The life of Captain John Smith, the founder of Virginia

Front matter

wsi^m

GEO.F.COOLEDGE^BROTHER.

THE LIFE

Book I.— Chapter I

John Smith, born in Lincolnshire, England — good family — left an orphan at an early age — education neglected by his guardians — apprenticed to a merchant of Lynn — leaves him and goes to France — serves in the Low Countries as a soldier — embarks for Scotland — is wrecked and narrowly saved from drowning — falls sick, and becomes a hermit in Lincolnshire. - -- 9

Chapter II

Revisits the Low Countries — robbed by certain French gallants — duel with one of them, whom he wounds — received with kindness by the Earl of Ployer — takes ship for Italy — is thrown overboard by the Catholics in a storm — saved on St. Mary's Isle — is taken oflf by a French vessel, and sails for Egypt — fight at sea between the French and a Venetian — Smith travels over Italy — goes to Austria, and joins the Imperial army. - ---23

Chapter III

Smith attracts the notice of the Imperial officers — siege of Olympach — he devises a scheme for the relief of the place — his telegraphic communication with the besieged by means of torches — it succeeds — battle with the Turks — relief of Olympach — Smith is rewarded by a command of horse in the regiment of Meldritch. -------33

Chapter IV

Siege of Alba Regalis — "Fiery Dragons" of Smith — ^their effect — the city taken by storm — Turks approach for relief 1 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS.

— battle on the plains of Girke — Smith wounded — his horse killed — second battle — Turks routed — Smith goes with the Earl of Meldritch into Transylvania, and against the Turks. 39

Chapter V

Siege of the Turkish city of Regall— the Christian knights challenged by Lord Turbishaw — lots cast, and Smith is chosen to encounter the Turkish champion — kills him in sight of both armies, and carries off the head of Turbishaw, with his armor. ---------47

Chapter VI

Smith is challenged by Lord Grualgo, the comrade of Turbishaw — accepts the challenge — they meet as before in the sight of both armies — Smith is wounded by a pistol shot, but carries off the head and armor of Grualgo — in turn he sends a challenge to the knights in Regall — challenge accepted by Bonny Mulgro — Smith is nearly defeated in the combat, but slays the Turkish champion. - - - - 53

CHAPTER VIL

Smith honored with a triumph — ennobled by Sigismund, Prince of Transylvania — siege of Regall continued — Regall stormed — massacre — the army penetrates Wallachia — battle with Jeremias — Smith's description of the battle. - - - 58

CHAPTER VIIL

War with the Turks continued — Christian army retreatsbeleaguered by their enemies — Smith's invention of fireworks — their success — approach of the Tartar army — battle in the valley of Veristhorn — defeat of the Christians — Smith wounded, and left for dead among the slain — a captive, and sold to the Bashaw Bogall. - 67

CHAPTER IX.

Smith sent to Constantinople, a present to a Turkish damselwins her affections — sent by her for safety to her brother, Timour Bashaw — is brutally treated by him — beats out the Bashaw's brains, and escapes to Muscovy. - - - 74

TABLE OF CONTENTS. Ill

CHAPTER X.

Smith reaches Ecopolis — is kindly treated by the Lady Calamata — returns to Transylvania — warmly received by Meldritch and Prince Sigismund — goes with a French captain to Morocco — accompanies him in a cruise to the Canaries — sea-fight with two Spanish vessels, and escape of the Frenchman. - - - - - - -- - 83

Book Ii.— Chapter I

Smith again in England — colonial settlement and mercantile adventure — he is greatly interested in the subject — English discovery in the New World — Smith joins with others seeking to colonize. ---------92

CHAPTER II.

Squadron of three small vessels sail from Blackwall, in December, 1606 — voyage inauspicious — strife among the adventurei's — Smith taken into custody by his comrades — they reach the Chesapeake — is allowed his freedom — James river — the site chosen for a settlement. ----- 104

CHAPTER III.

Smith's energy and industry — not suffered a seat in council — he visits Powhatan — colonists surprised by the Indians — their terror at the English firearms — the council propose to send Smith to England — he resists them — insists upon his trial— is acquitted — obtains damages for his injuries, and is admitted to the council. - - - - - - -113

CHAPTER IV.

