On the 10th of September, by the election of the Council and therequest of the company, Captain Smith received the letters-patent,and became President. He stopped the building of Ratcliffe's"palace," repaired the church and the storehouse, got ready thebuildings for the supply expected from England, reduced the fort to a"five square form," set and trained the watch and exercised thecompany every Saturday on a plain called Smithfield, to the amazementof the on-looking Indians.
Captain Newport arrived with a new supply of seventy persons. Amongthem were Captain Francis West, brother to Lord Delaware, CaptainPeter Winne, and Captain Peter Waldo, appointed on the Council, eightDutchmen and Poles, and Mistress Forest and Anne Burrows1 her maid,the first white women in the colony.
Smith did not relish2 the arrival of Captain Newport nor theinstructions under which he returned. He came back commanded todiscover the country of Monacan (above the Falls) and to perform theceremony of coronation on the Emperor Powhatan.
How Newport got this private commission when he had returned toEngland without a lump of gold, nor any certainty of the South Sea,or one of the lost company sent out by Raleigh; and why he brought a"fine peeced barge3" which must be carried over unknown mountainsbefore it reached the South Sea, he could not understand. "As forthe coronation of Powhatan and his presents of basin and ewer4, bed,bedding, clothes, and such costly5 novelties, they had been muchbetter well spared than so ill spent, for we had his favor and betterfor a plain piece of copper6, till this stately kind of solicitingmade him so much overvalue himself that he respected us as much asnothing at all." Smith evidently understood the situation muchbetter than the promoters in England; and we can quite excuse him inhis rage over the foolishness and greed of most of his companions.
There was little nonsense about Smith in action, though he need notturn his hand on any man of that age as a boaster.
To send out Poles and Dutchmen to make pitch, tar7, and glass wouldhave been well enough if the colony had been firmly established andsupplied with necessaries; and they might have sent two hundredcolonists instead of seventy, if they had ordered them to go to workcollecting provisions of the Indians for the winter, instead ofattempting this strange discovery of the South Sea, and wasting theirtime on a more strange coronation. "Now was there no way," asksSmith, "to make us miserable8," but by direction from England toperform this discovery and coronation, "to take that time, spend whatvictuals we had, tire and starve our men, having no means to carryvictuals, ammunition10, the hurt or the sick, but on their own backs?"Smith seems to have protested against all this nonsense, but thoughhe was governor, the Council overruled him. Captain Newport decidedto take one hundred and twenty men, fearing to go with a less numberand journey to Werowocomoco to crown Powhatan. In order to save timeSmith offered to take a message to Powhatan, and induce him to cometo Jamestown and receive the honor and the presents. Accompanied byonly four men he crossed by land to Werowocomoco, passed thePamaunkee (York) River in a canoe, and sent for Powhatan, who wasthirty miles off. Meantime Pocahontas, who by his own account was amere child, and her women entertained Smith in the following manner:
"In a fayre plaine they made a fire, before which, sitting upon amat, suddenly amongst the woods was heard such a hydeous noise andshreeking that the English betook themselves to their armes, andseized upon two or three old men, by them supposing Powhatan with allhis power was come to surprise them. But presently Pocahontas came,willing him to kill her if any hurt were intended, and the beholders,which were men, women and children, satisfied the Captaine that therewas no such matter. Then presently they were presented with thisanticke: Thirty young women came naked out of the woods, only coveredbehind and before with a few greene leaves, their bodies all painted,some of one color, some of another, but all differing; their leaderhad a fayre payre of Bucks11 hornes on her head, and an Otters12 skinneat her girdle, and another at her arme, a quiver of arrows at herbacke, a bow and arrows in her hand; the next had in her hand asword, another a club, another a pot-sticke: all horned alike; therest every one with their several devises. These fiends with mosthellish shouts and cries, rushing from among the trees, castthemselves in a ring about the fire, singing and dancing with mostexcellent ill-varietie, oft falling into their infernal passions, andsolemnly again to sing and dance; having spent nearly an hour in thisMascarado, as they entered, in like manner they departed.
