Books: Richard of Jamestown
J >>
James Otis >> Richard of Jamestown
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 | 5 |
6 |
7
I would that I might describe the scene in our house that night,
when Master Hunt was come to hear what all knew would be a story
of wildest adventure, for it went without saying that my master
never would have remained so long absent from Jamestown had it been
within his power to return sooner.
AN EXCITING ADVENTURE
We waited to hear the tale until he had refreshed himself after
the long journey, and then what Captain Smith told us was like unto
this, as I remember it:
After leaving the village, he had sailed up the river until there
was no longer water enough to float the barge, when, with two
white men and the two Indians, he embarked in a canoe, continuing
the voyage for a distance of twelve miles or more. There, in the
wilderness, they made ready to spend the night, and with one of the
savage guides my master went on shore on an island to shoot some
wild fowls for supper. He had traveled a short distance from the
boat, when he heard cries of the savages in the distance, and,
looking back, saw that one of the men had been taken prisoner,
while the other was fighting for his life.
At almost the very minute when he saw this terrible thing, he was
suddenly beset by more than two hundred yelling, dancing savages,
who were sweeping down upon him as if believing he was in their power
beyond any chance. The Indian guide, who appeared to be terribly
frightened, although it might have been that he was in the plot to
murder my master, would have run away; but that Captain Smith held
him fast while he fired one of his pistols to keep the enemy in
check.
Understanding that he must do battle for his life, my master first
took the precaution to bind the Indian guide to his left arm,
by means of his belt, in such fashion that the fellow would serve
as a shield against the shower of arrows the savages were sending
through the air.
Protected in this manner, Captain Smith fought bravely, as he
always does, and had succeeded in killing two of the Indians with
his matchlock, when suddenly he sank knee deep into a mire. It
seems that he had been retreating toward the canoe, hoping to get
on board her where would be some chance for shelter, and was so
engaged with the savages in front of him as to give little heed to
his steps.
Once he was held prisoner by the mud, the enemy quickly surrounded
him, and he could do no better than surrender. Instead of treating
him cruelly, as might have been expected, these brown men carried
him from village to village, as if exhibiting some strange animal.
TAKEN BEFORE POWHATAN
When he was first made captive, the Indians found his compass, and
were stricken with wonder, because, however the instrument might
be turned, the needle always pointed in the same direction. The
glass which protected the needle caused even more amazement, and,
believing him to be a magician, they took him to Powhatan.
After many days of traveling, the savages were come with their
prisoner to Powhatan's village, where Captain Smith was held close
prisoner in one of the huts, being fairly well treated and fed in
abundance, until the king, who had been out with a hunting party,
came home.
Twice while he was thus captive did Captain Smith see the girl
Pocahontas, who had visited him in Jamestown; but she gave no
especial heed to him, save as a child who was minded to be amused,
until on the day when some of the savages gave him to understand
that he was to be killed for having come into this land of theirs,
and also for having shot to death some of their tribe.
When he was led out of Powhatan's tent of skins, with his feet and
hands bound, he had no hope of being able to save his own life, for
there was no longer any chance for him to struggle against those
who had him in their power.
POCAHONTAS BEGS FOR SMITH'S LIFE
He was forced down on the earth, with his head upon a great rock,
while two half naked savages came forward with heavy stones bound
to wooden handles, with which to beat out his brains, and these
weapons were already raised to strike, when the girl Pocahontas
ran forward, throwing herself upon my master, as she asked that
Powhatan give him to her.
Now, as we afterward came to know, it is the custom among savages,
that when one of their women begs for the life of a prisoner,
to grant the prayer, and so it was done in this case, else we had
never seen my master again.
It is also the custom, when a prisoner has thus been given to one
who begged for his life, that the captive shall always be held as
slave by her; but Pocahontas desired only to let him go back to
Jamestown. Then it was she told her father how she had been treated
when visiting us, and Powhatan, after keeping Captain Smith prisoner
until he could tell of what he had seen in other countries of the
world, set him free.
