POCAHONTAS SAVING THE LIFE OF CAPTAIN SMITH. (See p. 164.) PART II. EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND COLONIAL HISTORY; EXTENDING FROM THE SETTLEMENT OF JAMESTOWN, IN 1607, TO 1606. 1. Subject of Part II. CHAPTER I. 2HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. DIVISIONS. * 2. Chap 1 of Chap. I. I. 3 Virginia under the first charter.-II. Virginia under the second 3. Divisions charter.-III. Virginia under the third charter.-IV. Virginia from the dissolution of the London Company to the commencement of the French and Indian War. I. VIRGINIA UNDER THE FIRST CHARTER.-1. "The administration of the government of the Virginia colony had 4. Government of the Virginia colony. VIRGINIA, the most northern of the southern United States, and the largest in the Union, often called the Ancient Dominion, from its early settlement, contains an area of nearly 70,000 square miles. The state has a great variety of surface and soil. From the coast to the head of tide water on the rivers, including a tract of generally more than 100 miles in width, the country is low, sandy, covered with pitch pine, and is unhealthy from August to October. Between the head of tide water and the Blue Ridge, the soil is better, and the surface of the country becomes uneven and hilly. The interior of the State, traversed by successive ridges of the Alleghany, running N. E. and S. W. is a healthy region, and in the valleys are some of the best and mo pleasant lands in the State. The country west of the mountains, towards the Ohio, is rough and wild, with occasional fertile tracts, but rich as a mineral region. sensions, and ment of ANALYSIS. been intrusted to a council of seven persons, whom the superior council in England had been permitted to name, with a president to be elected by the council from their 1. Early dis number. 'But the names and instructions of the council imprison having been placed, by the folly of the king, in a sealed box, with directions that it should not be opened until the emigrants had arrived in America, dissensions arose during the voyage; and John Smith, their best and ablest man, was put in confinernent, upon the absurd accusation of an intention to murder the council, usurp the govern ment, and make himself king of Virginia. Smith. 1607. 2. Wingfieldtreatment of Company. 2. Soon after their arrival, the council chose Edward Smith on the Wingfield president,-an ambitious and unprincipled man, arrival of the and finding that Smith had been appointed one of their number, they excluded him from their body, as, by their instructions, they had power to do, but released him from confinement. As Smith demanded a trial upon the charges brought against him, which were known to be absurdly false, his accusers thought best, after a partial hearing of the case, to withdraw the accusation; and he was' soon restored to his station as a member of the council. 3 Character of the emigrants. 4. Their re ception by the natices a. Note, p. 137. 5. Powhatan jects. 3. Of the one hundred and five persons on the list of emigrants, destined to remain, there were no men with families, there were but twelve laborers, and very few mechanics. The rest were composed of gentlemen of fortune, and of persons of no occupation,-mostly of idle and dissolute habits-who had been tempted to join the expedition through curiosity or the hope of gain;-a company but poorly calculated to plant an agricultural state in a wilderness. 'The English were kindly received by the natives in the immediate vicinity of Jamestown, who, when informed of the wish of the strangers to settle in the country, offered them as much land as they wanted. 4. Soon after their arrival, Newport, and Smith, and and his sub- twenty others, ascended the Jamesa river, and visited the native chieftain, or king, Powhatan, at his principal residence near the present site of Richmond.* His subjects murmured at the intrusion of the strangers into the country; but Powhatan, disguising his jealousy and his fear, manifested a friendly disposition. 6. Events that occurred 5. About the middle of June, Newport sailed for Engafter the de- land; and the colonists, whose hopes had been highly ex. parture of cited by the beauty and fertility of the country, beginning to feel the want of suitable provisions, and being now left Newport. Richmond, the capital of Virginia, is on the north side of James River, 75 miles from its mouth. Immediately above the river are the falls, and directly opposite is village of Man. chester. 1 Sufferings to their own resources, soon awoke to the reality of their 1607. situation. 'They were few in number, and without habits of industry;-the Indians began to manifest hostile inten- of the colony. tions, and before autumn, the diseases of a damp and sultry climate had swept away fifty of their number, and among them, Bartholomew Gosnold, the projector of the settlement, and one of the ablest men in the council. 3. Govern ment falls into the hands 6. To increase their misery, their avaricious president, 2 Conspiracy. Wingfield, was detected in a conspiracy to seize the public stores, abandon the colony, and escape in the company's bark to the West Indies. He was therefore deposed, and was succeeded by Ratcliffe; but the latter possessing little capacity for government, and being subsequently detected in an attempt to abandon the colony, the management of affairs, by common consent, fell into the hands of Smith, who alone seemed capable of diffusing light amidst the general gloom. of Smith. Nov. 7. Under the management of Smith, the condition of 4. His manthe colony rapidly improved. He quelled the spirit of agement. anarchy and rebellion, restored order, inspired the natives with awe, and collected supplies of provisions, by expeditions into the interior. As autumn approached, wild fowl and game became abundant; the Indians, more friendly, from their abundant harvests made voluntary offerings; and peace and plenty again revived the drooping spirits of the colony. 8. The active spirit of Smith next prompted him to explore the surrounding country. After ascending the Chickahominy* as far as he could advance in boats, with two Englishmen and two Indian guides he struck into the interior. The remainder of the party, disobeying his instructions, and wandering from the boat, were surprised by the Indians and put to death. Smith was pursued, the two Englishmen were killed, and he himself, after dispatching with his musket several of the most forward of his assailants, unfortunately sinking in a miry place, was forced to surrender. 9. 