 Section 10. Captain Kendall's Plot It is not possible my memory will serve me to tell of all that was done by us in Jamestown after we were come to our senses through the efforts of my master. But the killing of Captain Kendall is one of the many terrible happenings in Virginia which will never be forgotten so long as I shall live. And our people were relieved from the famine through the gifts from the Indians and the coming of the wildfowl. Captain Smith said about making some plants to provide us with food during the winter, and to that end he set off in the shallot to trade with the savages, taking with him six men. He had a goodly store of beads and trinkets with which to make payment for what he might be able to buy, for these brown men are overly fond of what among English people would be little more than toys. While he was gone, Master Wingfield and Captain Kendall were much together, for both were in a certain way under disgrace since the plot with which they charged my master had been shown to have been of their own evil imaginings. They at once set about making friends with some of the serving men, and this in itself was so strange that Nathaniel and I kept our eyes and ears open wide to discover the cause. It was not many days before we came to know that there was a plant afoot, laid by these two men who should have been working for the good of the colony instead of to further their own base ends, to seize upon our penis which lay more to the shore and to sail in her to England. How that would have advantaged them I cannot even so much as guess, but certain it was that they were carried on board the penis a great store of wild fowl which had been cooked with much labor, and had filled two casks with water, as if believing such amount would serve to save them from thirst during the long voyage. These wicked ones had hardly gone on board the vessel when Captain Smith came home in the shallop, which was loaded deep with Indian corn he had bought from the savages, and seeing the penis being got under way had little trouble in guessing what was afoot. The death of Captain Kendall. If ever a man moves swiftly and with purpose it was our master when he thus came to understand what master Wingfield and Captain Kendall would do. He was on shore before those in the penis could hoist the sails, and calling upon all who remained true to the London company to give him aid, had three of our small cannon which were already loaded with shot, aimed at the crew of mutineers. Five men, each with a matchlock in his hand, stood ready to fire upon those who at the same time would desert and steal from us, and Captain Smith gave the order for Captain Kendall and Master Wingfield to come on shore without delay. For reply Captain Kendall discharged his firearm, hoping to kill my master, and then those on the bank emptied their matchlocks with such effect that Captain Kendall was killed by the first volley, causing Master Wingfield to scuttle on shore in a twinkling lest he suffer a like fate. The whole bloody business was at an end in less than a quarter hour, but the effect of it was not so soon wiped away. For from that time each man had suspicion of his neighbor, fearing lest another attempt be made to take from us the penis, which we looked upon as an arc of refuge, in case the savages should come against us in such numbers that they could not be resisted. Captain Smith's Expedition and Return Until winter was come we had food in plenty, for one could hardly send a charge of shot toward the river without bringing down swans, ducks, or cranes, while from the savages we got sufficient for our daily wants, meal made from the corn, pumpkins, peas, and beans. But this did not cause Captain Smith to give over trying to buy from the Indians a store of corn for the winter, and shortly after Captain Kendall's death he set off with nine white men and two Indian Guides in a barge, counting to go as far as the head of the Chickahominy River. This time twenty-two long dreary days went by without his return, and we mourned him as dead, believing the savages had murdered him. The discontented ones were in high glee because of thinking the man who had forced them to do that which they should had gone out from their world for ever, and we too lads were plunged in deepest grief, for in all the great land of Virginia Captain Smith was our only true friend. Then arrived that day when he suddenly appeared before us, having come to no harm, and as Master Hunt lifted up his hands in a prayer of thanksgiving, because the man who was so sadly needed in Jamestown had returned. I fell on my knees, understanding for the first time in my life how good God could be to us in that wilderness. 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 liken to 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 the 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 POW HATTON 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 Powhattan. After many days of traveling, the savages were come with their prisoner to Powhattan'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 the 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 special 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 Powhattan'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 Powhattan 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 Powhattan, after keeping Captain Smith prisoner until he could tell of what he had seen in other countries of the world, set him free. End of Section 10 Section 11 from Richard of Jamestown This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Richard of Jamestown. A Story of the Virginia Colony by James Otis Section 11 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 a 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 rush lights, 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 fancy 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 house boys 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 trench or bowl, he had no thought that cleanliness was, as the preacher often told us, next to