Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

put her arms about Smith, and laid her head over his, declaring she would perish with him or save him. The heart of the stern sachem was at length melted. The decree was reversed; and the prisoner was spared for the purpose-as the emperor explained it—of making hatchets for himself, and bells and beads for his daughter.*

This was apparently a mere pretext for concealing the emotions which he thought unworthy of his name as a warrior, and for preventing any jealousy on the part of his counsellors. And subsequent events would lead to the same conclusion. He detained his prisoner but two days. At the end of that time, he caused him to be conducted to a large house in the woods, and there left alone upon a mat by the fire. In a short time, a horrible noise was heard from behind a wide mat which divided the house: and then Powhatan, dressed in the most fantastic manner, with some two hundred followers as much begrimmed and disguised as himself, came in and told Smith that now they were friends; "and presently he should go to Jamestown to send him two great guns and a grindstone, for which he would give him the country of Capahowsick, and forever esteem him as his own son." He was accordingly sent off, with twelve guides, to Jamestown. The party quartered in the woods one night, and reached the fort the next morning betimes. The savages were handsomely entertained while they staid. Two demi-culverins and mill-stone were shown them, with other curiosities. They proposed to carry the former to Powhatan; but finding them somewhat too heavy, contented themselves with a variety of lighter presents. They were excessively frightened by a discharge of the culverins. Smith, who had political as well as personal motives in view, had loaded them with stones, and these he fired among the boughs of a tree covered with huge icicles. The effect may easily be imagined.

During the same winter, Smith visited Powhatan, in company with Captain Newport, a gentleman newly arrived from England, who had already sent many presents to the emperor. Attended by a guard of thirty or forty men, they sailed as far as Werowocomoco the first day. Here Newport's courage failed him. He was especially alarmed by the appearance of various bridges they were obliged to pass over in crossing the streams; for these were so loosely made of poles and bark, that he took them for traps set by the savages. But. Smith, with twenty men, leaving the boat, undertook to go forward and accomplish the journey. He accordingly went on, and was soon met by two or three hundred Indians, who conducted them into the town. There Powhatan exerted himself to the utmost to give him a royal entertainment. The people shouted for joy to see Smith; orations were addressed to him, and a plentiful feast provided to refresh him after the weariness of his voyage. The emperor received him, reclining upon his bed of mats, his pillow of dressed skin lying beside him with its brilliant embroidery of shells and beads, and his dress consisting chiefly of a handsome fur robe "as large as an Irish man

* A description of this scene is given in the frontispiece of this book.

tell." At his head and feet were two comely young women as before; and along the sides of the house sat twenty other females, each with her head and shoulders painted red, and a great chain of white beads about her neck. "Before these sat his chiefest men in like order in his arbor-like house, and more than fortie platters of fine bread stood as a guard in two pyles on each side the door. Foure or fiue hundred people made a guard behinde them for our passage; and Proclamation was made, none vpon paine of death to presume to doe vs any wrong or discourtesie. With many pretty discourses to renew their old acquaintance, this great king and our captaine spent the time, till the ebbe left our barge aground. Then renewing their feest with feates, dauncing and singing, and such like mirth, we quartered that night with Powhatan."

The next day, Newport, who had thought better of his fears, came. ashore, and was welcomed in the same hospitable style. An English boy, named Savage, was given to Powhatan at his request; and he returned the favor by presenting Newport with an Indian named Nomontack, a trusty and shrewd servant of his own. One motive for this arrangement was probably the desire of gaining information respecting the English colony. During the three or four days more which were passed in feasting, dancing and trading, the old sachem manifested so much dignity and so much discretion, as to create a high admiration of his talents in the minds of his guests. In one instance, he came near offending them by the exercise of his shrewdness, although that may be fairly considered their fault rather than his. Newport, it seems, had brought with him a variety of articles for a barter commerce-such as he supposed would command a high price in corn. And accordingly the Powhatans, generally of the lower class, traded cagerly with him and his men. These, however, were not profitable customers; they dealt upon a small scale; they had not much corn to spare. It was an object therefore to drive a trade with the emperor himself. But this he affected to decline and despise. "Captain Newport," said he, "it is not agreeable to my greatness to truck in this peddling manner for trifles. I am a great Werowance, and I esteem you the same. Therefore lay me down all your commodities together; what I like I will take, and in return you shall have what I conceive to be a fair value." This proposal was interpreted to Newport by Smith, who informed him at the same time of the hazard he must incur in accepting it. But Newport was a vain man, and confidently expected either to dazzle the emperor with his ostentation, or overcome him with his bounty, so as to gain any request he might make. The event unluckily proved otherwise. Powhatan, after coolly selecting such of Newport's goods as he liked best, valued his own corn at such a rate, that Smith says it might as well have been purchased in old Spain; they received scarcely four bushels where they had counted upon twenty hogsheads.