THE EFFECT OF CAPTAIN SMITH'S RETURN
It was well for us of Jamestown that my master returned just when
he did, for already had our gentlemen, believing him dead, refused
longer to work, and even neglected the hunting, when game of all
kinds was so plentiful. They had spent the time roaming around
searching for gold, until we were once more in need of food.
The sickness had come among us again, and of all our company, which
numbered an hundred when Captain Newport sailed for England, only
thirty-eight remained alive.
Within four and twenty hours after Captain Smith came back, matters
had so far mended that every man who could move about at will, was
working for the common good, although from that time, until Captain
Newport came again, we had much of suffering.
With the coming of winter Nathaniel and I were put to it to do
our work in anything like a seemly manner. What with the making
of candles, or of rushlights; tanning deer hides in such fashion
as Captain Smith had taught us; mending his doublets of leather,
as well as our own; keeping the house and ground around it fairly
clean, in addition to cooking meals which might tempt the appetite
of our master, we were busy from sunrise to sunset.
Nor were we without our reward. On rare occasions Captain Smith
would commend us for attending to our duties in better fashion
than he had fancied lads would ever be able to do, and very often
did Master Hunt whisper words of praise in our ears, saying again
and again that he would there were in his house two boys like us.
This you may be sure was more of payment than we had a reasonable
right to expect, for certain it is that even at our best the work
was but fairly done, as it ever must be when there are houseboys
instead of housewives at home.
Master Hunt had a serving man, William Rods, and he was not one
well fitted to do a woman's work, for in addition to being clumsy,
even at the expense of breaking now and then a wooden trencher bowl,
he had no thought that cleanliness was, as the preacher often told
us, next to godliness.
It was he, and such as he, that caused Captain Smith and those
others of the Council who were minded to work for the common good,
very much of trouble.
The rule, as laid down by my master, was that those living in a
dwelling should keep cleanly the land roundabout the outside for
a space of five yards, and yet again and again have I seen William
Rods throw the refuse from the table just outside the door, meaning
to take it away at a future time, and always forgetting so to do
until reminded by some one in authority.
However, it is not for me to speak of such trifling things
as these, although had you heard Captain Smith and Master Hunt in
conversation, you would not have set them down as being of little
importance. Those two claimed that only by strict regard to
cleanliness, both of person and house, would it be possible for
us, when another summer came, to ward off that sickness which had
already carried away so many of our company.
After Captain Smith had brought matters to rights in the village,
setting this company of men to building more houses, and that company
to hewing down trees for firewood, which would be needed when the
winter had come, Master Hunt made mention of a matter which I knew
must have been very near his heart many a day.
A NEW CHURCH
During all the time we had been on shore, the only church in
Jamestown was the shelter beneath that square of canvas which he
himself had put up. When it stormed, he had called such of the people
as were inclined to worship into one or another of the houses; but
now he asked that a log building be put together, while it was yet
so warm that the men could work out of doors without suffering,
and to this, much to my pleasure, for I had an exceedingly friendly
feeling toward Master Hunt, Captain Smith agreed.
Therefore it was that when the storms of October came, Master Hunt
had a place in which to receive those whom he would lead to a better
life, and I believe that all our people, the men who were careless
regarding the future life, and those who followed the preacher's
teachings, felt the better in mind because there was at last in
our village a place which would be used for no other purpose than
that of leading us into, and helping us to remain in, the straight
path.
CAPTAIN NEWPORT'S RETURN
It was at the beginning of the new year, two days after my master
was set free by the savages, that Captain Newport came back to us,
this time in the ship John and Francis, and with him were fifty
men who had been sent to join our colony.
Fortunately for us there were but few gentlemen among them, therefore
did the work of building the village go on much more rapidly,
because there were laborers in plenty.
A larger building, which was called the fort, and would indeed
have been a safe place for refuge had the savages made an attack,
was but just completed at the beginning of the third month, meaning
March.
There Captain Smith had stored the supply of provisions and seed
brought in the John and Francis, and we were already saying to
ourselves that by the close of the summer we should reap a bountiful
harvest.