Distresses of the colony — evils of the management — incompetency of the President — Smith placed at the head of affairs — his courage and conduct — improvement in condition of the colonists — Smith's encounter and success with the savages — conspiracy against him among the whites — defeats it — pimishes the conspirators — explores the country — is taken by the Indians. ___-_._ 12O

CHAPTER V.

Smith carried in triumph through the settlements of the saif TABLE OF CONTENTS.

vages — nearly slain by an Indian father, whose son had been killed in an affair with the whites — ^fears of being eaten — ^is conducted to the hamlet of Powhatan. - - - 135

CHAPTER VI.

The power of the Indian emperor — Smith received "by him in state — is treated with courtesy — his fate discussed — he is doomed to die — his head is on the block, and the executioner about to strike, when the victim is saved by the interposition of Pocahontas, the child of Powhatan. - - . - 143

Chapter VII

Smith is taken into favor — his judicious policy with the Indians — his doubts and distresses — conferences with Powhatan — treaty — is sent back to Jamestown, and reaches the colony in safety — new conspiracy of the English to abandon the settlement — quelled by Smith — they seek to punish him for the death of two soldiers, slain by the savages, when he was taken prisoner — he lays his enemies by the heels. - 153

Book Iii.— Chapter I

Smith's description of the Indians — his management of them— his power over them — Newport persuaded to visit Powhatan — ^his fears — Smith's example — the interview with and description of the Indian emperor — exchange of hostages and courtesies — trade _---_--- 162

.CHAPTER II.

Mutual policy of the red and white men — equal sagacity of Smith and Powhatan — cold winter — destruction of Jamestown by fire — blunders of the proprietors, and ridiculous search for gold. --------- 175

CHAPTER III.

Preparations for invading the Monacans — ^bad practices of the sailors and the colonists — insolence of the Indians — their thefts — Smith drives them before him — the effects of his resolution upon them — conspiracy against the colony — Pocahontas sent to Jamestown with apologies from Powhatan, to whom Smith gives up his Indian captives. - - - 183

TABLE OF CONTENTS. V

CHAPTER IV.

Radcliffe President — his weakness and excesses — is restrained by Smith — energy of Smith — he explores the Chesapeake in an open boat — thunderstorm and narrow escape — ambuscade of the savages — Massawomeks — discovery of Potomac — Smith wounded severely by a stingray. - - - . 191

CHAPTER V.

Return to Jamestown — follies of the President — Smith re-embarks on a new voyage — makes discoveries of other tribes and ruins — the Susquehannocks, a gigantic people — conflicts and treaties with the Indians — peril from tempests. - - 205

CHAPTER VI.

Re-building Jamestown — arrival from England — idle projects of the adventurers —visit to Powhatan by the English — sports of Indian damsels — pride of Powhatan — ludicrous scene at his coronation ------- 226

CHAPTER VII.

Newport's abortive adventure in the country of the Monacans — Smith sets the colonists to work — his punishments for swearing — hostility of the Indians — distress of the colony — his remedies — his letter to the treasurer and council of the plantation. 238

Chapter VIII

The exigencies of the colony — Smith goes among the Indians for provisions — camp in the snow — difficulties with the Indians — Powhatan hostile — Smith resolves to seize his person—vigilance of Powhatan — his cunning and ill feeling, treachery and excellent speech — attempts of the savages — Smith's courage and conduct — defeats their plans — Pocahontas comes to Smith by night to warn him against the messengers sent by her father — the supper. - _ - 251

CHAPTER IX. Treachery among the whites — Smith at Pamaunkee, the seat

of Opechancanough — hostile designs of the latter — Smith

environed by the savages — seizes Opechancanough in per- 1# ti TABLE OF CONTENTS.

son, and extricates himself and friends — second attempt of

the Indian chief, and defeat — disaster at Jamestown. - - 271

Chapter X

Smith renews his attempts to take Powhatan and is again baffled — returns to Jamestown — confusion there — ^his laws — attempt upon his life and the colony by the savages, with the help of certain traitorous Dutchmen — Smith assailed by the King of Paspahegh, a giant — overthrows him in single combat, and carries him prisoner to Jamestown — His skill in surgery — ^Indian ingenuity. ------ 384