'His calmness and self-possession here saved his life. Showing a pocket compass, he explained its wonderful properties, and, as he himself relates, "by the globe-like figure of that jewel he instructed them concerning the roundness of the earth, and how the sun did chase the night round about the earth continually.' In admiration of his superior genius the Indians retained him as their prisoner. 5. Smith taken prison er by the Indians. 6. In what saved his manner ho life. *The Chickahominy River rises northwest from Richmond, and, during most of its course runs nearly parallel to James River, which it enters five or six miles above Jamestown (See Map, p. 136.) 1608. 10. 'Regarding him as a being of superior order, but uncertain whether he should be cherished as a friend, or Indiane dreaded as an enemy, they observed towards him the garded him, utmost respect as they conducted him in triumph from they did with one village to another, and, at length, brought him to the him. residence of Opechancanough, where, for the space of re what 2. Decision of his fate. 1608. 3. His life Pocahontas. saved by three days, their priests or sorcerers practiced incantations and ceremonies, in order to learn from the invisible world the character and designs of their prisoner. 11. "The decision of his fate was referred to Powhatan and his council, and to the village of that chieftain Smith was conducted, where he was received with great pomp and ceremony. Here it was decided that he should die. He was led forth to execution, and his head was laid upon a stone to receive the fatal blow, when Pocahontas, the young and favorite daughter of the king, rushed in between the victim and the uplifted arm of the executioner, and with tears and entreaties besought her father to save 4. Sent to his life. "The savage chieftain relented; Smith was set at liberty; and, soon after, with a guard of twelve men, was conducted in safety to Jamestown, after a captivity of seven weeks. Jamestown. 5. Benefits derived from of the colony 12. The captivity of Smith was, on the whole, benehis captivity ficial to the colony; for he thereby learned much of the Indians, their character, customs, and language; and was enabled to establish a peaceful intercourse between 6. Condition the English and the Powhatan tribes. "But on his return on his return to Jamestown he found disorder and misrule again prevailing; the number of the English was reduced to forty men; and most of these, anxious to leave a country where they had suffered so much, had determined to abandon the colony and escape with the pinnace. This was the third attempt at desertion. By persuasion and threats a majority were induced to relinquish the design; but the remainder, more resolute, embarked in spite of the threats of Smith, who instantly directed the guns of the fort upon them and compelled them to return. 7. Arrival of new 13. 'Soon after, Newport arrived from England with emigrants. supplies, and one hundred and twenty emigrants. The hopes of the colonists revived; but as the new emigrants were composed of gentlemen, refiners of gold, goldsmiths, jewellers, &c., and but few laborers, a wrong direction Believing that 8. Search for was given to the industry of the colony. gold. they had discovered grains of gold in a stream of water near Jamestown, the entire industry of the colony was directed to digging, washing, refining and loading gold; and notwithstanding the remonstrances of Smith, a ship was actually freighted with the glittering earth and sent to England. 14. During the prevalence of this passion for gold, Smith, finding that he could not be useful in Jamestown, employed himself in exploring the Chesapeake Bay and its tributary rivers. In two voyages, occupying about three months of the summer, with a few companions, in an open boat, he performed a navigation of nearly three thousand miles, passing far up the Susquehanna* and the Potomac ; nor did he merely explore the numerous rivers and inlets, but penetrated the territories, and established friendly relations with the Indian tribes. The map which he prepared and sent to England is still extant, and delineates, with much accuracy, the general outlines of the country which he explored. 15. Soon after his return from this expedition, Smith was formally made president of the council. By his energetic administration, order and industry again prevailed, and Jamestown assumed the appearance of a thriving village. Yet at the expiration of two years from the time of the first settlement, not more than forty acres of land had been cultivated; and the colonists, to prevent themselves from starving, were still obliged to obtain most of their food from the indolent Indians. Although about seventy new emigrants arrived, yet they were not suitable to the wants of the colony, and Smith was obliged to write earnestly to the council in England, that they should send more laborers, that the search for gold should be abandoned, and that "nothing should be expected except by labor." II. VIRGINIA UNDER THE SECOND CHARTER.-1. In 1609, a new charter was given to the London Company, by which the limits of the company were enlarged, and the constitution of Virginia radically changed. The territory of the colony was now extended by a grant of all the lands along the sea-coast, within the limits of two hundred miles north, and two hundred south of Old Point Comfort ;+ that is, from the northern boundary of Maryland, to the southern limits of North Carolina, and extending westward from sea to sea. 1608. 1. Exporacountry by tion of the Smith a. Note, p. 136. b. Sept. 20. administra 2. Smith's tion of the government, tion of the and condi colony after an existence of two years. 1609. c. June 2. 3. The second charter. *The Susquehanna is one of the largest rivers east of the Alleghanies. Its eastern branch rises in Otsego Lake, New York, and running S. W. receives the Tioga near the Pennsylvania boundary. It passes through Pennsylvania, receiving the West Branch in the interior of the State, and enters the head of Chesapeake Bay, near the N. E. corner of Maryland. The navigation of the last 50 miles of its course is obstructed by numerous rapids. The Potomac river rises in the Alleghany Mountains, makes a grand and magnificent passage through the Blue Ridge, at Harper's Ferry, and throughout its whole course is the boundary line between Virginia and Maryland. At its entrance into Chesapeake Bay it is seven and a half miles wide. It is navigable for the largest vessels to Washington City, 110 miles by the river-70 in a direct line. Above Washington the navigation is obstructed by numerous falls. Point Comfort is the northern point of the entrance of James River into Chesapeake Bay. (See James River, Note, p. 137.) |