All these plans and hopes went for naught, however, for on a certain
night--and no man can say how it happened, save him who was the
careless one--fire fastened upon the inside of the fort, having
so much headway when it was discovered, that our people could do
little toward checking it.
The flames burst out through the roof, which was thatched with
dried grass, as were all the houses in the town, and leaped from
one building to another until it seemed as if the entire village
would be destroyed.
It is true that even the palisade, which was near to forty feet
distant from the fort, was seized upon by the flames, and a goodly
portion of that which had cost us so much labor was entirely
destroyed.
Out of all our houses only four remained standing when the flames
had died away. The seed which we had counted on for reaping a
harvest, the store of provisions, and a large amount of clothing
and other necessaries, were thus consumed.
Good Master Hunt lost all his books, in fact, everything he owned
save the clothes upon his back, and yet never once did I, who was
with him very much, for he came to live at our house while the
village was being rebuilt, hear him utter one word of complaint,
or of sorrow.
GOLD SEEKERS
It was while all the people, gentlemen as well as laborers, were
doing their, best to repair the loss, and to put Jamestown into
such shape that we might be able to withstand an attack from the
savages, if so be they made one, that even a worse misfortune than
the fire came upon us.
Some of those whom Captain Newport had lately brought to Virginia,
while roaming along the shores of the river in order to learn
what this new land was like, came upon a spot where the waters had
washed the earth away for a distance of five or six feet, leaving
exposed to view a vast amount of sand, so yellow and so heavy that
straightway the foolish ones believed they were come upon that
gold which our people had been seeking almost from the very day we
first landed.
From this moment there was no talk of anything save the wealth
which would come to us and the London Company.
Even Captain Newport was persuaded that this sand was gold, and
straightway nearly every person in the village was hard at work
digging and carrying it in baskets on board the John and Francis
as carefully as if each grain counted for a guinea.
Of all the people of Jamestown, Captain Smith and Master Hunt were
the only ones who refused to believe the golden dream. They held
themselves aloof from this mad race to gather up the yellow sand,
and strove earnestly to persuade the others that it would be a
simple matter to prove by fire whether this supposed treasure were
metal.
In the center of the village, where all might see him, Master Hunt
set a pannikin, in which was a pint or more of the sand, over a
roaring fire which he kept burning not less than two hours.
When he was done, the sand remained the same as before, which, so he
and my master claimed, was good proof that our people of Jamestown
were, in truth, making fools of themselves, as they had many a time
before since we came into this land of Virginia.
A WORTHLESS CARGO
When we should have been striving to build up the town once more,
we spent all our time loading the ship with this worthless cargo,
and indeed I felt the better in my mind when finally Captain Newport
set sail, the John and Francis loaded deeply with sand, because
of believing that we were come to an end of hearing about treasure
which lay at hand ready for whosoever would carry it away.
In this, however, I was disappointed. Although there was no longer
any reason for our people to labor at what was called the gold
mine, since there was no ship at hand in which to put the sand,
they still talked, hour by hour, of the day when all the men in
Virginia would go back to England richer than kings.
Because of such thoughts was it well nigh impossible to force them
to labor once more. Yet Captain Smith and Master Hunt did all they
could, even going so far as to threaten bodily harm if the people
did not rebuild the storehouse, plant such seed as had been saved
from the flames, and replace those portions of the palisade which
had been burned.
It was while our people were thus working half heartedly, that
Captain Nelson arrived in the ship Phoenix, having been so long
delayed on the voyage, because of tempests and contrary winds, that
his passengers and crew had eaten nearly all the stores which the
London Company sent over for our benefit, and bringing seventy more
mouths to be fed.
Save that she brought to us skilled workmen, the coming of the
Phoenix did not advantage us greatly, while there were added to
our number, seventy men, and of oatmeal, pickled beef and pork, as
much as would serve for, perhaps, three or four weeks.
Through her, however, as Master Hunt said in my hearing, came some
little good, for on seeing the yellow sand, Captain Nelson declared
without a question that it was worthless, and, being accustomed
to working in metal, speedily proved to our people who were yet
suffering with the gold fever, that there was nothing whatsoever
of value in it.