Chapter XI

Improvements at Jamestown — Smith supreme — Powhatan's liberality — Smith's treatment of mutineers — his power among the savages —the Dutchmen — their fate — return of

exploring parties. -- 297

Chapter XII

Smith's enemies — a new charter for the colony — new officers from Europe — their follies — Smith superseded — the distresses and disturbances of the settlement — Smith's scorn and indiiference — his resumption of authority — his energy, decision and judgment — combat of the settlers at the Falls with the savages — Smith rescues the former — resettles them, and they abandon the settlement, ..-.-- 306

Chapter XIII

Smith blown up with gunpowder — nearly drowned— conspiracy, and attempt upon his life — his sufferings — resigns the government to Percy, and returns to England — his services in the colony. 317

Book Iv.— Chapter I

Smith in England — his studies — writings — associates and eulogists — " The Sea Marke," a poem — the Virginia colony — Pocahontas — her captivity — marriage with John Rolfe, and admission into the Church of Christ. - _ - - 335

CHAPTER II.

Smith's cravings for adventure — Plymouth Company — Dis-

TABLE OF CONTENTS. Vll

covery in New England — Smith's first voyage for furs and fish — his narrative and map of the country — receives the honorary distinction of Admiral of New England — difficulties between the London and Plymouth companies — Smith's second voyage to New England — misfortunes — encounters with pirates — is taken prisoner by the French — escapes in one of their boats during a storm. ----- 337

CHAPTER III.

Smith at Rochelle in France — assisted by Madame Chanoys — ^returns to England — his publications, fame, disappointments and noble firmness — vainly labors to proceed with a new armament to New England. ----- 348

CHAPTER IV.

Virginia — attempts of the English to take from Powhatan a second daughter — Pocahontas — her character — is carried to , England by Sir Thomas Dale — her interview with Smith — his letter to Ctueen Anne — Uttomakkin, the emissary of Powhatan — Death of Pocahontas — her descendants. - - 355

CHAPTER V.

Powhatan — his death — Opechancanough, his power and policy — massacre of the English — Smith's scheme for subduing the Indians — his opinions of the state of the colony — ^his failures and writings — neglect, and death in 1631 — Opechancanough — his captivity — dignity — assassination by an English soldier while in custody of Sir William Berkeley. - - 367

Appendix

Smith's Patent of Nobility 377

THE LIFE

OF

CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH.

BOOK L— CHAPTER I.

In the long roU or catalogue which the world may exhibit of the great or remarkable men who have distinguished its several epochs and conditions, none have ever so completely ravished the regards of contemporaries as those who have been equally marked by the great and spontaneous readiness of their thoughts, and the resolute activity and eagerness with which they advance to the performance of their actions. In such persons, under peculiar laws of temperament, the blood and the brain work together in the most exquisite unanimity. There is no reluctance of the subordinate to follow the commands of the superior ; no failure in the agent properly to conceive, and adequately to carry out, the designs and desires of the principal. The soul responds generously to the dictates of the mind, and no tardy ratiocination, slowly halting in the rear of the will, finally supervenes to reprove the deed when it is too late for its repair, and compel a vain regret for the hasty and unconsidered action. But, on the contrary, the impulses of the blood, and the counsels of the brain, as if twinned together, harnrioniously prompt and perform those admirable achievements, which ordinary men regard as the fruits of a sudden instinct, or a happy inspiration. Tried by calm reflection, the process chosen, the labor done, seem to have met the necessity precisely, as if the most deliberate wisdom had sat in judgment upon the event ; and yet the performance will have been as prompt as the exigency w^hich provoked it. With persons thus fortunately constituted, deliberation is rather an obstacle than a help to right performance. They seem to conceive and to think more justly while in action than in repose. It is the necessity which provokes the thought. It is the sudden call upon their genius that shows them to be possessed of the endowment. Such are the men who commonly appear to shape and regulate th* transition periods in society ; to time and to direct its enterprises ; to infuse its spirit with eagerness and enthusiasm, and to meet, with the happiest resources and the most unfailing intrepidity, the frequent exigencies which hang about the footsteps of adventure.