godliness. As 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 Master, was that those living in a dwelling should keep cleanly the land round about 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 someone 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 claim 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 of 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 to his heart many a day. A New Church During all the time we had been on shore, the only church at 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 believed 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 no 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 distance from the fort, was seized upon by the flames, and a goodly portion of that which had cost us so much labour was entirely destroyed. Out of all our homes 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 saved 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. Goldseekers It was while all the people, gentlemen as well as labourers, 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 would 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 panic 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 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. Plants such seed as had been saved from the flames, and replaced 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-four mouths to feed. Saved 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. Section 11 Section 12 from Richard of Jamestown This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Richard of Jamestown A Story of the Virginia Colony by James Otis Section 12 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 clabbards 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 pipemaker, a gunsmith, and a number of our skilled workmen so that had the council advance 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 had declared many times, and of a verity he would not bear false witness, often countenance that the men in rebellion against my master's orders until, but as a creature'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 penis to trade with the Indians as well as to explore further the bay and the river. Master Hunt lived in our house and 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 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, then 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 planted in April. Within a month it springs up, each tiny plant having two or four leaves, and one month later it is transplanted into a small hillocks, set about the same distance apart as our hills of Indian corn. Two or three times during the season the plants have to be hoe'd 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. 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 hole is packed into hog's heads. I have lived to see the days go by since the girl Pocahontas showed Nathaniel and me how to cultivate the weed, until the 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 he had to fix 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 may have 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 Americans, and again failing utterly to gather food. The King Powhatten was grown so lofty in his bearing, because of the honour 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 Powhatten did or did not do concerned me very little when Captain Newport had arrived, for such tidings as made my heart rejoice, and caused Master Hunt to say that now indeed what 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 other than the girl Pocahontas who had ever come into our town. These were Mistress Forest and her maid, Ann Burris, and if the King himself had so far done us the honours to come, his arrival would have caused no greater excitement. Gazing at the women. Every man and boy in the settlement pressed forward eager to touch the garments of these two women, as they came ashore in the ship's small boat, and entered to say that we stared at them, Nathaniel and I among the number, even as the savages stared at us when we first 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 understand 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 have been down at the 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, thank you, has been done in the council this day, since Captain Newport had speech with President Rastcliff. Verily I could not so much as guess what might have happened, for those worshipful gentlemen were prone at times to behave more like 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, and I know full well having just come from there. But how did they chant 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 Rastcliff, and while I know nothing for a certainty there is in my mind a strong belief that he brought word from London Company for such an election to be made. At all events it is done, and now we shall see Jamestown 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, Powhattan, 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 the upload of yellow sand. To crown Powhattan 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 bedders, 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 saying very much that had better been left unsaid, until the good preacher cried with a laugh. We can forgive them almost anything, Dickie 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 Rowan Oak, which the London Company had commanded Captain Newport to find. You must know that English 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 us to say that those of us who have built this village are the first settlers in the land. Section 12 Section 13 from Richard of Jamestown This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Richard of Jamestown A Story of the Virginia Colony by James Otis Section 13 The Story of Rowan Oak Twenty-one years before we sailed from London, Sir Walter Raleigh sent out a fleet of seven ships, carrying one hundred and seven persons to Virginia, and Master Ralph Lane was named as the Governor. They landed on Rowan Oak Island, but because the Indians threatened