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= **The Story Of Pocahontas ** =

Pocahontas probably saw white men for the first time in May 1607 when Englishmen landed at Jamestown. The one she found most likable was Captain John Smith. The first meeting of Pocahontas and John Smith is a legendary story, romanticized by Smith in his later writings. He was leading an expedition in December 1607 when he was taken captive by some Indians. Days later, he was brought to the official residence of Powhatan at Werowocomoco, which was 12 miles from Jamestown. According to Smith, he was first welcomed by the great chief and offered a feast. Then he was grabbed and forced to stretch out on two large, flat stones. Indians stood over him with clubs as though ready to beat him to death if ordered. Suddenly a little Indian girl rushed in and took Smith's "head in her arms and laid her owne upon his to save him from death." The girl, Pocahontas, then pulled him to his feet. Powhatan said that they were now friends, and he adopted Smith as his son, or a subordinate chief. Actually, this mock "execution and salvation" ceremony was traditional with the Indians, and if Smith's story is true, Pocahontas's actions were probably one part of a ritual. At any rate, Pocahontas and Smith soon became friends.

Relations with the Indians continued to be generally friendly for the next year, and Pocahontas was a frequent visitor to Jamestown. She delivered messages from her father and accompanied Indians bringing food and furs to trade for hatchets and trinkets. She was a lively young girl, and when the young boys of the colony turned cartwheels, "she would follow and wheel some herself, naked as she was all the fort over." She apparently admired John Smith very much and would also chat with him during her visits. Her lively character and poise made her appearance striking. Several years after their first meeting, Smith described her: "a child of ten years old, which not only for feature, countenance, and proportion much exceedeth any of the rest of his [Powhatan's] people, but for wit, and spirit, the only Nonpariel of his Country."

= __John Smith __ =



Virginians know that Captain John Smith was one of the first American heroes. But because he was a proud and boastful man, it is difficult to know which parts of his life, as recorded in the written record, are fact and which are fiction. What many people may not know is that Smith's adventures started even before Jamestown.

Born in 1580 in Willoughby, England, John Smith left home at age 16 after his father. He began his travels by joining volunteers in France who were fighting for Dutch independence from Spain. Two years later, he set off for the Mediterranean Sea, working on a merchant ship. In 1600 he joined Austrian forces to fight the Turks in the "Long War." A valiant soldier, he was promoted to Captain while fighting in Hungary. He was fighting in Transylvania two years later in 1602. There he was wounded in battle, captured, and sold as a slave to a Turk. This Turk then sent Smith as a gift to his sweetheart in Istanbul. According to Smith, thisin love with him and sent him to her brother to get training for Turkish imperial service. Smith reportedly escaped by murdering the brother and returned to Transylvania by fleeing through Russia and Poland. After being released from service and receiving a large reward, he traveled all through Europe and Northern Africa. He returned to England in the winter of 1604-05.

= **The Near Execution of John Smith ** =



The story begins when Smith and two English companions are ambushed by Indians. After killing his two companions, the Indians take Smith to their chief, Powhatan. After two months in captivity, Powhatan determines to have the Englishman clubbed to death in a ritual ceremony. According to Smith, the plan is thwarted only when the chief's daughter, Pocahontas (then aged 11 or 12), throws herself between him and his attackers causing her father to relent. Smith published his account of the incident in 1624. It is the only description of the event we have and some historians doubt its authenticity. However, the account permanently etched his name in American folklore.

= **__Indians and Pilgrims __** =



Originally, these individuals fled England, from religious persecution, to Holland. But their ancestors soon found the Dutch lifestyle was a threat to their children's morals and education. Thus, they fled a second time; this time for the 'New World.' There were two groups who arrived in America; one group was referred to as 'Saints' and the other were known as 'Strangers'. Once the groups decided to settle in Plymouth, both groups agreed to a truce entitled the Mayflower Compact. From it, the two groups would merge together and be known as the 'Pilgrims'. John Carver was elected as their first Governor. However, once they settled, only half of the settlers would survive the first winter. Most of them perished as a result of the voyage over; the threat of fire on the wooden ship forced most of the people to eat their food cold over the two month trip, leading to disease. Well before the Pilgrims arrived and settled in New England, the area was inhabited by the Wamanpoag Tribe. Led by their sachem, Chief Massasoit, Wamanpoag meant 'people of the dawn' because they lived in the East. They lived by farming, fishing, hunting, and gathering. When winter passed, the villages, as a whole, moved to the shoreline to fish and plant crops. There homes comprised mostly of woven mats that were stretched over wooden frames. This made the mats easy to disassemble and take with them when they headed towards the water. When the cold weather returned, the Indians returned inland, where there focus shifted to hunting various animals in the forests. Occasionally, they would also head to rivers and streams for ice fishing. The tribe began to decline around the time of the Pilgrims arrival. It further worsened as the Europeans brought disease with them from their exploration. Coupled with a war against a neighboring tribe, the Wamanpoags decided to become allies with the Pilgrims. Over time, tensions grew between the two parties, mostly because of philosophical differences over the land. The English felt that they owned the land since they purchased it. The Indians held the belief that one only owns the land when they are using it. As the English settlement expanded, allegiance between both groups further declined. In 1675, Massasoit's son, King Philip, declared war on his white neighbors. A year later, Philip was dead and both sides were decimated. The colonists controlled the regions tribes, as the Wamanpoag's culture, language and identity eventually absorbed into the more contemporary society over the next few centuries. Since 1970, the Wamanpoag Tribe gathers at the remains of their ancestral lands; on a small section of Martha's Vineyard off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. There, on Thanksgiving Day, they observe a 'Day of Mourning' to protest the European conquest of their land.
 * About the Pilgrims**
 * About the Indians**

=**__These Links at the bottom will give you more of an insite on the story of John Smith and Pocahontas__**= [|Pocahontas] [|John Smith] [|Powhatan]