"Having reaccommodated themselves, they solemnly invited him to theirlodgings, where he was no sooner within the house, but all theseNymphs more tormented14 him than ever, with crowding, pressing, andhanging about him, most tediously crying, 'Love you not me? Love younot me?' This salutation ended, the feast was set, consisting of allthe Salvage15 dainties they could devise: some attending, otherssinging and dancing about them: which mirth being ended, with firebrands instead of torches they conducted him to his lodging13."The next day Powhatan arrived. Smith delivered up the IndianNamontuck, who had just returned from a voyage to England--whither itwas suspected the Emperor wished him to go to spy out the weakness ofthe English tribe--and repeated Father Newport's request thatPowhatan would come to Jamestown to receive the presents and join inan expedition against his enemies, the Monacans.
Powhatan's reply was worthy16 of his imperial highness, and has beencopied ever since in the speeches of the lords of the soil to thepale faces: "If your king has sent me present, I also am a king, andthis is my land: eight days I will stay to receive them. Your fatheris to come to me, not I to him, nor yet to your fort, neither will Ibite at such a bait; as for the Monacans, I can revenge my owninjuries."This was the lofty potentate17 whom Smith, by his way of management,could have tickled18 out of his senses with a glass bead19, and who wouldinfinitely have preferred a big shining copper kettle to themisplaced honor intended to be thrust upon him, but the offer ofwhich puffed20 him up beyond the reach of negotiation21. Smith returnedwith his message. Newport despatched the presents round by water ahundred miles, and the Captains, with fifty soldiers, went over landto Werowocomoco, where occurred the ridiculous ceremony of thecoronation, which Smith describes with much humor. "The next day,"he says, "was appointed for the coronation. Then the presents werebrought him, his bason and ewer, bed and furniture set up, hisscarlet cloke and apparel, with much adoe put on him, being persuadedby Namontuck they would not hurt him. But a foule trouble there wasto make him kneel to receive his Crown; he not knowing the majestynor wearing of a Crown, nor bending of the knee, endured so manypersuasions, examples and instructions as tyred them all. At last bybearing hard on his shoulders, he a little stooped, and three havingthe crown in their hands put it on his head, when by the warning of apistoll the boats were prepared with such a volley of shot that theking start up in a horrible feare, till he saw all was well. Thenremembering himself to congratulate their kindness he gave his oldshoes and his mantell to Captain Newport!"The Monacan expedition the King discouraged, and refused to furnishfor it either guides or men. Besides his old shoes, the crownedmonarch charitably gave Newport a little heap of corn, only seven oreight bushels, and with this little result the absurd expeditionreturned to Jamestown.
Shortly after Captain Newport with a chosen company of one hundredand twenty men (leaving eighty with President Smith in the fort) andaccompanied by Captain Waldo, Lieutenant22 Percy, Captain Winne, Mr.
West, and Mr. Scrivener, who was eager for adventure, set off for thediscovery of Monacan. The expedition, as Smith predicted, wasfruitless: the Indians deceived them and refused to trade, and thecompany got back to Jamestown, half of them sick, all grumbling23, andworn out with toil24, famine, and discontent.
Smith at once set the whole colony to work, some to make glass, tar,pitch, and soap-ashes, and others he conducted five miles down theriver to learn to fell trees and make clapboards. In this companywere a couple of gallants, lately come over, Gabriel Beadle and JohnRussell, proper gentlemen, but unused to hardships, whom Smith hasimmortalized by his novel cure of their profanity. They took gaylyto the rough life, and entered into the attack on the forest sopleasantly that in a week they were masters of chopping: "making ittheir delight to hear the trees thunder as they fell, but the axes sooften blistered25 their tender fingers that many times every third blowhad a loud othe to drown the echo; for remedie of which sinne thePresident devised how to have every man's othes numbered, and atnight for every othe to have a Canne of water powred downe hissleeve, with which every offender26 was so washed (himself and all),that a man would scarce hear an othe in a weake." In the clearing ofour country since, this excellent plan has fallen into desuetude27, forwant of any pious28 Captain Smith in the logging camps.
These gentlemen, says Smith, did not spend their time in wood-logginglike hirelings, but entered into it with such spirit that thirty ofthem would accomplish more than a hundred of the sort that had to bedriven to work; yet, he sagaciously adds, "twenty good workmen hadbeen better than them all."Returning to the fort, Smith, as usual, found the time consumed andno provisions got, and Newport's ship lying idle at a great charge.