Of this class of persons, living in modern periods, and by reason of merits such as these commended to our attention, the name and fortunes of him who is the subject of these pages possess a more than common interest for the American. Capt. John Smith, the real founder of Virginia, is one of the proverbial heroes of British settlement in this western hemisphere. His career will happily illustrate the peculiar sort of character upon which we have thought proper briefly to expatiate. His story is one of those real romances which mock the incidents of ordinary fiction. This we are to gather chiefly from his own narratives, and partly from his contemporaries, by whom his deeds are amply confirmed and put beyond dispute. Of his adventures, which lift into heroic dignity a

?^il name so little significant in itself as to be commonly a subject for the vulgar jest, it is enough to say, that they serve to denote the more noble and daring events of a period, distinguished by its spirit, its courage and its passion, for vigorous and stirring performance. It is as one of the master spirits of this period and of modern times, that the subject of our biography challenges the consideration of our people.

John Smith vras born at Willoughby, in the county of Lincolnshire, England, some time in the year 1579. He "was descended from an ancient Lancashire family. His father came from the ancient stock of the Smiths of Crudley in that shire ; his mother from the Rickards, at Great Heck, Yorkshire. He received his education, such as it was, at the free schools of Louth and Alford, It was, probably, his own fault that his schooling was not better. He was not of a temper to be restrained by schools and tutors. The eager activity of his mind and blood betrayed itself at a very early period. He makes the first exhibition of this activity while at school, and at the early age of thirteen. , " Set," even then, according to his own showing, " upon brave adventures," he sold his books and satchel, and was preparing secretly to steal away to sea, when he was arrested by the death of his father. His mother, of whom he does not speak, seems to have died previously. His wandering purpose, arrested by this event, was checked for the moment only. His father left him some little property, which, with himself, was committed to the charge of certain guardians, who proved quite unfaithful to their trust. They were not disposed to waste his substance upon him, and with shameful cupidity winked at that tendency to vagabondism which his early impatience of restraint seemed to promise. Fortune thus, in lessening his domestic ties and sympathies, seemed to encourage his wandering inclinations. His guardians allowed him much liberty, if they gave him little money.

Of the former he soon had enough to enable him 'to get beyond the sea ; but his means were too slender to justify his flight. A little more liberality, at this early period, might have relieved them of all farther annoyance at his hands. Compelled to provide for him at home, they placed him, as an apprentice, with a merchant of Lynn,^ named Sendall — " the greatest merchant," according to Smith, " of all those parts." But Smith longed for the sea, and Sendall had other uses for him on shore. His apprentice had no taste for these uses, and though his guardians might bind with all the fetters of the law, he was not the lad to reverence such a bondage. The spirit, that already dreamed of doings with the sword, was not to be subdued by indentured parchment. He soon leaped his counter, and never saw his master again until the lapse of eight years rendered it equally unlikely that the latter would recognize or reclaim his fugitive. He thus made himself a freeman with but ten shillings in his pocket. This ten shillings was the liberal allowance of his guardians, " out of his own money," given him, as he tells us, " to get rid of him." His flight from the merchant does not appear to have been withheld from their knowledge. In all probability he fled to them from Sendall, in order to procure the means of getting to sea or passing into foreign countries. These were his favorite ideas. They constituted his passions, and, as the nearest step to their gratification, he found means to enter the service of the sons of the famous Lord Willoughby,* then under tutelage, and about to make the tour of the continent. We are not told in

* "The Right Honorable Peregrine, that generous Lord Willoughby, and famous soldier." — Smith's Narrative.