*A Powhatan term of general signification, answering to the Northern Sachem, the Basheba of Maine, and the English Chief.

It was now Smith's turn to try his skill; and he made his experiment, more wisely than his comrade, not upon the sagacity of the emperor, but upon his simplicity. He took out various toys and gewgaws, as it were accidentally, and contrived, by glancing them dexterously in the light, to show them to great advantage. It was not long be fore Powhatan fixed his observing eye upon a string of brilliant blue beads. Presently he became importunate to obtain them. But Smith was very unwilling to part with these precious gems; they being, as he observed, composed of a most rare substance, of the color of the skies, and fit to be worn only by the greatest kings in the world. The savage grew more and more eager to own such jewels, so that finally a bargain was struck, to the perfect satisfaction of all parties, whereby Smith obtained between two and three hundred bushels of corn for a pound or two of blue beads. A similar negotiation was immediately after effected with Opechancanough at Pamunkey. He was furnished with a quantity of this invaluable jewelry at very nearly the same price; and thus the beads grew into such estimation among the Indians far and near, that none but the great werowances, and their wives and children, dared to be seen wearing them. They were imperial symbols of enormous value.

But it was not upon beads only that Powhatan set a high estimate. He perceived the vast advantage which the English possessed over his own men in their weapons; and he became exceedingly anxious to place himself upon equal terms on one side with the colonists, while he should domineer over the less fortunate foreign Indian tribes, as he liked, on the other. When Newport left the country for England, he sent him twenty fine turkeys, and requested in return the favor of as many swords, which that gentleman was inconsiderate enough to furnish him. He subsequently passed the same compliment to Smith; and when the latter gave him no swords in payment, he was highly offended, and is said to have ordered his people to take them wherever they could get them, by stratagem or, by force. But Smith soon checked this project in his usual summary manner; and Powhatan, finding that game a desperate one, sent in Pocahontas with presents to excuse himself for the injury done" by some of his disorderly warriors," and to desire that those who were captive might be liberated for this time on their good behaviour. Smith punished them sufficiently, and granted the request of the emperor " for the sake of Pocahontas." The council were offended at what they considered his cruelty; but Powhatan affected at least to be satisfied.

We hear of the emperor again in September, (1608,) when Captain Newport arrived with a second supply for the colony, and a new commission for himself. By this he was authorised to make an exploring expedition, for gold, among the Monacans of the mountain country; and a barge was brought out from England in five pieces, to be carried over the falls, and thence convey the company to the South Sea. Smith opposed this sage proposal on the ground of the necessities of the colony; they were especially in want of provision to be laid in for the coming winter. But a large majority were against him. He was

even accused of jealousy towards Newport; and the latter defeated all his opposition, as he thought, by undertaking to procure a bark-load of corn from Powhatan, on his proposed route to the South Sea, at Werowocomoco. He required, however, that one hundred and twenty men should go with him; he put no confidence in the friendship of the emperor or his subjects.

Smith now came forward, and volunteered to carry the necessary messages to Powhatan himself, and to invite him to visit Jamestown, for the purpose of receiving the presents brought over for him by Newport. Among these, it appears, were a splendid basin and ewer, a bed, bedstead, clothes, and various other costly novelties; the only effect of which would be, as Smith alleged, to cause the emperor to over-rate the importance of his own favor, and to sell for gold and silver alone what he had heretofore sold readily for copper and blue beads. Another of the presents was a royal crown, sent out by his Britannic Majesty, King James I., probably under the expectation of wheedling Powhatan into submission to his own authority, and at all events with orders to consecrate the "divine right" of his royal ally in Virginia by the ceremonies of a solemn coronation.

