Copyright 2010 Cynce s Place

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3 I. AN INDIAN PRINCESS A child of the forest. Over three hundred years ago, in that part of our country which we call Virginia, there lived a little Indian girl whose father was the head war-chief of a tribe called Powhatans. He was known as the Powhatan or king." The little girl was so lively and so fond of roping and playing that her father gave her the pet nae of Pocahontas, which in his language eant about the sae as to-boy. And that is the nae by which she has always been known. Pocahontas, being the daughter of a king, was therefore a princess. Her face was dark but handsoe. Her hair was straight and very black. Her eyes were large and bright. Her body was lithe and slender. She was a true child of the forest. Her dress was ade for the ost part of the skins of wild anials, prettily ornaented with beads and feathers and fringes. In her ears she wore rings of copper, and on one wrist she had a bracelet of the sae etal. For shoes she had soft occasins of deerskin, adorned with sweet-selling grasses and the quills of porcupines. Note: Pocahontas was born in 1595 Her father was also known as Chief Powhatan The other of the little princess was dressed uch in the sae way. But her face and ars were tattooed with strange figures of beasts and birds and snakes; and she wore over her shoulders a antle of deerskin ebroidered with feathers and brightly colored grasses. Her father and his en were also clad in skins. On their heads they wore eagles' feathers. Soe wore broad rings of copper in their ears. Others had, instead, sall green and yellow snakes that twined around their necks and were used as pets. The Indian warriors seared their faces and shoulders with red paint; and he who ade hiself the ost hideous was usually the ost adired. The hoe of Pocahontas was a sall village near the strea now called York River. The houses in this village were very oddly built of poles and the branches of trees. These were bent and fastened together, and covered over with ats and broad strips of bark. Soe of the houses were ore than a hundred feet long, and large enough for several failies. In the iddle of each there was a fireplace on the ground; and over the fireplace was a large hole in the roof for the soke to pass through. 1

4 There was not uch furniture in a house: ats, baskets, earthen pots, a stone ortar for pounding corn and that was all. The floor was covered with twigs and leaves and sweet grass. At night the inates slept around the fire, lying on ats and skins that were spread on soft bundles of twigs. How the Indians worked. The en spent ost of their tie in fishing and hunting, or in going to war and fighting. All the hard work was done by the woen and children. They ade the ats and the clothing. They planted the corn and gathered it. They pounded it in ortars, and ade bread of the eal. They carried wood fro the forest; they built the fires; they cooked the food. All around the village there were cleared fields where the woen planted their corn. Here and there in the forest were other cleared places in which were the hoes of one or ore failies of Indians. Where the city of Richond now stands there was a village of ten or a dozen houses asantly built on a hill. This village, as well as the great river beside it, was called by the sae nae as the tribe, Powhatan. Fishing. Pocahontas was her father's favorite child, and therefore she had her own way about any things. No doubt she was soeties allowed to go fishing with her uncle or cousins. They went in a clusy boat that had been ade fro the trunk of a tree by burning one side of it out until it was shaped like a trough. Soe of these boats were forty or fifty feet long. The en fished with nets or with hooks. The nets were ade of strong cords which the woen had twisted fro the inner bark of trees or fro slender blades of grass. The hooks were ade of sall crooked bones, soothed and sharpened until they served their purpose very well. The fisheren never failed to carry their bows and arrows with the. They were always on the lookout for squirrels in the trees, or for wild turkeys aong the underwoods by the river. They kept a close watch for eneies, too; for they never knew when soe skulking fellow fro an unfriendly tribe would be lying in wait to do the har. How tie passed. March and April were the great fishing onths. In May and June the woen planted the fields, and there were any squirrels in the woods. In July and August, the children gathered wild berries, and soe of the peo hunted for crabs and oysters and turtles in the river and bay. In Septeber and October the corn was ripe, and everybody had nty to eat. But Indians are great wasters, and when winter cae it often happened that there was very little to eat in the village. Then the young en went out hunting; and, although they found nty for theselves, they were not always ready to bring hoe gae to the hungry woen and children. II. THE COMING OF THE WHITE MEN The white strangers. When Pocahontas Was about ten years old, an alaring occurrence took place. Soe of the en who had been hunting near the great river of the Powhatans reported that they had seen three huge boats with white wings coing up the strea. These vessels oved as if they were alive, for no paddles or oars were used to 2

