Captain John Smith already had lived an exciting life by the time he
joined the Virginia-bound colonists at the age of 26. He had left
England at 16 to become a soldier of fortune on the continent of Europe.
He fought with the Austrians against the Turks, and once in single
combat he cut off the heads of three Turkish champions. A Transylvanian
prince rewarded him with a coat of arms for his deeds. Later he was
captured and given as a present to the wife of a Turkish pasha, but he
escaped and made his way back to England.
Smith’s adventures are so fantastic that many historians have called him
a liar and refused to believe him. Yet recent historical research shows
that Smith’s stories are reasonably accurate. He may have exaggerated
his adventures to make a good story a little better, but it is probably
true that Smith saved the Jamestown colony by his resourceful foraging
among the Indians and by his bold leadership. Certainly he was an
energetic and able man. For a fascinating account of Smith’s career, as
verified by an expert in Hungarian history, see Marshall Fishwick, “Was
John Smith a Liar?” _American Heritage_, IX, 29-33, 110 (October, 1958).
Smith returned to England in 1609 and never again saw Virginia, but he
wrote much about the colony. One of his most interesting works is a
pamphlet called _A Map of Virginia_. In it he put together a vivid
eyewitness account of the animals, the plants, and the Indians. Smith’s
booklet was designed to satisfy the great curiosity in England about the
New World and to urge new settlers to go there. He does not mention the
hardships.