Mysterious Death of Pocahontas The story of Pocahontas reads like a classic, romantic fairy tale. She was the beautiful daughter of a powerful Native American chief who saved the life of Capt. John Smith by shielding his body with her own. She also saved Jamestown, the first ccessful English settlement in the New World, by warning its in "bitants of an impending attack by her own people. That is the legend. The real story is much more fascinating than the cinematic and z::=raryfiction that has distorted the life of this most interesting :2racter in American history. And most intriguing of all is the _.~.ery surrounding not her life, but her death. Her native name was Natoaka, and she was the daughter of the iller of a confederation of Algonquin tribes that inhabited what :Jow the state of Virginia. The early English settlers, unable to nounce the chief's name, named him Chief Powhatan because rribes under his rule were called the Powhatans-itself, an - =:,-:rlish corruption. In 1607, three ships carrying 105 Englishmen landed on the :nrini.a coastline. Two previous attempts by the English to colothe New World had failed, but this venture was designed to eed. It was well financed by London businessmen who, with - blessing of the Crown, had raised a large portion of the sup ::cting funds by conducting a lottery. The men selected for the ex ::edition were not ordinary settlers, but soldiers of fortune-mili "'""-:"or ex-military men, heavily armed and well supplied. Their mission was to build a fort and establish a trading out ';:(J:,--:. The Spanish to the south had found gold and silver, and the =::-cnchto the north had established a thriving fur trade with the ="';""es. These Englishmen wanted to exploit this unknown terri :"and find treasure in whatever form it might appear. :\Iaking their way inland on the James River, they constructed ss
<:> That's Not in My American History Book 56 their fort, explored the nearby forest, and became acquainted with the natives. They named their settlement Jamestown. However, they were not prepared for the harsh winter that descended on them. Disease claimed half their number, and all might have died if the Powhatans had not come to their aid with food and native medicines. As the Englishmen extended their explorations in a frustrated attempt to discover some kind of treasure in the wilderness, there were occasional clashes with the Powhatans. One of the leaders of the expedition, a veteran soldier named CaptainJohn Smith, was exploring along the Chickahominy River when he came upon a band of native warriors and was taken prisoner. Legend has it that they were about to club him to death when a young girl ran for-
ward to cradle his head in her arms, saving his life. The girl was _'atoaka. Many historians doubt the accuracy of the story, because it was ot recorded in Captain Smith's detailed personal journal about '" adventures in America. Also, those who wonder if there was an ensuing romantic involvement will be disappointed to learn this?robably was not the case. Natoaka was believed to be twelve years old at the time, and John Smith would have been twenty-nine. bat apparently did happen was that the girl developed what might be described as an adolescent crush on the handsome visitor. Whether because of her infatuation with Smith or simple curiosity about the strange people who had come to her land, o PART ONE Nolichunky Jack and Patriotic Horsefiies 51 Pocahontas as Lady Rebecca This portrait is believed to have been painted in 1616, shortly before her death. Virginia Stale Library
That's Not in My American History Book 58 Natoaka was a frequent visitor atjamestown. The settlers gave her the name Pocahontas. On at least one occasion, when her father became angry at English transgressions and threatened an attack on Jamestown, Pocahontas risked her life to warn the inhabitants, possibly saving the settlement. Then in 1609, just two years after his arrival, John Smith returned to England. With his departure, Pocahontas no longer visitedjamestown. Meanwhile, the Englishmen discovered their treasure. It was green gold, and it came to them in the form of a plant called tobacco grown by the natives. John Rolfe, a representative of the Virginia Company, which sponsored the expedition, sent the first shipment of cured tobacco to England. As European demand for the product grew, so did tensions between colonists and the Powhatans. The scarcity of open land on which to grow tobacco was a continuing problem for Rolfe and the Jamestown planters. Dense forest blanketed the area. But within the forest were open fields belonging to the Indians. Over many generations, the Powhatans had felled and burned trees to create fields where they rotated crops of corn, squash, and beans. The Jamestown planters began confiscating unused fields to plant tobacco. Hostilities ensued; soon the English were chasing the Powhatans from their planted fields and finally from their villages, to utilize those sitesfor planting. During a war between the planters and Powhatans in 1612, Pocahontas was taken captive by the Englishmen. When she inquired about the whereabouts of John Smith, she was informed by Rolfe that he had died in England. On Rolfe's instructions, Pocahontas was taken to Jamestown and never returned to her people. She was taught to read and write English, baptized, and given the Christian name Rebecca. It soon became apparent that Rolfe was grooming her for marriage. The ceremony took place in 1614, when she was eighteen years old. The marriage had the blessing of her father, and eight years of peace followed as a result of the union. In 1616, Rebecca Rolfe accompanied her husband to England, where she was introduced to the King and Queen. Graceful, softspoken, and beautiful, she became the darling of London society, attending gala balls given in her honor. She was called Lady Rebecca. When Rebecca gave birth to a son, the Rolfes moved from Bell Inn, near St. Paul Cathedral, to a large, elegant home owned by
=e Virginia Company in the quiet village of Brentwood, just west ::;:-London. It was there the fairy-tale life of the Indian princess ~ed tragic. She discovered that her husband had lied to her. From friends, Pocahontas learned that John Smith was not =ead. In fact, he was living in a village nearby. She also learned ~t he was married and the father of several children. When 'cnith was informed of her presence at Brentwood, he went to visit :::cr.this is how he described that meeting in hisjournal: Hearing she was at Brentwood with divers [several] of my friends, I went to see her. Mter a modest salutation, without any word, she turned about, obscured her face as not seeming well contented and in that humor... we all lefther... repenting myself to havewritten instead. PART ONE Nolichunky Jack and Patriotic Horseflies 59 From that day Lady Rebecca became reclusive, and her health s:emed to fail her. She never left England. On the day she, her son -=:-om, and her husband boarded the ship that would return them to _-\.merica,lady Rebecca lapsed into a coma and died. She was uried at nearby Gravesend. She was believed to be twenty-one -:;::arsold. The very timing of her death casts a pall of suspicion over its C-Cumstance. Did she die of a broken heart, having learned that :::e man she loved and thought dead was alive and married to an :::d1er?could she have taken her own life? Did she, as her husband :::xplained,die of a mysterious fever on the very day of their sched ~ed departure? Was there a more sinister explanation? Could she :=ayebeen murdered in ajealous rage? The answers lie buried in an unmarked grave some twenty :::iles east of London in the cemetery of St. George's Church at -ravesend. However, on the banks of the River Thames in Lon ::On, there stands a statue of the Indian princess and below it this =iliute: Gentle and humane) she was thefriend if the earliest struggling English colonists whom she nobly rescued)protected and helped. John Rolfe returned to Virginia alone, leaving his infant son, -:-om,in England in the care of an uncle. Tom Rolfe was twenty '=---ewhen he went to the land of his mother's birth. He married
That's Not in My American History Book 60 and became the father of a daughter. From this grandchild of Pocahontas descended several prominent American families. Among her descendants was First Lady Edith Bolling Gault Wilson, wife of President Woodrow Wilson. There is one final, tragic footnote to the story of the Indian princess who befriended the Jamestown settlers. In 1622,.a bitter war ensued between the Powhatan tribes and Virginia settlers. By 1636, the tobacco planters of Jamestown had destroyed the last Powhatan village in the region, slaughtering those who could not escape. They burned the village and planted tobacco where it had stood.