5 push the forward. When they reached a point about fifteen iles fro the village, they stopped; their wings were folded; and then the en who were on board went ashore. Very strange en they seeed to the si Indians. Their faces were pale, they wore long beards, they were dressed in odd-looking clothes. Instead of bows and arrows, they carried clusy pieces of wood and etal fro which they could at will send out flashes of lightning and dreadful sounds like thunder. The Indians alared. Ah," said one of the older warriors, now we shall indeed have to be on our guard. We have all heard about these white en, how treacherous and savage they are. Only a few years ago one of their great boats ade its way up the Chesapeake. It cae to land, and any of our peo went to see and welcoe the strangers. They gave the white en food, and were kind to the; and how were they repaid? Soe young en were enticed on board of the vessel. They were kept there against their will, and carried away, no one knows whither. We have heard, too, how children and woen have been stolen, and how our peo in any places have been robbed and abused by the en with pale faces. Would it not be better to drive the away and not allow the to get a foothold in our country? " Let us wait," said others, and aong the the chief Powhatan; "let us not be hasty. And while we are kind to these strangers, we ust not trust the too far." III. JAMESTOWN Ships fro England. The three white-winged boats which had ade so great stir aong the Indians, were ships fro England. On board of the were one hundred and five en who had coe to Virginia to for a settleent. They had been sent thither by a copany of London erchants, and they hoped to find uch gold and any precious stones in the new country. It was spring; and as broad river of the were delighted with saw. The day was they sailed up the Powhatans, they everything they war and clear. 3

6 The air was fragrant with the odor of wild flowers. It seeed as though both earth and sky were welcoing the strangers to their new hoe. The new settleent. They called the river the Jaes, in honor of the English king. And the place which they chose for their settleent they called Jaestown. When they landed they set to work to build rude shelters of poles and bark and brush in which to live. They also put up a little fort in which to protect theselves fro the Indians, and they surrounded it with a high fence, or palisade, of logs set upright in the ground. Distress of the settlers. As soon as the fort was finished the ships sailed back to England, leaving the settlers to take care of theselves. Many of these were not used to work. They had expected to do nothing but pick up gold and live at their ease, and they did not know how to provide theselves with food. Hence they had a very sorry tie of it for several onths. They had nothing to eat but a little boiled barley each day, and now and then a crab or a fish which they caught in the river. Many of the grew sick and died; and to ake atters still worse, those who were well were always quarreling aong theselves and laenting that they were not back in England. Soe Indians of an unknown tribe gave the a great deal of trouble, and soeties shot their stone-tipped arrows into the town. But the Powhatan Indians were ore friendly. They often visited Jaestown, and soeties carried green corn and other food to the hungry settlers. John Sith. One day the little princess, Pocahontas, went with soe of her father's peo to visit the white strangers at Jaestown. The Englishen were very kind and took great pains to ause her. She noticed that one of the en, whose nae was John Sith, seeed to be the leader of the copany. Although he was not their governor, the en listened to what he said and generally followed his advice. His face was bearded, his eyes were keen and sparkling, his whole anner was that of one who was both brave and wise. Pocahontas adired hi very uch. It was he who did the trading with the Indians. He bought their corn, he dealt justly with the, and he would not perit the idle en of the colony to abuse the. IV. CAPTIVITY OF JOHN SMITH Exciting News. A short tie after this, exciting news was brought to the village where Pocahontas lived. The Englishan, Captain John Sith, had been taken captive. He was a prisoner in the hands of a band of Indians led by an uncle of Pocahontas. It had coe about in this way. Captain Sith had gone out with soe en in a boat to explore the country. After rowing soe distance up one of the saller rivers, he had left the boat and had gone on with two white en and two Indians in a canoe. Near a great arsh now called White Oak Swap they landed. There the Indians attacked the, for their chief, the uncle of 4