With Percy he set out on an expedition for corn to the Chickahominy,which the insolent29 Indians, knowing their want, would not supply.
Perceiving that it was Powhatan's policy to starve them (as if it wasthe business of the Indians to support all the European vagabonds andadventurers who came to dispossess them of their country), Smith gaveout that he came not so much for corn as to revenge his imprisonmentand the death of his men murdered by the Indians, and proceeded tomake war. This high-handed treatment made the savages31 sue for peace,and furnish, although they complained of want themselves, owing to abad harvest, a hundred bushels of corn.
This supply contented32 the company, who feared nothing so much asstarving, and yet, says Smith, so envied him that they would ratherhazard starving than have him get reputation by his vigorous conduct.
There is no contemporary account of that period except this whichSmith indited33. He says that Newport and Ratcliffe conspired34 not onlyto depose35 him but to keep him out of the fort; since being Presidentthey could not control his movements, but that their horns were muchtoo short to effect it.
At this time in the "old Taverne," as Smith calls the fort, everybodywho had money or goods made all he could by trade; soldiers, sailors,and savages were agreed to barter36, and there was more care tomaintain their damnable and private trade than to provide the thingsnecessary for the colony. In a few weeks the whites had barteredaway nearly all the axes, chisels37, hoes, and picks, and what powder,shot, and pikeheads they could steal, in exchange for furs, baskets,young beasts and such like commodities. Though the supply of furswas scanty39 in Virginia, one master confessed he had got in one voyageby this private trade what he sold in England for thirty pounds.
"These are the Saint-seeming Worthies40 of Virginia," indignantlyexclaims the President, "that have, notwithstanding all this, meate,drinke, and wages." But now they began to get weary of the country,their trade being prevented. "The loss, scorn, and misery41 was thepoor officers, gentlemen and careless governors, who were bought andsold." The adventurers were cheated, and all their actionsoverthrown by false information and unwise directions.
Master Scrivener was sent with the barges42 and pinnace toWerowocomoco, where by the aid of Namontuck he procured43 a littlecorn, though the savages were more ready to fight than to trade. Atlength Newport's ship was loaded with clapboards, pitch, tar, glass,frankincense (?) and soapashes, and despatched to England. About twohundred men were left in the colony. With Newport, Smith sent hisfamous letter to the Treasurer44 and Council in England. It is so gooda specimen45 of Smith's ability with the pen, reveals so well hissagacity and knowledge of what a colony needed, and exposes soclearly the ill-management of the London promoters, and the conditionof the colony, that we copy it entire. It appears by this letterthat Smith's "Map of Virginia," and his description of the countryand its people, which were not published till 1612, were sent by thisopportunity. Captain Newport sailed for England late in the autumnof 1608. The letter reads:
RIGHT HONORABLE, ETC.:
I received your letter wherein you write that our minds are so setupon faction46, and idle conceits47 in dividing the country without yourconsents, and that we feed you but with ifs and ands, hopes and somefew proofes; as if we would keepe the mystery of the businesse toourselves: and that we must expressly follow your instructions sentby Captain Newport: the charge of whose voyage amounts to neare twothousand pounds, the which if we cannot defray by the ships returnewe are likely to remain as banished48 men. To these particulars Ihumbly intreat your pardons if I offend you with my rude answer.
For our factions50, unless you would have me run away and leave thecountry, I cannot prevent them; because I do make many stay thatwould else fly away whither. For the Idle letter sent to my Lord ofSalisbury, by the President and his confederates, for dividing thecountry, &c., what it was I know not, for you saw no hand of mine toit; nor ever dream't I of any such matter. That we feed you withhopes, &c. Though I be no scholar, I am past a schoolboy; and Idesire but to know what either you and these here doe know, but thatI have learned to tell you by the continuall hazard of my life. Ihave not concealed51 from you anything I know; but I feare some causeyou to believe much more than is true.