THE CONDITION OF THE COLONY
That he might have something to carry back to England, and not being
minded to take on board a load of sand, Captain Nelson asked that
the Phoenix be laden with cedar logs and such clapboards as our
people had made. Therefore was it that we sent to England the first
cargo of value since having come to Virginia.
Among those who had come over in the Phoenix were workmen who
understood the making of turpentine, tar and soap ashes. There
was also a pipe maker, a gunsmith, and a number of other skilled
workmen, so that had the Council advanced the interest of the colony
one half as much as my master was doing, all would have gone well
with us in Jamestown.
As it was, however, the President of the Council, so Master Hunt
has declared many times, and of a verity he would not bear false
witness, often countenanced the men in rebellion against my master's
orders, until, but for the preacher's example, we might never have
put into the earth our first seed.
Because of lack of food, and it seems strange to say so when there
were of oysters near at hand more than a thousand men could have
eaten, and fish in the rivers without number, Captain Smith set off
once more in the pinnace to trade with the Indians, as well as to
explore further the bay and the river.
Master Hunt lived in our house, while he was gone, therefore
Nathaniel and I were not idle, and though we had each had a dozen
pair of hands, we could have kept them properly employed, what with
making a garden for our own use, tending the plants, and keeping
house.
TOBACCO
Just here I am minded to set down that which the girl Pocahontas
told us concerning the raising of tobacco, and it is well she
spent the time needed to instruct us, for since then I have seen
the people in this new world of Virginia getting more money from
the tobacco plant, than they could have gained even though Captain
Newport's yellow sand had been veritable gold.
You must know that the seed of tobacco is even smaller than grains
of powder, and the Indians usually plant it in April. Within a month
it springs up, each tiny plant having two or four leaves, and one
month later it is transplanted in little hillocks, set about the
same distance apart as are our hills of Indian corn.
Two or three times during the season the plants have to be hoed
and weeded, while the sickly leaves, which peep out from the body
of the stock, must be plucked off.
If the plant grows too fast, which is to say, if it is like to get
its full size before harvest time, the tops are cut to make it more
backward.
About the middle of September it is reaped, stripped of its leaves,
and tied in small bunches; these are hung under a shelter so that
the dew may not come to them, until they are cured the same as hay.
Having thus been dried, and there must be no suspicion of moisture
about, else they will mold, the whole is packed into hogsheads.
I have lived to see the days go by since the girl Pocahontas showed
Nathaniel and me how to cultivate the weed, until the greatest
wealth which Virginia can produce comes from this same tobacco,
which, Master Hunt says, not only induces filthiness in those who
use it, but works grievous injury to the body.
CAPTAIN NEWPORT'S RETURN
When Captain Newport came back to Virginia, at about the time we
were gathering our scanty harvest, his dreams of sudden wealth,
through the digging of gold in Virginia, had burst as does a bubble
when one pricks it.
He had not been more than four and twenty hours in England before
learning that his ship was laden only with valueless sand, and,
mayhap, if the London Company had not demanded that he return to
Virginia at once, with certain orders concerning us at Jamestown,
he might have been too much ashamed to show his face among us again.
My master had come in long since from trading with the Indians,
having had fairly good success at times, and again failing utterly
to gather food. The king Powhatan was grown so lofty in his bearing,
because of the honor some of our foolish people had shown him,
that it was well nigh impossible to pay the price he asked, even
in trinkets, for so small an amount as a single peck of corn.
However, that which Powhatan did or did not do, concerned me very
little when Captain Newport had arrived, for he brought with him
such tidings as made my heart rejoice, and caused Master Hunt to
say that now indeed would our village of Jamestown grow as it should
have grown had our leaders shown themselves of half as much spirit
as had my master.
But for the greater things which followed Captain Newport's arrival
in September of the year 1608, I would have set it down as of the
utmost importance to us in Jamestown, that he brought with him the
first two women, other than the girl Pocahontas, who had ever come
into our town.