them and because just at that time, when they were most frightened, Sir Francis Drake came by with his fleet. They all went home, not daring to stay any longer. Two years after that, which is to say nineteen years before we of Jamestown came here, Sir Walter Raleigh sent over one hundred and sixteen people, among whom were men, women, and children, and they also began to build a town on Rowan Oak Island. John White was their Governor, and very shortly after they came to Rowan Oak, his daughter, Mistress Ananias Stare, had a little baby girl, the first white child to be born in the New World, so they named her Virginia. Now these people, like ourselves, were soon sorely in need of food, and they coached Governor John White to go back to England to get what would be needed until they could gather a harvest. At the time he arrived at London, England was at war with the Spanish people, and it was two years before he found a chance to get back. When he finally arrived at Rowan Oak Island, there were no signs of any traces found, except that on the tree was cut the word Croatin, which is the name of an Indian village on the island nearby. That was the last ever heard of all those hundred and sixteen people. Five different times Sir Walter Raleigh sent out men for the missing ones, but no traces could be found, not even at Croatin, and no one knows whether they were killed by the Indians or wandered off into the wilderness where they were lost forever. You can see by the story that the London Company had set for Captain Newport a very great task when they commanded him to do what so many people had failed in before him. And now out of that story of the lost colony, as Master Hunt told Nathanially me, grows another which also concerns us in this new land of Virginia. You will remember I have said that Master Ralph Lane was the Governor of the Company of People who went to Roanoke Island, and afterward getting discouraged returned to England. Now this Master Lane and the other men who were with him learned from the Indians to smoke the weed called tobacco and carried quite a large amount of it home with them. Not only Sir Walter Raleigh who knew Master Lane very well, but many other people in England also learned to smoke, and therefore it was that when we began to raise tobacco, it found a more ready sale in London than any other thing we could send over. Once this was known our people gave the greater portion of their time to cultivating the Indian weed. The Crowning of Powhatan Very nearly the first thing which my Master did after having been made President of the Council was to obey the orders of the London Company by going with Captain Newport to London's village in order to crown him like a king. This was not at all to the pleasure of the Savage, who failed of understanding what my Master and Captain Newport meant when they wanted him to kneel down so they might put the crown upon his head. If all the stories which I have heard regarding the matter are true they must have had quite a scrimmage before succeeding in getting him into what they believed was a proper position to receive the gifts from the Company. Our people, so Master Hunt told me, were obliged to take him by the shoulders and force him to the knees, after which they clapped the crown on his head, and threw the red robe around his shoulders in a mighty hurry lest he show fight and overcome them. It was some time before Captain Smith could make him understand that it was a great honor which was being done to him, but when he did get it through his head and his hands and brought from the hut his raccoon skin coat, with orders that my Master and Captain Newport send them all to King James in London, as a present from the Great Palhattan of Virginia. After this had been done, Captain Newport sailed up the James River in search of the passage to the South Sea, and my Master set about putting Jamestown into proper order. Preparing for the future Once more Captain Smith made the rule that those who would not work should not eat, and this time, with all the council at his back, together with such men as Captain Newport had just brought with him, you can well fancy his orders were obeyed. In addition to the stocks which have been built, he had a pillory set up, and those gentlemen who were not inclined to labor with their hands as well as they might were forced to stand in it to their discomfort. The next thing which was to have a large deep well dug so that we might have sweet water from it for drinking purposes, rather than be forced to use that from the river, for it was to his mind that through this muddy water did the sickness come to us. When the winter was well begun and Captain Newport ceased to search for the South Sea passage, because of having come to the falls of the James River, Captain Smith forced our people to build twenty stout houses, such as would serve to protect us from the savages, and again was the palisade stretch from one to the other, until the village stood in the form of a square. After the cold season had passed some of the people were set about shingling the church, and others were ordered to make clabbards that we might have a cargo when Captain Newport returned. It was the duty of some few to keep the streets and lanes of the village clear from filth, lest we invite the sickness again, and the company were employed in planting Indian corn, forty acres of which were seeded down, stealing the company's goods. If I have made it clear that during all this time we lived in the most friendly manner with the savages, then I have blundered in the setting down of that which happened. Although it shames one to write such things concerning those who called themselves Englishmen, yet it must be said that the savages were only degree friendly, and all because of what our people had done. From the time when Captain Smith had declared that he who would not work should not eat, some of our fine gentlemen were willing to believe that labor was the greatest crime which could be committed, began stealing from the common