Expressly to follow your directions by Captain Newport, though theybe performed, I was directly against it; but according to ourcommission, I was content to be overouled by the major part of theCouncill, I feare to the hazard of us all; which now is generallyconfessed when it is too late. Onely Captaine Winne and CaptaineWalclo I have sworne of the Councill, and crowned Powhattan accordingto your instructions.
For the charge of the voyage of two or three thousand pounds we havenot received the value of one hundred pounds, and for the quarteredboat to be borne by the souldiers over the falls. Newport had 120 ofthe best men he could chuse. If he had burnt her to ashes, one mighthave carried her in a bag, but as she is, five hundred cannot to anavigable place above the falls. And for him at that time to find inthe South Sea a mine of gold; or any of them sent by Sir WalterRaleigh; at our consultation52 I told them was as likely as the rest.
But during this great discovery of thirtie miles (which might as wellhave been done by one man, and much more, for the value of a pound ofcopper at a seasonable tyme), they had the pinnace and all the boatswith them but one that remained with me to serve the fort. In theirabsence I followed the new begun works of Pitch and Tarre, Glasse,Sope-ashes, Clapboord, whereof some small quantities we have sentyou. But if you rightly consider what an infinite toyle it is inRussia and Swethland, where the woods are proper for naught53 els, andthough there be the helpe both of man and beast in those ancientcommonwealths, which many an hundred years have used it, yetthousands of those poor people can scarce get necessaries to live,but from hand to mouth, and though your factors there can buy as muchin a week as will fraught54 you a ship, or as much as you please, youmust not expect from us any such matter, which are but as many ofignorant, miserable soules, that are scarce able to get wherewith tolive, and defend ourselves against the inconstant Salvages55: findingbut here and there a tree fit for the purpose, and want all thingselse the Russians have. For the Coronation of Powhattan, by whoseadvice you sent him such presents, I know not; but this give me leaveto tell you, I feare they will be the confusion of us all ere weheare from you again. At your ships arrivall, the Salvages harvestwas newly gathered, and we going to buy it, our owne not being halvesufficient for so great a number. As for the two ships loading ofcorne Newport promised to provide us from Powhattan, he brought usbut fourteen bushels; and from the Monacans nothing, but the most ofthe men sicke and neare famished56. From your ship we had notprovision in victuals9 worth twenty pound, and we are more than twohundred to live upon this, the one halfe sicke, the other littlebetter. For the saylers (I confesse), they daily make good cheare,but our dyet is a little meale and water, and not sufficient of that.
Though there be fish in the Sea, fowles in the ayre, and beasts inthe woods, their bounds are so large, they so wilde, and we so weakeand ignorant, we cannot much trouble them. Captaine Newport we muchsuspect to be the Author of these inventions. Now that you shouldknow, I have made you as great a discovery as he, for less chargethan he spendeth you every meale; I had sent you this mappe of theCountries and Nations that inhabit them, as you may see at large.
Also two barrels of stones, and such as I take to be good. Iron oreat the least; so divided, as by their notes you may see in whatplaces I found them. The souldiers say many of your officersmaintaine their families out of that you sent us, and that Newporthath an hundred pounds a year for carrying newes. For every masteryou have yet sent can find the way as well as he, so that an hundredpounds might be spared, which is more than we have all, that helps topay him wages. Cap. Ratliffe is now called Sicklemore, a poorecounterfeited Imposture57. I have sent you him home least the Companyshould cut his throat. What he is, now every one can tell you: if heand Archer58 returne againe, they are sufficient to keep us always infactions. When you send againe I entreat59 you rather send but thirtycarpenters, husbandmen, gardiners, fishermen, blacksmiths, masons,and diggers up of trees roots, well provided, then a thousand of suchas we have; for except wee be able both to lodge60 them, and feed them,the most will consume with want of necessaries before they can bemade good for anything. Thus if you please to consider this account,and the unnecessary wages to Captaine Newport, or his ships so longlingering and staying here (for notwithstanding his boasting to leaveus victuals for 12 months, though we had 89 by this discovery lameand sicke, and but a pinte of corne a day for a man, we wereconstrained to give him three hogsheads of that to victuall himhomeward), or yet to send into Germany or Poleland for glassemen andthe rest, till we be able to sustaine ourselves, and releeve themwhen they come. It were better to give five hundred pound a ton forthose grosse Commodities in Denmarke, then send for them hither, tillmore necessary things be provided. For in over-toyling our weake andunskilfull bodies, to satisfy this desire of present profit, we canscarce ever recover ourselves from one supply to another. And Ihumbly intreat you hereafter, let us have what we should receive, andnot stand to the Saylers courtesie to leave us what they please, elsyou may charge us what you will, but we not you with anything. Theseare the causes that have kept us in Virginia from laying such afoundation that ere this might have given much better content andsatisfaction, but as yet you must not look for any profitablereturning. So I humbly49 rest.