Smith took with him four companions only, and went across the woods, by land, about twelve miles, to Werowocomoco. Powhatan was then absent, at the distance of twenty or thirty miles. Pocahontas immediately sent for him, and meanwhile she and her women entertained their visiter in a style too remarkable to be passed by without notice. A fire was made in a plain open field, and Smith was seated before it on a mat, with his men about him. Suddenly such a hideous noise was heard in the woods near by, that the strangers betook themselves hastily to their arms, and even seized upon two or three old Indians who were standing near, under the apprehension that Powhatan with all his forces was come upon them by surprise. But Pocahontas soon made her appearance; and a little explanation convinced the captain that, however she might succeed or fail, her only intention was to gratify and honor him. He mingled fearlessly therefore with the Indian men, women and children, already assembled as spectators, and the ceremonies went on.

Then presently they were presented with this anticke. Thirtie young women came naked out of the woods, only covered behind and before with a few greene leaves; their bodies all paynted, some of one colour, and some of another, but all differing. Their leader had a fayre payre of Buck's hornes on her head, and an otter's skinne at her girdle, another at her arme, a quiuer of arrows at her backe, a bow and arrowes in her hand. The next had in her hand a sword, another a club, another a pot-sticke, all horned alike; the rest euery one with their severall devices. These fiends, with most hellish shouts, and cryes, rushing from among the trees, caste themselves in a ring about the fire, singing and dauncing with the most excellent ill varietie, oft falling into their infernall passions, and solemnly again to sing and daunce. Having spent neer an hour in this mascarado, as they entred, in like manner they departed."

"Having reaccommodated themselves, they solemnly invited him to their lodgings, where he was no sooner within the house but all these nymphs more tormented him than euer, with crowding, pressing and hanging about him, most tediously crying, Loue you not me? Loue you not me? This salutation ended, the feast was set, consisting of all the salvage dainties they could deuise; some attending, others dauncing about them. This mirth being ended, with fire-brands instead of torches they conducted him to his lodging.

Thus did they show their feates of armes, and others art in dancing; Some others vs'd there oaten pipe, and others' voyces chaunting." Powhatan arrived on the following day, and Smith delivered his message, desiring him to visit "his father," Newport, at Jamestown, for the purpose of receiving the newly arrived presents, and also concerting a campaign in common against the Monacans. The subtle savage replied to this artful proposal with his accustomed intelligence and independence. "If your king has sent me presents," said he with great composure, "I also am a king, and this is my land-here I will stay eight days to receive them. Your Father is to come to me, not I to him, nor yet to your fort. I will not bite at such a bait. As for the Monacans, I can avenge my own injuries. As for Atquanachuck, where you say your brother was slain, it is a contrary way from those parts you suppose it. And as for any salt water beyond the mountains, the relations you have had from my people are false." Upon this he began to delineate the geography of these various regions with a stick upon the ground. After some farther discourse upon general and complimentary subjects, Smith returned with his answer. His servant, Namontack, who had been to England with Newport, was given back to him upon this occasion.

The presents were sent round to Werowocomoco, by water; and the two captains went by land, with a guard of fifty men. The parties here agreed upon the next day for the coronation; and at that time the presents were brought in, the bed and furniture set up, and the scarlet cloak and other apparel put on the emperor, though with much ado, and only in consequence of Namontack's earnest assurance that they would not injure him. As for kneeling to receive the crown, which was requested of him, he entirely exhausted the patience of his visiters by his resistance. They gained their point in the end by stratagem. One leaned hard upon his shoulders, so as to cause him to stoop a little, and three more stood ready to fix the royal gewgaw on his head; whereupon, at the discharge of a pistol, the guard were prepared with such a volley of musketry as a salute, that the emperor (now a crowned-head at least) started up, as Smith says, in a horrible fear, till he saw all was well. Soon recovering his composure, he generously gave his old shoes and mantle to Newport in acknowledgment of his courtesy. But perceiving that the main object of that gentleman was to discover the Monacans, he labored to divert his resolution, and absolutely refused to lend any of his own men excepting Namontack. Every thing was said and done civilly, however; and,

« AnteriorContinuar »