persecuted by
all those who did not believe exactly as they did. After standing
this for several years, some of them left England in 1607, and after
many trials founded a Separatist colony at Leȳ´den in Holland.
Here they had to work very hard to make a living; and although they
tried to keep their children apart from the rest of the people, they
soon saw that the boys and girls were learning the Dutch language
and ways so rapidly that before long they would cease to be English.
The Separatists therefore began to wonder where they could go so
their children would hear nothing but the English language, have no
dealings with people of a different religion, and still have a fair
chance to make a living.
They finally decided to go to the New World, and sent to ask King
James's permission to found a colony in a place where, while
remaining his faithful subjects, they could worship as they pleased.
James allowed them to go to America, but refused to give them a
paper granting all the rights they wished. Still, as the Separatists
knew that the king was as likely to break a written promise as a
verbal one, they made up their minds to run the risk.
Too poor to hire vessels to carry them and their goods across the
ocean, the Separatists borrowed the necessary money from English
speculators, promising that all their earnings for the next seven
years should be equally divided between the merchants and the
colonists. Then, hearing that none but Church of England people
would be received in Virginia, they decided to settle in the land
Hudson had described so favorably.
As the Separatists were about to set out on a long pilgrimage, or
journey, for the sake of their religion, they took the name of
Pilgrims. The youngest and strongest among them were to go out
first, under the guidance of one of their teachers, Elder Brewster.
But all the old and feeble members were to remain in Holland a
little longer, in charge of their minister, Mr. Rob´in-son. After
a last feast together, and a solemn parting prayer, the Pilgrims
received their pastor's blessing, said good-by to their friends, and
embarked on the _Speedwell_ at Delfs-ha´ven. The spot whence they
started is now marked by a monument commemorating their departure,
and from there Robinson prayerfully watched them until they were
out of sight. Although their vessel was old and leaky, the Pilgrims
reached South-amp´ton safely. Here they found friends waiting for
them, and all ready to sail in the _Mayflower_. After a short delay
both vessels set out together; but they soon had to put back,
because the _Speedwell_ proved unsafe. Leaving it at Plymouth, one
hundred and two of the most determined Pilgrims embarked on the
_Mayflower_, which set out alone to cross the Atlantic Ocean (1620).
[Illustration: The Mayflower.]
In those times all travel, whether by land or sea, was very slow.
It was therefore only after sixty-three days that the _Mayflower_,
driven out of its course by a storm, reached Cape Cod Bay. Thus,
you see, it came to the shores of New England instead of New York
or New Jersey. During that long and tempestuous journey one of the
passengers died; but as one little baby was born on the ship, the
Pilgrims still numbered one hundred and two souls.
XXIX. PLYMOUTH ROCK.
The season was so far advanced when the Pilgrims reached our
northeast coast, and the seas were so rough, that the captain of
the _Mayflower_ said it would not be safe to go any farther. So the
Pilgrims, who were tired of the ship and eager to begin building
their new homes, decided to settle in New England. Before they left
the ship, however, the men assembled in the little cabin to draw
up a paper, in which they pledged themselves to be true to their
country, king, and religion, and to obey any laws made for the good
of the colony. Then they elected John Carver, one of their number,
as governor for one year, and named Miles Stand´ish, an old soldier,
their captain.
[Illustration: The First Wash Day.]
While the women hastened ashore to wash their linen, Standish and
his little band of Pilgrim soldiers began to explore the coast to
find the best spot for their settlement. For a few days they tramped
up and down on Cape Cod, once only catching a glimpse of an Indian
and a dog. But finally they came to a ruined wigwam, where they saw
a copper kettle. This showed them that Europeans had been there
before. Soon after they found some buried corn, and carried it off,
intending to pay the owners for it later.
About three weeks after this, some Pilgrims and seamen took a boat
and sailed off to make a more extensive exploration of the coast.
After going a long distance they landed, and as they walked along
they were surprised to find so many graves, for they did not know
then that the plague had raged there two years before. Early one
day, after spending an uncomfortable night out of doors, and saying
their morning prayers, the explorers were startled by a terrible
Indian war whoop, and a flight of arrows fell all around them.
But Miles Standish was so brave a man that he made his men stand
firm and drive the Indians away. The Indians had attacked the party
only because they fancied that the Pilgrims had come to steal
Indians, as the fishermen had done several times before.
The Pilgrims now continued their explorations in the midst of a
driving snowstorm. Their rudder broke, and they had to steer with
their oars. Finally they were driven ashore, where they kindled
a fire, spending Sunday in prayer and praise, and resuming their
journey only on Monday morning.
On December 21 or 22 they again ran ashore, landing on a rock,
since called "the stepping-stone of New England," and now carefully
preserved and known as "Plymouth Rock." The land around seemed so
favorable that they decided to plant their colony here, naming it
Plymouth, in honor of the last English town they had seen before
leaving old England.
As the landing of the Pilgrim fathers is one of the great events of
our history, the anniversary of their coming is still kept in New
England and elsewhere, and is known as "Forefathers' Day."
[Illustration: Landing on Plymouth Rock.]
While Standish and his men were busy exploring, the _Mayflower_ rode
at anchor, and its inmates barely escaped a horrible death. One of
the colonists, named Bil´ling-ton, having, gone into the cabin to
get powder, carelessly left the barrel open. His boy, a mischievous
youngster, crept into the cabin unseen, and began playing with a
gun. Of course it went off unexpectedly, and the child came very
near setting fire to the powder in the barrel, and thus blowing up
the _Mayflower_ and all on board.
As soon as Standish had made his report, the anchor was raised, and
four days later the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock. The first
woman to set foot upon it, we are told, was a Puritan maiden. Soon
all the settlers were very busy building a storehouse for their
provisions, and homes for themselves.
The men, exposed to the bad weather, caught such heavy colds that
before long all were ill, and when the storehouse and a log hut were
finished, both had to serve as hospitals for the sick. In spite of
an unusually mild winter, the colonists found their close quarters
on the _Mayflower_ and in damp log houses so uncomfortable that they
suffered greatly.
At one time all but seven were seriously ill, and in the course of
the winter nearly half of their number perished. Grave after grave
was dug in the frozen ground, but the Pilgrims dared not mark them
in any way, lest the Indians should discover how many of the white
men had died. They were careful about this, because, although they
had not seen any, they knew that Indians were lurking near them, for
tools left in the woods a few hours had mysteriously vanished.
XXX. THE FIRST AMERICAN THANKSGIVING.