After the departure of Newport, Smith, with his accustomedresolution, set to work to gather supplies for the winter. Corn hadto be extorted62 from the Indians by force. In one expedition toNansemond, when the Indians refused to trade, Smith fired upon them,and then landed and burned one of their houses; whereupon theysubmitted and loaded his three boats with corn. The ground wascovered with ice and snow, and the nights were bitterly cold. Thedevice for sleeping warm in the open air was to sweep the snow awayfrom the ground and build a fire; the fire was then raked off fromthe heated earth and a mat spread, upon which the whites lay warm,sheltered by a mat hung up on the windward side, until the ground gotcold, when they builded a fire on another place. Many a cold winternight did the explorers endure this hardship, yet grew fat and lustyunder it.
About this time was solemnized the marriage of John Laydon and AnneBurrows, the first in Virginia. Anne was the maid of MistressForrest, who had just come out to grow up with the country, and Johnwas a laborer63 who came with the first colony in 1607. This wasactually the "First Family of Virginia," about which so much has beeneloquently said.
Provisions were still wanting. Mr. Scrivener and Mr. Percy returnedfrom an expedition with nothing. Smith proposed to surprisePowhatan, and seize his store of corn, but he says he was hindered inthis project by Captain Winne and Mr. Scrivener (who had heretoforebeen considered one of Smith's friends), whom he now suspected ofplotting his ruin in England.
Powhatan on his part sent word to Smith to visit him, to send him mento build a house, give him a grindstone, fifty swords, some big guns,a cock and a hen, much copper and beads64, in return for which hewould load his ship with corn. Without any confidence in the craftysavage, Smith humored him by sending several workmen, including fourDutchmen, to build him a house. Meantime with two barges and thepinnace and forty-six men, including Lieutenant Percy, Captain Wirt,and Captain William Phittiplace, on the 29th of December he set outon a journey to the Pamaunky, or York, River.
The first night was spent at "Warraskogack," the king of whichwarned Smith that while Powhatan would receive him kindly66 he was onlyseeking an opportunity to cut their throats and seize their arms.
Christmas was kept with extreme winds, rain, frost and snow among thesavages at Kecoughton, where before roaring fires they made merrywith plenty of oysters67, fish, flesh, wild fowls68 and good bread. ThePresident and two others went gunning for birds, and brought down onehundred and forty-eight fowls with three shots.
Ascending the river, on the 12th of January they reachedWerowocomoco. The river was frozen half a mile from the shore, andwhen the barge could not come to land by reason of the ice and muddyshallows, they effected a landing by wading69. Powhatan at theirrequest sent them venison, turkeys, and bread; the next day hefeasted them, and then inquired when they were going, ignoring hisinvitation to them to come. Hereupon followed a long game of fencebetween Powhatan and Captain Smith, each trying to overreach theother, and each indulging profusely70 in lies and pledges. Eachprofessed the utmost love for the other.
Smith upbraided72 him with neglect of his promise to supply them withcorn, and told him, in reply to his demand for weapons, that he hadno arms to spare. Powhatan asked him, if he came on a peacefulerrand, to lay aside his weapons, for he had heard that the Englishcame not so much for trade as to invade his people and possess hiscountry, and the people did not dare to bring in their corn while theEnglish were around.
