CHAPTER XII.CONCLUSION

Powhatan left no doubt of his friendly feeling towards Captain Smith when, six weeks after he started on his voyage up the Chickahominy, the sachem allowed him to return under guard to Jamestown. He received a warm welcome from his countrymen, and the Indians who had come with him were sent back to Powhatan with many presents for themselves, and still more for the American Emperor himself.

It is one of the many proofs of the fine character of Captain John Smith and of his great service to the colony, that, brief as had been his absence, the settlement had reached the verge of ruin. The little church had been burned, and the good minister held religious services under the trees. Of the more than a hundred men who had come across the ocean a few months before, only forty were alive. On the very day that Smith arrived at the settlement, the new President Ratcliffe and several of his friends had seized the pinnace-the only boat left-and were about to sail for England. This was the third attempt of that kind, and it was defeated again by Smith, whowould have shot every man of them had they not come back to land and surrendered.

Now, what do you suppose was the next step of those wicked persons? You must remember that they had other friends, base as they were. They said that under the old Levitical law Smith was guilty of the deaths of the men that had been slain by Indians. They would have hanged him on the charge, had he not ended the business by arresting his accusers, and warning them that, if they caused him any more trouble, he would hang them all.

Woeful times now came to Jamestown. You would think they could be no more dreadful than those through which the settlement had already passed, but the poor people, besides quarrelling among themselves, began starving to death. The gaunt, famished settlers staggered along the single street, too feeble to rise when they stumbled and fell. All they could do was to creep into their cabins and lie down, moaning and waiting for death to end their sufferings. It looked as if not a man would be left alive, and about the only one who kept his feet and moved freely about was Captain Smith. He was always cheery and hopeful, and helped others by his good spirits, which seemed never to leave him.

But the day came when even this brave man saw no hope. He did not know whereto get the next mouthful of food without going among the Indians, and his companions were too worn and weak to be taken with him. He would not leave them to their sad fate, but was ready to die among them, as he had been from the first.

Standing moodily on the outside of the palisades, with arms folded and looking off along the trail that led into the forest toward York River, he suddenly saw a strange sight. A girl came out from among the trees, bearing a basket of corn on her shoulder. He had hardly time to recognize her as Pocahontas when he saw she was followed by other Indians. On came the procession, until he counted eighteen. The one next to her was Nantaquas, and, filing after him, were other warriors, every one of whom carried a basket of corn or a haunch of venison. Providence had moved their hearts with pity for the perishing white men, and their timely visit with food saved them when, but for such kindness, all must have perished.

No wonder the grateful English ever after referred to the good maiden as "the dear and blessed Pocahontas." She came once or twice a week for months, bringing supplies through the woods from the York River to Jamestown. It was she who took the first step in this good work, and Powhatan was willing, for he felt friendly at the time towardsthe whites. Years after, in a letter to the Queen, Captain Smith referred to these acts of Pocahontas in the following quaint words:

"During the time of two or three years she next under God, was still the instrument to preserve this colony from death, famine, and utter confusion, which, if in those days had once been dissolved, Virginia might have lain as it was at our first arrival to this day."

I have not the space to tell you the later history of Virginia. Its troubles were by no means ended, and many dark days followed-days when it looked as if nothing could save the colony from passing away. I have aimed rather to show something of the great services of Pocahontas, daughter of Powhatan, who ruled over thirty tribes of Indians, She never showed any weakening of her friendship for the white people. Sometimes her father became offended with them and went to war, but nothing could shake her good will. He even grew angry with her, but, though parent and child could not quarrel the maiden only became more guarded in her deeds of kindness, when Powhatan happened to be in one of his ugly moods.

There was a time when the chieftain's enmity against Smith became so deep that he used every means he could think of to have him put to death. The Captain was ready to fight the Emperor, when nothing else wasleft. He set out one day with a strong company to surprise Powhatan. He had not been gone long when nine of those whom he had left at home went out in a boat in a severe storm. The craft was capsized and the whole party drowned. Smith had ordered these men to hold themselves ready to join him whenever he sent for them. It was important that he should be told of the calamity as soon as possible, so that his own expedition might not fail through lack of the aid he might need.

The task of reaching Smith through the many miles of wilderness was so dangerous that only one man in the colony was willing to make the attempt. He was captured by Indians and taken before Powhatan at Werowocomoco, and the chieftain ordered him to be put to death. Without drawing suspicion to herself, Pocahontas got him a short distance away in the woods, and hid him among the bushes. He would have been found and brought back by the warriors who set out to search for him had she not cunningly led them in a wrong direction. The man gained enough start to join Smith, and tell him of the sad accident to the men whom he had counted upon for help.

Some time later, when matters seemed to have quieted, a party of colonists went among Powhatan's people to trade, but all exceptone was massacred. Pocahontas succeeded in saving his life, and he lived many years, secure in her friendship, among the Indians.