7 Pocahontas, had never felt friendly toward the English. Sith's two copanions were killed, and he hiself was taken prisoner. The warriors wanted to put hi to death. They tied hi to a tree, and ade ready to torture hi by shooting and burning. But Sith was not afraid. He held up a round ivory pocket copass which he was in the habit of carrying. He showed the Indians how the needle always pointed to the north. He otioned toward the sun and the sky. With strange gestures he spoke of the oon and the stars. The chief began to believe that the white an was a wizard. He bade his warriors untie hi and do hi no har. There should be no haste in putting hi to death. For several days thereafter Sith was kept a close prisoner. The uncle of Pocahontas took hi fro village to village and showed hi to all the warriors of the tribe. Is this the white an who cae here a few years ago and carried away soe of our young en? he asked. No," was the answer, this is not the an. The white chief who did that wicked thing was tall, very tall; but this an is short and heavy set." Before the great Powhatan. Then the warriors carried their captive to the village where Pocahontas lived, and asked her father what should be done with hi. The chief Powhatan received Sith in his great house. He was sitting on a bench by the fireplace, with a robe of raccoon skins thrown over his shoulders. Near hi was his little daughter, eager to see the white an who she had so uch adired when in Jaestown. Around hi stood two rows of gri warriors, and behind the were as any woen with their faces painted red and their necks encircled with chains of white beads. When Sith was led into the roo all the warriors and woen shouted. One of the woen brought hi water to wash his hands, and another gave hi a bunch of feathers, instead of a towel, to dry the. Then they ade a feast for hi, giving hi all kinds of choice food. While he was eating, the chiefs and warriors held a grand council to decide what was to be done with hi. ved by Pocahontas. At length the council was ended and two great stones were carried in and placed before the chief Powhatan. Several warriors then took hold of Sith and dragged hi across the roo. They laid his head on the stones, and with upraised clubs stood ready to beat out his brains. But, just as the great chief was about to speak the word, the princess 5 Note: John Sith says she was about 12 or 13, so we can conclude this was about

8 Pocahontas threw herself down by the captive and laid her head upon his to save hi fro death. Her father's stern face grew kind. He could not refuse anything that his little daughter asked. He bade his warriors put away their clubs. He told Sith that he would spare his life. The Adoption. Two days later Sith was adopted into the tribe. It was done in this way. He was taken to a large house in the idst of the woods, and left alone on a at by the fire. For a little while there was scarcely a sound to be heard. Then suddenly the chief Powhatan with a great band of warriors, all painted in the ost hideous fashion, burst into the house with shouts and yells too frightful to describe. But when the savages saw that Sith was not afraid, they changed their tone and told hi that they would forever after be his friends and brothers. The chief Powhatan proised to give hi a great tract of land on condition that he would go to Jaestown and send hi two big guns and a grindstone. Return to Jaestown. Twelve guides returned to Jaestown with Sith, and they were instructed to bring back the presents. At the fort Sith showed the two sall cannon and a illstone. The savages tried to carry the but found the too heavy. Then Sith loaded one of the guns with sall stones and discharged it into a tree that was coated with ice for it was a cold day and there was sleet. The great noise that was ade and the rattling of the ice fro the tree so frightened the Indians that they ran into the woods and could scarcely be persuaded to return. In the end, however, Sith gave the a nuber of trinkets and toys for the woen and children and doubtless a fine present for Pocahontas and they went gladly back to their village. On that sae day a ship arrived fro England bringing any new settlers and a ntiful supply of food. Things began to have a ore hopeful look ; and when the ship returned to England it carried a glowing account of the prosperity of the colony in Virginia. V. A NEW GOVERNOR The friend of the Englishen. Pocahontas often visited Jaestown, and she becae known as the friend of the Englishen. When they were in need of food she contrived to have corn carried to the. When the Indians grew restless, and threatened to destroy the little settleent, she sent warnings to Sith to be on his guard. Sith the president. After a while Sith was chosen to be the president of the colony. He anaged so wisely and well that Jaestown was soon an orderly and prosperous place. Most of the en went to work with a will. They cleared ground for gardens and fars, and planted corn and garden vegetables. But in spite of all this there were still ties of great scarcity and suffering. The Indians could not be depended upon. The only one who never failed the colonists was Pocahontas. Lord Delaware. The London erchants who had sent this colony to Virginia were uch disappointed because no gold had been found in that country. They had been at great expense in establishing the settleent and they did not believe that Captain Sith was 6