store iron and copper goods of every kind, which might become at. In order to trade with the savages for food they themselves were too lazy to get food. They even went so far, some of those who thought it more the part of a man to wear silks than build himself a house, as to steal matchlocks, pistols and weapons of any kind. Standing ready to teach the savages how to use these things if thereby they were given so much additional in the way of food. As our numbers increased by reason of the companies which were brought over by Captain Newport and Captain Nelson, so did the delivery, become the more serious until on one day I heard Master Hunt tell my master that of forty axes which had been brought ashore from the Phoenix and left outside the storehouse during the night, but eight were remaining when morning came. What the thieving led to. Now there was more of mischief to this than the crime of stealing or of indolence. The savages came to understand they could drive hard bargains to increase the price of their corn that Captain Smith set it down in his report to the London Company that the same amount of copper or of beads which had, one year before, paid for five bushels of wheat, wood, within a week after Captain Newport came in search of the lost colony, paid for no more than one peck. Nor was this the entire sum of the wrong done by our gentlemen who stole, rather than worked with their hands. The savages on bold now that they had firearms and knew how to use them, no longer had the same fear of white people as when Captain Smith, single handed, was able to hold two hundred in check, and strove to kill us of Jamestown whenever they found opportunity. On four different times did they plot to murder my master, believing that when he had been done to death it would be more easy for them to kill off all in our town. But on each occasion, so keen was his watchfulness he outwitted them all. The putting of a crown on Powhouton's head, and bowing before him as if he had been a real king, also did much mischief. It caused that brown savage to believe we feared him, which was much the same as inviting him to be less of a friend. Until on a certain day he boldly declared that one basket of his corn was worth more than all our copper and beads, because he could eat his corn while our trinkets were hungry men no satisfaction. And thus, by the wicked and unwise acts of our own people, did we prepare the way for another time of famine and sickness. Fear of famine in a land of plenty. However, I must set this much down as counting in our favor. When we landed in this country we had three pigs, and a cock, and six hens, all of which we turned loose in the wilderness ourselves, giving them shelter to such as came back to us when winter was near at hand. Within two years we had of pigs more than sixty, in addition to many which were yet running wild in the forest. Of hens and cocks we had upward of five hundred, the greater number being kept in pens to the end that we might profit by their eggs. I have heard Master Hunt declare more than once, that had we followed Captain Smith's advice, when we were talking of crops, our storehouse would have been too small for the food on hand, and we might have held ourselves free from the whims of the savages, having corn to sell, rather than spending near to half our time trying to buy it. As Master Hunt said again and again, when talking over the situation with Captain Smith, it seemed strange even to us who were there that we could be looking forward to a famine, when in the sea we had food in abundance to feed half the people in all this wide world. To show how readily one might get himself a dinner, if so be his taste were not too nice. I have seen Captain Smith, when told what he had in the larder for the next meal, go to the river with only his naked sword, and there spear fish enough with the weapon to provide us with as much as could be eaten in a full day. But yet some of our gentlemen claimed that it was the food of the sea. Others declared that oysters, when partaken of regularly, were as poisonous as the sweet potatoes which we bought of the Indians. Thus it was that day by day did we who were in the land of Plenty overrun with that which would serve as food, fear that another time of famine was nigh. The Unhelpful Location I have often spoke of the unwillingness of some of our gentlemen to the labor. But Captain Smith, who was not only eager to find excuses for those who were indolent, had said that there was much reason why many of our men hugged their cabins, counting it a most arduous task to go even so far as the river as were the oyster beds. He believes, and Master Hunt is of the same opinion, that this town of ours has been built on that portion of the shore where the people are most dying, almost on a level with the river. The country round about is made up of swamps and bogs, and the air which comes to us at night is filled with a fever, which causes those upon whom it fastens, first to shake as if they were beset with bitterest cold, and then again to burn as if likely to be reduced to ashes. Some call it the agieu, and others the shakes. But whatsoever it may be there is nothing more distressing or better calculated to hinder a man from taking so much of exercise as is necessary for his well-being. Gathering Oysters That Nathaniel and I may gather oysters without too great labor of walking and carrying heavy burdens. Captain Smith has brought from the savages a small boat made of the bark of birch trees, stretched over a framework of splints and sewn trails of deer. On the seams and wherever the water might find entrance it is well gummed with pitch taken from the pine tree, and with all the lightest graft that can be well made. Either Nathaniel or I can take this vessel, which the savages call a canoe, on our shoulders, carrying it without difficulty, and when the two of us are inside resting upon our knees, for we may not sit in it as a ship's boat, we send it along with paddles at a rate so rapid as to cause one to think it moved by