Powhatan seemed indifferent about the building. The Dutchmen who hadcome to build Powhatan a house liked the Indian plenty better thanthe risk of starvation with the colony, revealed to Powhatan thepoverty of the whites, and plotted to betray them, of which plotSmith was not certain till six months later. Powhatan discoursedeloquently on the advantage of peace over war: "I have seen the deathof all my people thrice," he said, "and not any one living of thosethree generations but myself; I know the difference of peace and warbetter than any in my country. But I am now old and ere long mustdie." He wanted to leave his brothers and sisters in peace. Heheard that Smith came to destroy his country. He asked him what goodit would do to destroy them that provided his food, to drive theminto the woods where they must feed on roots and acorns73; "and be sohunted by you that I can neither rest, eat nor sleep, but my tiredmen must watch, and if a twig74 but break every one crieth, therecometh Captain Smith!" They might live in peace, and trade, if Smithwould only lay aside his arms. Smith, in return, boasted of hispower to get provisions, and said that he had only been restrainedfrom violence by his love for Powhatan; that the Indians came armedto Jamestown, and it was the habit of the whites to wear their arms.
Powhatan then contrasted the liberality of Newport, and told Smiththat while he had used him more kindly than any other chief, he hadreceived from him (Smith) the least kindness of any.
Believing that the palaver75 was only to get an opportunity to cut histhroat, Smith got the savages to break the ice in order to bring upthe barge and load it with corn, and gave orders for his soldiers toland and surprise Powhatan; meantime, to allay76 his suspicions,telling him the lie that next day he would lay aside his arms andtrust Powhatan's promises. But Powhatan was not to be caught withsuch chaff77. Leaving two or three women to talk with the Captain hesecretly fled away with his women, children, and luggage. When Smithperceived this treachery he fired into the "naked devils" who were insight. The next day Powhatan sent to excuse his flight, andpresented him a bracelet78 and chain of pearl and vowed79 eternalfriendship.
With matchlocks lighted, Smith forced the Indians to load the boats;but as they were aground, and could not be got off till high water,he was compelled to spend the night on shore. Powhatan and thetreacherous Dutchmen are represented as plotting to kill Smith thatnight. Provisions were to be brought him with professions offriendship, and Smith was to be attacked while at supper. TheIndians, with all the merry sports they could devise, spent the timetill night, and then returned to Powhatan.
The plot was frustrated80 in the providence81 of God by a strange means.
"For Pocahuntas his dearest jewele and daughter in that dark nightcame through the irksome woods, and told our Captaine good cheershould be sent us by and by; but Powhatan and all the power he couldmake would after come and kill us all, if they that brought it couldnot kill us with our own weapons when we were at supper. Thereforeif we would live she wished us presently to be gone. Such things asshe delighted in he would have given her; but with the tears rollingdown her cheeks she said she durst not to be seen to have any; for ifPowhatan should know it, she were but dead, and so she ran away byherself as she came."[This instance of female devotion is exactly paralleled inD'Albertis's "New Guinea." Abia, a pretty Biota82 girl of seventeen,made her way to his solitary83 habitation at the peril84 of her life, toinform him that the men of Rapa would shortly bring him insects andother presents, in order to get near him without suspicion, and thenkill him. He tried to reward the brave girl by hanging a gold chainabout her neck, but she refused it, saying it would betray her. Hecould only reward her with a fervent85 kiss, upon which she fled.
Smith omits that part of the incident.]
In less than an hour ten burly fellows arrived with great platters ofvictuals, and begged Smith to put out the matches (the smoke of whichmade them sick) and sit down and eat. Smith, on his guard, compelledthem to taste each dish, and then sent them back to Powhatan. Allnight the whites watched, but though the savages lurked86 about, noattack was made. Leaving the four Dutchmen to build Powhatan'shouse, and an Englishman to shoot game for him, Smith next eveningdeparted for Pamaunky.
No sooner had he gone than two of the Dutchmen made their wayoverland to Jamestown, and, pretending Smith had sent them, procuredarms, tools, and clothing. They induced also half a dozen sailors,"expert thieves," to accompany them to live with Powhatan; andaltogether they stole, besides powder and shot, fifty swords, eightpieces, eight pistols, and three hundred hatchets87. Edward Boyntonand Richard Savage30, who had been left with Powhatan, seeing thetreachery, endeavored to escape, but were apprehended88 by the Indians.