9 anaging things very well. They therefore asked and obtained fro the king soe new privileges for their colony, and Lord Delaware was sent out to be governor of Virginia. Sith returns to England. About this tie Sith et with a sad accident. Soe powder exploded near hi, and he was badly burned. His work in Virginia was finished, and as a ship was about to sail for England he ebarked in it and returned hoe. Pocahontas was uch grieved when she found that he had gone. But she still reained firly attached to the English. Hard ties. For several years after Sith's departure, the colony had uch trouble. The settlers istreated the Indians, and the Indians becae very unfriendly. Even the chief Powhatan began to plan how to destroy the English. His peo would sell no ore corn to the. There was but little food in Jaestown. At ties the settlers were in great distress, and any died of hunger. Soe who ventured too far fro the town were waylaid and killed by Indians. Soe of the boldest and roughest seized a vessel that was in the river and sailed away to becoe pirates. Had not help coe fro England, the colony would have perished. VI. THE LADY REBECCA A treacherous act. Pocahontas was now grown up to woanhood. By Note: ading with her father, and by giving tiely warning to the settlers, she She was taken had saved the colony fro destruction. Soe of the English thought that prisoner in 1613 if they could keep her with the as a prisoner, her father and his warriors would not dare to do the har. So they persuaded an old chief to betray her into their hands. They proised to give hi a copper kettle if he would entice her on board of a ship that was oored in the river. The old chief wanted the kettle very uch. He would do anything to get it. So he and his wife persuaded Pocahontas to go with the to look at soething on the ship. Then the captain refused to let her go on shore again. Although the English were still kind to Pocahontas they would not let her go back to her peo. They kept her as a prisoner for a whole year, and during that tie her father did not dare to har the. A wedding. At length an English gentlean, whose nae was John Note: Rolfe, fell in love with Pocahontas and wished to ake her his wife. Pocahontas arried The chief Powhatan gave his consent to the arriage, and there was a John Rolfe in 1614 great wedding at Jaestown. Pocahontas was baptized at the little English church, and was given a new nae, Rebecca. She was very happy with her English 7

10 husband. The white peo and red peo were once ore at peace and the colony prospered. In England. Two years later, John Rolfe and his Indian wife went to England, taking with the their baby boy. The Lady Rebecca, as Pocahontas was called, had readily learned the ways of the English, and now she appeared as a gentle and well-bred lady. She was honored as a princess, and was kindly received even in the palace of the king. One day to her great surprise she et her old acquaintance, John Sith. Ah, y good friend," she said, they told e in Virginia that you were dead." And she insisted that Note: he should perit her, after the Indian fashion, to call hi her father. Pocahontas and John Rolfe Just as she was about to return to Virginia she was taken ill, and in a few had a son, days she died. Her little boy reained in England, where he was educated Thoas. and grew up to be a fine gentlean. Her father, the chief Powhatan, did not live long after her death. The colony of Virginia grew rapidly and Pocahontas becae uch larger and stronger. But the Indians ceased to be friendly, died on and there was uch trouble and bloodshed before the English were April 21, 1617 altogether safe and happy in their new hoes. 8

11 Nae Date QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW Describe how the Indians of Virginia lived. Why did they look upon the white en with suspicion? How any ships and how any en cae first to the Jaes River to for a settleent?

12 Nae Date Who was the leading an in this copany? What did ost of the en expect to find in Virginia? What services did Pocahontas perfor for the colony? Why did the English wish to keep her as a prisoner?

13 Nae Date Why was a new governor sent out to Virginia? Why was not the colony ore prosperous at first? Using an atlas ~draw in and label the Jaes River. ~label Jaestown ~draw in and label the York River

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20 Pocahontas was born on Her father was a chief naed Her real nae was She was arried to How any children did they have? Pocahontas was fro the state we know as Here tribe was called What age was she when she et John Sith When did she die? How old was she when she died? She died fro