magic. With this canoe Nathaniel and I may go to the oyster beds, and in half an hour put on board as large a cargo of shellfish as she will carry, in addition to our own weight, coming back in a short time with as much food as would serve a dozen men for two days. If these oysters could be kept fresh for any length of time, then would we be a valuable store near at hand. But, like other fish, a few hours in the sun serves to spoil them. Of the fish called the sturgeon, we have more than can be consumed by all our company, but one cannot endure the flavor day after day, and therefore it is that we use it for food only when we cannot get any other. Master Hunt has shown Nathaniel to me how we may prepare it in such a manner as to change the flavor. It must first be dried in the sun until so hard that it can be pounded into the fineness of meal. This is then mixed with caviar, by which I mean the eggs or roe of the sturgeon, with sorrel leaves, and with other wholesome herbs. The whole is made into small balls or cakes, which are fried over the fire with a plentiful amount of fat. Such a dish serves us for either bread or meat, or for both on a pinch. Therefore, if we lads are careful not to waste our time, Captain Smith may never come without finding in the larder something that can be eaten. Richard of Jamestown. A Story of the Virginia Colony by James Otis Section 14 Turpentine and Tar To us in Jamestown the making of anything which we may send back to England for sale is of such great importance that we are more curious regarding the manner in which the work is done, than would be others who are less eager to see piled up that which will bring money to the land. Therefore it was that Nathaniel and I watched eagerly the making of turpentine, and found it not unlike the method by which the Indians gained sugar from maple trees. A strip of bark is taken from the pine, perhaps eight or ten inches long, and at the lower end of the wound, thus made, a deep notch is cut in the wood. Into this the sap flows, and is scraped out as fast as the cavity is filled. It is the labor in which all may join, and so plentiful are the pine trees that if our people in Jamestown set about making turpentine only, they might load four or five ships in a year. From the making of tar much money can be earned, and it is a simple process such as I believe I myself might compass, were it not that I have sufficient of other work to occupy all my time. The pine tree is cut into short pieces, even the roots being used for. If I mistake not more tar may be had from the roots than from the trunks of the trees. Our people here dig a hollow, much like into the shape of a funnel on the other side of a hill or bank. Fill it in with the wood and the roots, and cover the hole closely with turf. An iron pot is placed at the bottom of this hollow in the earth, and a fire is built at the top of the pile, while the fuel smolders the tar stews out of the wood falling into the iron pot, and from there it is put into whatsoever vessels may be most convenient in which to carry it overseas. The making of clabbards There is far greater labour required in making of clabbards, and it is of a weary some kind. But Captain Newport declares that clabbards made of our Virginia cedar are far better in quality than any to be found in England. Therefore it is Captain Smith keeps as many men as he may which is more tiring than difficult. The trunks of the trees are cut into lengths of four feet and trim both as to branches and bark. An iron tool called a frow, which is not unlike a butcher's cleaver, is then used to split the log into thin strips, one edge of which is four or five times thicker than the other. You will understand better the method by picturing to yourself the end of a round log which has been stood upright for a long time. Now if you will place a frow in such a position that it will split the thicknesses of an inch or less on the other side, you will find that the point of the instrument which is at the heart of the tree must come in such manner as to make the splint very thin on the inner edge. The frow is driven through the wood by a wooden mallet to the end that the sides of the clabbard may be fairly smooth. Master Hunt has told me that if we were to put on board a ship the size as many clabbards as she could swim under the value of the cargo would be no less than five hundred pounds and they would have a ready sail in London or in any other English port. Providing for the children and now before I come to the most terrible time in the history of our town of James let me set down that which the London company has decreed for it is of great importance to all those who like Nathaniel and me came over into this land of Virginia before they were men and women grown. Master Hunt has written the facts out fairly to the end that I may understand them well. He having had the information from Captain Newport for it was the last decree made by the London company before the John and Francis sailed. I must say however that the reason why this decree or order whichever it may be called has been made was to the end that men and women who had large families of children might be induced to join us here in Jamestown as if we had not already mouths enough to feed. The council of the company has decided to allow the use of twenty-five acres of land for each and every child that comes into Virginia and all who are now here or may come to live at the expense of the company are to be educated in some good trade or profession in or order and may be able to support themselves when they have come to the age of four and twenty years or have served the time of their apprenticeship which is to be no less than seven years. It is further decreed that all of those children when they become of age or merry whichever shall happen first are to have freely given and made over to them fifty acres of land apiece which same shall be in Virginia within the limits of the English plantation. The children must be placed as apprentices under honest and good masters