These were Mistress Forest, and her maid, Anne Burras, and if the
king himself had so far done us the honor as to come, his arrival
would have caused no greater excitement.
Every man and boy in the settlement pressed forward eager even to
touch the garments of these two women as they came ashore in the
ship's small boat, and I dare venture to say that we stared at
them, Nathaniel and I among the number, even as the savages stared
at us when first we landed.
It would have been more to my satisfaction had there been two maids,
instead of only one and her mistress, for it was more than likely
servants could tell Nathaniel and me many things about our care of
the house, which a great lady would not well know. Therefore, as I
viewed the matter, we could well spare fine women, so that we had
maids who would understand of what we as houseboys stood mostly in
need.
However, it was not with these women, who were only two among seventy,
that had come with Captain Newport on this his third voyage, that
I was most deeply concerned, and how I learned that which pleased
me so greatly shall be set down exactly as it happened.
MASTER HUNT BRINGS GREAT NEWS
I had been down at the landing place, feasting my eyes upon the
ship which had so lately come from the country I might never see
again, and was trying to cheer myself by working around the house
in the hope of pleasing Captain Smith, when Master Hunt came in
with a look upon his face such as I had not seen since the sickness
first came among us, and, without thinking to be rude, I asked him
if it was the arrival of the women which pleased him so greatly.
"It is nothing of such fanciful nature, Richard Mutton," the good
man replied with a smile, "though I must confess that it is pleasing
to see women with white faces, when our eyes have beheld none save
bearded men for so long a time. What think you has been done in the
Council this day, since Captain Newport had speech with President
Ratcliffe?"
Verily I could not so much as guess what might have happened, for
those worshipful gentlemen were prone at times to behave more like
foolish children, than men upon whom the fate of a new country
depended, and I said to Master Hunt much of the same purport.
"They have elected your master, Captain John Smith, President of
the Council, Richard Mutton, and now for the first time will matters
in Jamestown progress as they should."
"My master President of the Council at last!" I cried, and the good
preacher added:
"So it is, lad, as I know full well, having just come from there."
"But how did they chance suddenly to gather their wits?" I cried
with a laugh, in which Master Hunt joined.
"It was done after Captain Newport had speech with Master Ratcliffe,
and while I know nothing for a certainty, there is in my mind
a strong belief that he brought word from the London Company for
such an election to be made. At all events, it is done, and now we
shall see Jamestown increase in size, even as she would have done
from the first month we landed here had Captain John Smith been at
the head of affairs."
The good preacher was so delighted with this change in the government
that he unfolded all his budget of news, forgetting for the time
being, most like, that he was not speaking to his equal, and thus
it was I learned what were Captain Newport's instructions from the
London Company.
CAPTAIN NEWPORT'S INSTRUCTIONS
He was ordered, if you please, not to return to England without
bringing back a lump of gold, exploring the passageway to the South
Sea, or finding some of Sir Walter Raleigh's lost colony, of which
I will tell you later.
But whether he did the one or the other, he had been commanded to
crown as a king, Powhatan, and had brought with him mock jewels
and red robes for such a purpose.
To find a lump of gold, after he had brought to England a shipload
of yellow sand!
To crown Powhatan king, when, to our sorrow, he was already showing
himself far more of a king than was pleasing or well for our town
of James!
Forgetting I was but a lad, and had no right to put blame on the
shoulders of my leaders and betters, or even to address Master
Hunt as if I were a man grown, I cried out against the foolishness
of those people in London for whom we were striving to build up a
city, saying very much that had better been left unsaid, until the
good preacher cried with a laugh:
"We can forgive them almost anything, Dicky Mutton, since they have
made our Captain Smith the head of the government in this land of
Virginia."
And now I will tell you, as Master Hunt told me, the story of this
lost colony of Roanoke, which the London Company had commanded
Captain Newport to find.
You must know that English people had lived in this land of Virginia
before we came here in 1606, and while it does not concern us of
Jamestown, except as we are interested in knowing the fate of our
countrymen, it should be set down, lest we so far forget as to say
that those of us who have built this village are the first settlers
in the land.
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 | 5 |
6 |
7