At Pamaunky there was the same sort of palaver with Opechancanough,the king, to whom Smith the year before had expounded89 the mysteriesof history, geography, and astronomy. After much fencing in talk,Smith, with fifteen companions, went up to the King's house, wherepresently he found himself betrayed and surrounded by seven hundredarmed savages, seeking his life. His company being dismayed, Smithrestored their courage by a speech, and then, boldly charging theKing with intent to murder him, he challenged him to a single combaton an island in the river, each to use his own arms, but Smith to beas naked as the King. The King still professed71 friendship, and laida great present at the door, about which the Indians lay in ambush90 tokill Smith. But this hero, according to his own account, took promptmeasures. He marched out to the King where he stood guarded by fiftyof his chiefs, seized him by his long hair in the midst of his men,and pointing a pistol at his breast led, him trembling and near deadwith fear amongst all his people. The King gave up his arms, and thesavages, astonished that any man dare treat their king thus, threwdown their bows. Smith, still holding the King by the hair, madethem a bold address, offering peace or war. They chose peace.
In the picture of this remarkable91 scene in the "General Historie,"the savage is represented as gigantic in stature92, big enough to crushthe little Smith in an instant if he had but chosen. Having giventhe savages the choice to load his ship with corn or to load ithimself with their dead carcasses, the Indians so thronged93 in withtheir commodities that Smith was tired of receiving them, and leavinghis comrades to trade, he lay down to rest. When he was asleep theIndians, armed some with clubs, and some with old English swords,entered into the house. Smith awoke in time, seized his arms, andothers coming to his rescue, they cleared the house.
While enduring these perils94, sad news was brought from Jamestown.
Mr. Scrivener, who had letters from England (writes Smith) urging himto make himself Caesar or nothing, declined in his affection forSmith, and began to exercise extra authority. Against the advice ofthe others, he needs must make a journey to the Isle95 of Hogs61, takingwith him in the boat Captain Waldo, Anthony Gosnoll (or Gosnold,believed to be a relative of Captain Bartholomew Gosnold), and eightothers. The boat was overwhelmed in a storm, and sunk, no one knowshow or where. The savages were the first to discover the bodies ofthe lost. News of this disaster was brought to Captain Smith (whodid not disturb the rest by making it known) by Richard Wiffin, whoencountered great dangers on the way. Lodging overnight atPowhatan's, he saw great preparations for war, and found himself inperil. Pocahontas hid him for a time, and by her means, andextraordinary bribes96, in three days' travel he reached Smith.
Powhatan, according to Smith, threatened death to his followers97 ifthey did not kill Smith. At one time swarms98 of natives, unarmed,came bringing great supplies of provisions; this was to put Smith offhis guard, surround him with hundreds of savages, and slay99 him by anambush. But he also laid in ambush and got the better of the craftyfoe with a superior craft. They sent him poisoned food, which madehis company sick, but was fatal to no one. Smith apologizes fortemporizing with the Indians at this time, by explaining that hispurpose was to surprise Powhatan and his store of provisions. Butwhen they stealthily stole up to the seat of that crafty65 chief, theyfound that those "damned Dutchmen" had caused Powhatan to abandon hisnew house at Werowocomoco, and to carry away all his corn andprovisions.
The reward of this wearisome winter campaign was two hundred weightof deer-suet and four hundred and seventy-nine bushels of corn forthe general store. They had not to show such murdering anddestroying as the Spaniards in their "relations," nor heaps and minesof gold and silver; the land of Virginia was barbarous and ill-planted, and without precious jewels, but no Spanish relation couldshow, with such scant38 means, so much country explored, so manynatives reduced to obedience100, with so little bloodshed.