within the grant made to the London company and shall serve for seven years or until they come to the age of twenty-four during which time their masters must bring them up in some trade or business. Dreams of the future On hearing this the question came into my mind as to whether Nathaniel and I could be called apprentices and as much as we were only house boys and captain Smith gave us. Master Hunt declared that being apprentices to care for the family was of as much service as if we were learned in the trade of making tar clabbards or of building ships and he assured me that if per adventure he was living when we had been in this island of Virginia seven years it should be his duty to see to it that we were given our fifty acres of land apiece. Thus understanding that we might ourselves in turn become planters Nathaniel and I had much to say one with the other concerning what should be done in the future we decided that when the time came for us to have the land set off for our own use we would strive that the two lots of fifty acres each be in one piece then would we set about raising tobacco as the Indian girl Pocahontas taught us and who can say that we might not come to be of some consequence even as our captain Smith and master hunt in this new world. End of Section 14 Section 15 from Richard of Jamestown this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Richard of Jamestown a story of the Virginia colony by James Otis Section 15 a plague of rats and now I am come to the spring of 1609 when befell us that disaster which marked the beginning of the time of suffering of trouble and of danger which was so near to wiping out the settlement of Jamestown that the people had already started on their way to England the day had come when we should put into the ground our Indian corn that a harvest might follow the supply which was to be used as seed have been stored in casks and piled up in the big house wherein we kept our goods when those who have been chosen to do the planting went for the seed it was found to have been destroyed by rats and not only the corn but many other things which were used in the storehouse have been eaten by the same animals master hunt maintained and captain Smith was of the same opinion that when the Phoenix was unloaded the rats came ashore from her finding lodging in that building which represented the vital spot of our town how so ever the pest came there certain it was we should reap no harvest that year unless the savages became more friendly than they had lately shown themselves and as to this we speedily learned treachery during captain Smith's absence when captain Smith set off in the penis in order to buy what might serve as a seed he found himself threatened by all the brown men living near about the shores of the bay as if they had suddenly made up a plot to kill us and never one of them would speak him fairly it was while my master was away that two Dutchmen who came over in the Phoenix and had gone with captain Smith in the penis returned to Jamestown saying to captain Wynn who was in command at the fort that captain Smith had used for more weapons because of going into the country in the hope of finding Indians who would supply him with corn not doubting their story the captain supplied them with what they demanded and as was afterward learned before leaving town that night they stole many swords, pike heads, shot and powder all of which these Dutch thieves carried to Powhatan if these two had been the only white men who did us wrong then might our plight not have become so desperate but many there were upwards of sixteen so master Hunt declared whom from day to day carried away secretly such weapons and tools or powder and shot as they should come upon thereby trusting to the word of the savages that they might live with them in their village as always without doing any manner of work others sold kettles, hoes or even swords and guns that they might buy food or corn or meat from the Indians without doing so much of labour as was necessary in order to gather these things for themselves captain Smith's speech Jamestown was a scene of turmoil and confusion when captain Smith came back from his journey having on board only two baskets of corn for seed after understanding what had been done by the idle ones during his absence he called all the people together and said unto them speaking earnestly as if pleading for his very life never did I believe white men who were come together in a new world and should stand shoulder to shoulder against all the enemies that surround them could be so reckless and malicious it is vain to hope for more help from Powhatan and the time has come where I shall no longer bear with you in your idleness but punish severely if you do not set about the work which must be done without further plotting you cannot deny but that I have risked my life many a time in order to save yours when if you had been allowed to go your own way all would have starved now I swear solemnly that you shall not only gather for yourselves the fruits which the earth doth yield but for those who are sick every one that gathers not each day as much as I do shall on the next be set beyond the river for ever banished from the fort to live or starve as God wills this caused the lazy ones to be stirred themselves for the time and perhaps all might have gone well with us had not the London Company sent out nine more vessels in which were five hundred persons to join us people in Jamestown one of the ships as we afterward learned was wrecked in a hurricane seven arrived safely and the ninth vessel we had not heard from all these people had expected to find food in plenty servants to wait upon them and everything furnished a hand without being obliged to raise a finger in their own behalf what was yet worse they had among them many men who believed they were to be made officers of the government the new laws now you must understand that with the coming of this fleet we of Jamestown were told that the London Company had changed all the laws for us in