what capacity he attended these young gentlemen — most probably as a page, scarcely as a companion. He was not long in this situation. Within a month or six weeks after entering France, " his service being needless," as he himself tells us, he was dismissed with a liberal allowance of money to take him back to his friends. But such friends as our apprentice had left behind him in London possessed very few attractions. Their bonds were not so very grateful as to move him voluntarily to resume them. He had as yet seen but little of the world. He had but partially gratified the strong curiosity which had carried him abroad. He remembered the ten shillings bounty of his guardians, and the object for which it had been given, and he concluded to linger a while longer in France. He made his way to Paris — a boy of fifteen, without friends or companions — how, he does not tell us, but under what difficulties, doubts and dangers, at that early period in his own life, and that unsettled period in the history of the country, through which he went ! This very progress illustrates, in some degree, the courage and daring of his mind. At Paris, he made the acquaintance of a Scottish gentleman, named Hume, in whose eyes he soon found favor. Hume replenished his purse, and becoming interested in his grace, spirit and intelligence, furnished him with letters of introduction, couched in terms of liberal commendation, to his friends in Scotland. The idea, which possessed the mind of this gentleman in behalf of his youthful protege, sufficiently proves the great hopes which he had formed of his endowments, even at that early period. The object of his advice and letters was to make of him a courtier, to procure for him access to the person, and, if possible, employment in the service of King James, the well-known Scottish Solomon. What was the influence of Hume and his friends at court, it would not now be easy to discover. 2

Looking to the sequel in the career of Smith, it would prove his patron to have been a man of discernment and sagacity. The design certainly proves that Hume beheld in the boy some foreshowings of the future man. We are prepared to see already that he was no ordinary boy — we see that he at least possessed some of those outward accomplishments which compel the regards of older heads. These accomplishments, whatever they may have been, were all certainly of his own acquisition. They did not come from the free schools of Louth and Alford ; they scarcely had their foundation behind the counter of the Lynn merchant, and it does not appear that he was much, if anything, indebted to his parents. They were the fruits of a peculiar original endowment. All that was precious in Smith's education came from his experience.

But Smith was still too much of the wayward boy to follow implicitly the directions of his friend. Though at first honestly resolved to do so, his temper was quite too capricious just at that moment to continue in his purposes. There were too many objects in France for his diversion. His mind was too eager for the novel, too impatient of the staid, too wild, too erratic, to remain long at this period in any one way of thinking. And let us not too seriously censure these exhibitions of caprice. It is curious to observe how frequently, not to say inevitably, they attend the career of the young adventurer who carves out his own fame and fortunes. It is in this way that nature prompts to the necessary acquisitions of the performer. The restlessness of mood which we thus witness, leads to constant discovery. The wandering footstep is associated with the keen eye and the scrutinizing judgment ; and the mind finds its strength and volume in this seeming caprice and purposeless misdirection, as the muscle of the child grows from the feverish restlessness of its feeble and uncertain limbs. While we studiously train the young to the steady exercise of their faculties, we must allow, at the same time, for the indulgence of those impulses which cause vigilance, far-sightedness, promptness of decision, and great activity.

Scarcely had Smith got out of the sight of his Scottish benefactor, when he forgot the ambitious purpose which was entertained in his behalf. He forgot Scotland and its pacific monarch in a new impulse to adventure. It is probable that the attractions of courtier life made a less lively impression on his fancy than upon that of Hume. At all events, arrived at Rouen, he finds his money all spent, and listens to other counsellors. The sound of the trumpet stirs his soul with more delightful and powerful sensations. He hears the shouts of the horsemen, and the preparations for war. Instead of Scotland he takes the route to Havre de Grace, where, in his own language, '^ he first began to learn the life of a soldier." This must have been somewhere between the years 1608 and 1610. What were the lessons he learned, what battles he saw, in what wars or on what side he was engaged, are left wholly to conjecture. The civil wars of the Catholics and Protestants, terminating in the assassination of Henry IV., prevailed about this period. That Smith shared in these conflicts, and on the Protestant side of the question, may reasonably be inferred from all the circumstances. These wars were at an end. Peace in France made that country no longer an attraction to him who had just taken his first lesson in the art of war, and Smith at once passed into the Low Countries — then, and long afterwards, destined to become the great battle-ground for half of Europe. Here he served four years under a Captain Joseph Duxbury.