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burrows
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| n.地洞( burrow的名词复数 )v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的第三人称单数 )；翻寻 | |
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relish
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| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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3
barge
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| n.平底载货船，驳船 | |
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4
ewer
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| n.大口水罐 | |
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costly
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| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
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6
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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tar
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| n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于 | |
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8
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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9
victuals
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| n.食物；食品 | |
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10
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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11
bucks
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| n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃 | |
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12
otters
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| n.（水）獭( otter的名词复数 )；獭皮 | |
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13
lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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14
tormented
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| 饱受折磨的 | |
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15
salvage
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| v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救 | |
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16
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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17
potentate
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| n.统治者；君主 | |
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18
tickled
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| （使）发痒( tickle的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）愉快，逗乐 | |
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19
bead
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| n.念珠；(pl.)珠子项链；水珠 | |
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20
puffed
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| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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21
negotiation
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| n.谈判，协商 | |
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22
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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23
grumbling
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| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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24
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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25
blistered
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| adj.水疮状的，泡状的v.（使）起水泡( blister的过去式和过去分词 )；（使表皮等）涨破，爆裂 | |
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26
offender
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| n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者 | |
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27
desuetude
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| n.废止，不用 | |
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28
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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29
insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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30
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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32
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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33
indited
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| v.写（文章，信等）创作，赋诗，创作( indite的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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34
conspired
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| 密谋( conspire的过去式和过去分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致 | |
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35
depose
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| vt.免职；宣誓作证 | |
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36
barter
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| n.物物交换，以货易货，实物交易 | |
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37
chisels
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| n.凿子，錾子( chisel的名词复数 )；口凿 | |
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38
scant
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| adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略 | |
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39
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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40
worthies
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| 应得某事物( worthy的名词复数 )； 值得做某事； 可尊敬的； 有（某人或事物）的典型特征 | |
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41
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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42
barges
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| 驳船( barge的名词复数 ) | |
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43
procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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44
treasurer
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| n.司库，财务主管 | |
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45
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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46
faction
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| n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争 | |
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47
conceits
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| 高傲( conceit的名词复数 )； 自以为； 巧妙的词语； 别出心裁的比喻 | |
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48
banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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49
humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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50
factions
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| 组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 ) | |
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51
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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52
consultation
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| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
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53
naught
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| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
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54
fraught
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| adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的 | |
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55
salvages
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| 海上营救( salvage的名词复数 )； 抢救出的财产； 救援费； 经加工后重新利用的废物 | |
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56
famished
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| adj.饥饿的 | |
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57
imposture
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| n.冒名顶替，欺骗 | |
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58
archer
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| n.射手，弓箭手 | |
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59
entreat
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| v.恳求，恳请 | |
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60
lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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61
hogs
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| n.（尤指喂肥供食用的）猪( hog的名词复数 )；（供食用的）阉公猪；彻底地做某事；自私的或贪婪的人 | |
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62
extorted
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| v.敲诈( extort的过去式和过去分词 )；曲解 | |
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63
laborer
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| n.劳动者，劳工 | |
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64
beads
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| n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链 | |
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65
crafty
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| adj.狡猾的，诡诈的 | |
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66
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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67
oysters
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| 牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 ) | |
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68
fowls
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| 鸟( fowl的名词复数 )； 禽肉； 既不是这； 非驴非马 | |
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69
wading
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| （从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的现在分词 ) | |
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70
profusely
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| ad.abundantly | |
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71
professed
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| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
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72
upbraided
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| v.责备，申斥，谴责( upbraid的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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73
acorns
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| n.橡子，栎实( acorn的名词复数 ) | |
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74
twig
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| n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解 | |
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75
palaver
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| adj.壮丽堂皇的；n.废话，空话 | |
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76
allay
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| v.消除，减轻(恐惧、怀疑等) | |
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77
chaff
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| v.取笑，嘲笑；n.谷壳 | |
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78
bracelet
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| n.手镯，臂镯 | |
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79
vowed
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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80
frustrated
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| adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧 | |
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81
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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82
biota
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| n.生物区 | |
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83
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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84
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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85
fervent
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| adj.热的，热烈的，热情的 | |
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86
lurked
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| vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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87
hatchets
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| n.短柄小斧( hatchet的名词复数 )；恶毒攻击；诽谤；休战 | |
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88
apprehended
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| 逮捕，拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 )； 理解 | |
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89
expounded
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| 论述，详细讲解( expound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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90
ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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91
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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92
stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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93
thronged
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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94
perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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95
isle
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| n.小岛，岛 | |
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96
bribes
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| n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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97
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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98
swarms
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| 蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 ) | |
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99
slay
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| v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮 | |
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100
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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