Virginia and that Lord Dillawar who sailed on the ship from which nothing had been heard was to be our governor from that hour did it seem as if all the men in Jamestown save only half a dozen among whom were Captain Smith, Master Hunt and Master Percy strove their best to wreck the settlement because Lord Dillawar the new governor had not arrived many of the newcomers refused to obey my master and they were so strong in numbers that it was not possible for him to force them to his will each man strove for himself regardless of the sick or of the women and children some banded themselves together in companies falling upon such Indian villages as they could easily overcome and murdered and robbed until all the brown men of Virginia stood ready to shed the blood of every white man who crossed their path then came that which plunged Nathaniel and me into deepest grief the accident Captain Smith had gone up the bay in the hope of soothing the trouble among the savages and failing in this effort was returning having got within four and twenty hours journey of Jamestown when the penis was anchored for the night the boats company lay down to sleep and then came the accident if accident it may be called the cause of which no man has ever been able to explain to the satisfaction of master hunt or myself Captain Smith was asleep with his powder bag by his side when in some manner it was set on fire and the powder exploding tore through the flesh from his body and thighs for the space of ten or nine inches square even down to the bones in his agony and being thus horribly aroused from sleep hardly knowing what he did he plunged overboard as the quickest way to soothe the pain there he was like to have drowned but for Samuel White who came near to losing his own life in saving him he was brought back to the town on the day before the ships of the fleet which had brought so many quarrelsome people were to sail for England with no surgeon to dress his wounds what could he do but depart in one of these ships with the poor hope of living in agony until he arrived on the other side of the ocean Nathaniel and I would have gone with him willing because of his friendship for us to have served him so long as we lived he refused to listen to our prayers insisting that we were lads well fitted to living in a new land like Virginia and that if we would remain with master hunt working out our time of apprenticeship which would be but five years longer then might we find ourselves men of importance in the colony he doubted not so he said but that we would continue after he had gone as we had while he was with us what could we lads do other than obey when his commands were laid upon us even though our hearts were so sore that it seemed as if it would no longer be possible to live when he had departed even amid his suffering when one might well have believed that he could give no he to anything save his own plight he spoke to us of what we should do for the bettering of our own condition he promised that as soon as he was come to London and able to walk around if so God permitted him to live he would seek out Nathaniel's parents to tell them that the lad who had run away from his home was rapidly making a man of himself in Virginia and would one day come back to gladden their hearts this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org it is not well for me to dwell upon our parting with the master whom we had served more than two years and who had ever been the most friendly friend and the most manly man one could ask to meet our hearts were sore when after having done what little we might toward carry him on board the ship we came back to his house which he had said in the presence of witnesses should be ours and there took up our lives with master Hunt but for that good man's prayers on this first night we would have abandoned ourselves entirely to grief that he devoted his time to soothing us showing why we had no right to do other than continue in the course on which we had been started by the man who was gone from us until it was, to my mind at least as if I should be doing some grievous wrong to my master if I failed to carry on the work while he was away as it would have been done had I known we were to see him again within the week with Captain Smith gone, perhaps to his death with half a dozen men who claimed the right to stand at the head of the government until Lord de la War should come and with the savages menacing us on every hand sore indeed was our plight with so many in the town for there were now 490 persons and while the savages because of having been so sorely wronged were in arms against us it was no longer possible to go abroad for food and as the winter came on we were put to it even in that land of plenty for enough to keep ourselves alive the starving time we came to know what starvation meant during that winter and were I to sit down here all of the suffering of the hunger weakness and of the selfishness we saw during the six months after Captain Smith sailed for home there would not be days enough left in my life to complete the tale I look back on it now it seems more like some wonderful dream than a reality wherein men strove with women and children for food to keep life in their own worthless bodies it is enough if I say that of the 490 persons who Captain Smith left behind there were in the month of May of the year 1610 but 58 left alive that God should have spared among those Nathaniel Peacock and myself is something which passeth understanding for verily there were scores of better than we whose lives would have advantaged Jamestown more than ours ever could who died and were buried as best they could be by the few who had sufficient strength remaining to dig the graves I said it down in all truth that through God's mercy our lives were saved by Master Hunt for he counseled us wisely as to the care we should take of our bodies when our stomachs were crying out for food and it was he who showed us how we might prepare this herb or the bark from that tree for the sustaining