In 1609 Captain Smith, while on one of his exploring expeditions, was so painfully burned by the accidental explosion of a bag of gunpowder, that he suffered great agony. Good medical treatment could not be given him at Jamestown, and he sailed for England. He never came back to Virginia, which was a great misfortune, since no man could be found fitted to take his place. Of the five hundred whom he left behind, only sixty were alive at the end of six months. History refers to this fearful period of Virginia as "the Starving Time."

When, at last, conditions improved through the steady coming of immigrants, Captain Argall started on a cruise up James River. He invited Pocahontas to visit his vessel, and she, dreaming of no evil, came aboard with an Indian woman, who had been bribed to play her part, under the promise of Argall that no harm should befall the girl. The woman was allowed to go ashore, but Pocahontas was kept as a prisoner. The expectation of Argall was that Powhatan would be glad to pay a large ransom with corn for her return to him. Instead of doing so, the furious sachem prepared to wage a savage war against the colony.

During these troublous weeks Pocahontas stayed at Jamestown, where everyone treated her kindly. John Rolfe, a member of a good English family, became interested in the maiden, and she returned his affection. He was a good Churchman, and talked to Pocahontas about the true religion. She listened with deep interest, and soon showed that no one understood the mysteries of the Christian faith better than she. She was truly converted, and asked that she might be baptized. In the quaint little chapel at Jamestown, whose columns were the rough pines from the forest, whose pews were fragrant cedar, and whose communion table and pulpit were of black walnut, this Princess of the Woods knelt before the font hewn out of a log, made the responses in broken English, and received the baptismal name of Rebecca.

Rolfe and Pocahontas were married in the month of April, 1613. Although Powhatan did not attend the ceremony, he cheerfully gave his consent, and sent his brother and two of his sons to represent him. One of these was our old friend Nantaquas, who was highly pleased with the marriage. The uncle of Pocahontas gave her away in accordance with the Anglican ritual. The windows of the chapel were festooned with evergreens, wild flowers, and crimson hollyberries. The communion table was covered with spotlesswhite linen, and on it rested bread from the wheat fields and wine from the native grapes. The settlers and Indian visitors crowded the small building, and gazed with deep interest upon the beautiful picture.

When the bride and groom appeared, she was dressed in a simple tunic of white muslin, with her comely arms bared to the shoulders. Sir Thomas Dale had presented her with a rich robe, which she had herself embroidered. Her abundant black hair flowed down her back, and was encircled by a fillet, filled with the bright plumage of birds, and holding in its fastenings a cloudlike, misty veil. A few simple articles of jewelry gleamed on her wrists. Modest, loving, and beautiful, she made a charming bride.

Nor must we forget the groom. He had a manly figure, and with his short, full beard, an attractive countenance. He was dressed like an English cavalier, and wore a short sword on his thigh as a mark of distinction. The two stood upon the chancel steps, which had no railing, and there the clergyman, with impressive voice and manner, amid the breathless hush of the spectators, made the two man and wife.

This union was a happy one in every respect. Husband and wife devotedly loved each other, and Powhatan became the true friend of the English, and so remained tothe close of his life. When Governor Dale sailed for England in 1616, he took Rolfe and Pocahontas with him. She was called "Lady Rebecca," and surely it was proper that she should wear such honor, for was she not the daughter of the Greatest American King of his time? She received marked attention from the court and leading dignitaries in England, and everything was done to make her feel happy in a land so new and strange to her.

It was natural that Pocahontas should feel anxious to meet her old friend Captain Smith. He was the first whom she asked about, but, to her grief, she was told that he was dead. While mourning for him, the Captain called upon her. She was so shocked that she burst into tears, and asked why the deception had been used. All sorts of explanations and excuses were made; but you will agree with me that none was sufficient to justify such cruel treatment.

She soon regained her cheerfulness, and the two sat down and had a long talk over their lives in the land, three thousand miles away, in the depth of the American woods. She called the Captain "father," and he returned by speaking to her as "daughter."

Since I know you feel an interest in the brave Captain John Smith, I will say in this place that he sailed along the coast of NewEngland in 1614, and gave the name of Boston to the principal city in that region, besides partially exploring the country. He spent his last years in London, engaged in writing his histories. He died in 1631, and was buried under the chancel of St. Sepulchre's Church. The opening of the poetical inscription is, "Here lies one conquered, that hath conquered kings," and the close of the prayer is, that "with angels he might have his recompense."

Rolfe and his wife had made ready to sail for the New World, when, at the beginning of the year 1617, she fell ill at Gravesend, and died at the age of twenty-two years. She left an infant son, Thomas, who was taken to London and educated by his uncle, Henry Rolfe. When he reached manhood he returned to America, gained a large fortune, and became a gentleman of distinction. From him some of the leading families in Virginia today are proud to trace their descent.

By the way, I may add, as an interesting coincidence, the fact that the home ofLittle Folks, "LaBelle Sauvage," was thus named in honor of Pocahontas, the "Princess of the Woods."

EDNA'S SACRIFICE

BY FRANCES HENSHAW BADEN

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