He was probably one of a band of English auxiliaries serving against Spain in the great conflict which finally secured to the Netherlands their independence. Of his own share in this war, and of the position which he held, Smith tells us nothing. Though he wrote much, Smith was not an elegant writer. Though sometimes tedious, he is so more on account of his style and manner of narrative than because of his material. He is never copious, and satisfies himself with barely glancing at events, the details of which, we perceive, would enrich the story and delight the reader. It is only when he arrives at a trust, when he becomes a leader, that he speaks distinctly of himself. Of Smith in the ranks, as one of many, doing nothing more and nothing better than the rest, he is modestly silent. He was still little more than a boy while under Duxbury, could scarcely have had any trust assigned him, and evidently considered himself as barely serving out an apprenticeship. He was more faithful in this than in the service of the Lynn merchant. That he was diligent in his studies, that he took to his art con amore, and mastered it quickly and with a rare ability, we have every reason to suppose from his subsequent career. Indeed, but a short time after, we find him boasting of his acquisitions even when silent on the subject of his performances. He tells us with equal pride and modesty that he had mastered all in the martial schools of France and the Netherlands that " his tender years could attain unto." These acquisitions could only have been attained by practice ; this practice could only have been found in the actual exigencies of war. These inferences are unavoidable. Still, it is to be wished that his narrative had not been so meagre — that we could have been suffered to see the eager spirit of the boy, and how he bore himself in these preparatory campaigns. We should have been the better prepared to understand the origin of those audacious instances of valor, and those admirable proofs of skill and sagacity, which subsequently became so completely associated with his name.

His apprenticeship to the art of war, as pursued in the Low Countries, was prolonged for three or four years. At the close of this period, in some interval of the service, or possibly in one of his usual caprices, Smith bethought himself of the Scottish letters furnished him by Hume. He suddenly resumed the purpose which he had abandoned at Rouen, and once more determined to proceed to Scotland. He embarks accordingly at Ancusan for Leith. In this voyage he was destined to enjoy a foretaste of that harsh fortune by which his genius was to be schooled, in order to the requisite training for its true performance. The vessel in which he sailed was wrecked. He narrowly escaped drowning only to encounter another equally great danger from a severe fit of sickness, which seized him on the Holy Isle of Northumberland, near Berwick. Here he lay in as much danger '' as sickness could endure." As soon as he had sufficiently recruited, he entered Scotland, and delivered the several letters which Hume had given him for his friends. The proverbial hospitality of the Scotch people was not denied to Smith. He had no occasion for complaint on this score. The persons to whom his letters were addressed — " those honest Scots at Kipweth and Broxmouth" — received him with the greatest kindness, but beyond this his mission produced no fruits. It does not appear that he was ever presented to the king. He himself tells us that there " was neither money nor means to make him a courtier." His native independence of character may have been an obstacle, may have rendered impossible, to his spirit, those preliminary servilities which ambition, taking this course, is compelled usually to undergo before it can hope for the attainment of its object.

The good sense or the proud stomach of our hero, 2* may have saved him from this sort of degradation ; and such it was hke to have been, in fawning upon such a monarch as James the First. By a comparison of dates, it is highly probable that this sovereign was now becoming eagerly anxious for the robes of Elizabeth. Her demise followed a few years after, and looking to this event we may reasonably conjecture that bonnie King Jamie had no particular reason to increase his establishment in a country from which at any moment he might have been summoned to depart. What would have been the effect upon Smith's fortunes, and those of England, had the former found his way into favor — in anticipation of Buckingham — had his nobler spirit dictated the enterprises, and stimulated the couraare of the kino-dom ? Imaojinative histories, equally instructive and amusing, may sometimes be wrought by the happy intellect, pursuing some such grateful conjecture, upon a single fact assumed, to its probable conclusion, in changing the destiny of kingdoms and in averting the fall of kings. This is one of these subjects. — Smith taken into the family of James, while yet a boy at the Court of Scotland, might, with the vigor of youth, have pursued and carried out the brilliant schemes of Raleigh, then no longer young ; and by realizing some of the nobler objects of that great man, while yet he lived, might have yielded a human consolation to his dying moments. The roving passion was strong in both their bosoms, and their career in arms was not unlike. They both received their early lessons of war in France and the Netherlands, fighting for the same behalf, that of the Protestants. We shall see that one at least of the adventurous projects of Raleigh was destined to owe its successful prosecution to the sagacity, the courage and the energy of Smith.