of life when we had nothing else to put into our mouths we had forgotten that Lord de la War was the new governor we had heard nothing of the ship in which it was said Sir Thomas Gates and Sir George Summers had sailed we were come to that pass where we cared nothing for the governor nor nobleman we strove only to keep within our bodies the life which had become painful then it was when the few of us who yet lived feared each moment lest the savages would put an end to us that we saw sailing up into the bay two small ships and I doubt if there was any among us who did not fall upon his knees and give thanks aloud to God for the help which had come at that very moment when it had seemed that we were past all aid our courage gives out but our time of rejoicing was short although these two ships were brought by Sir Thomas Gates and Sir George Summers having in them not less than one hundred and fifty men they did not have among them food sufficient to provide for the wants of our company until another harvest should come the vessel in which these newcomers had sailed was, as I have said wrecked in a hurricane near the Bermuda Isles where after much labor they had contrived to build these two small ships it needed not that we who of all our people in Jamestown remained alive should tell the story of what we had suffered for that could be read on our faces neither was it required that these newcomers should study long in order to decide upon the course to be pursued for the answer to all their speculations could be found in the empty storehouse and in the numberless graves, twix there and the river bank of provisions they had so much as might serve for a voyage to England if per adventure the winds were favourable and ere the ships had been at anchor four and twenty hours it was resolved that we should abandon this town of James which we had hoped might one day grow into a city fair to look upon an attempt to build up a nation in this new land of Virginia of which ours was the third had cost of money and of blood more than man could well set down and now after all this brave effort on the part of such men as Captain Smith Master Hunt and Master Percy it was to go for naught once more were the savages to hold undisputed possessions of the land which they claimed as their own abandoning Jamestown now even though Nathaniel Peacock and I had known more of suffering and of sorrow than of pleasure in Jamestown our hearts were sore at leaving it it seemed to me as if we were running contrary to that which my master would have commanded and there were tears in my eyes of which I was not ashamed when Nathaniel and I hand in hand followed Master Hunt out of the house we had helped to build those who had come from the shipwreck amid the Bermudas were rejoicing because they had failed to arrive in time to share with us the starvation and the sickness therefore to them this returning back upon the enterprise was but a piece of good fortune yet were they silent and sad understanding our sorrow it was the eighth day of June in the year sixteen ten when we set sail from Jamestown believing we were done with the new world forever and yet within less than three hours was all our grief changed to rejoicing all our sorrow to thankfulness Lord de la war's arrival at the mouth of the river selling toward us bravely as if having come from some glorious victory were three ships laden with men and as we afterward came to know an ample store of provisions it was Lord de la war who had come to take up his governorship and verily he was arrived in the very point of time for had he been delayed four and twenty hours we would have been on the ocean where was little likelihood of seeing him it needs not that I should say that our ships were turned back and before nightfall Master Hunt was sitting in Captain Smith's house with Nathaniel Peacock and me cooking for him such a dinner as we three had not known these past six months I have finished my story of Jamestown having set myself to tell only of what was done there while we were with Captain John Smith and it is well I should bring this story to an end here for if I make any attempt at telling what came to Nathaniel Peacock and myself after that then am I like to keep on until he who has begun to read will lay down the story because of weariness for the satisfaction of myself and the better pleasing of Nathaniel Peacock however I will add concerning our two selves that we remained in the land of Virginia until our time of apprenticeship was ended and then it was that Master Hunt did for us as Captain Smith had promised to do the young planters we found ourselves in the year sixteen fourteen the owners of a hundred acres of land which Nathaniel and I had chosen some distance back from the river so that we might stand in no danger of the shaking sickness and built ourselves a house like unto the one we had helped make for Captain Smith with the coming of Lord de la War all things were changed the governing of the people was done as my old master who never saw Virginia again I grieve to say would have had it we became a law abiding people save when a few hotheads stirred up trouble and got the worst of it when Nathaniel Peacock and I settled down as planters on our own account there were eleven villages in the land of Virginia and living in them more than four thousand men women and children it was no longer a country over which the savages ruled without check though sad to relate the brown men of the land shed the blood of white men like water ere they were driven out from among us it is well I sat down here at the end that before Captain John Smith and master Hunt Nathaniel Peacock and I might have remained in London to become worthless vagabonds whereas we stand today free men planters who are fairly well respected among our fellows and I hope as well as believe that no man within this land of Virginia can say that he was ever wronged or made sorrowful by Nathaniel Peacock or by Richard of Jamestown End of Richard of Jamestown A Story of the Virginia Colony by James Otis