Historic Girlhoods, Part OneHolland, Rupert Sargent
History
Historic Girlhoods, Part One
Holland, Rupert Sargent
Women -- Biography -- Juvenile literature
After the excitement of the "Great Captain's" visit the village of
Wero-woco-moco sank back to its ordinary life, and Po-ca-hun-tas shared
the work of the other girls, although being the daughter of the chief
she was relieved of much of the drudgery that fell to most of them. Two
things she particularly wished for now, the one that she might see the
white Captain again, and the other that she might visit a white man's
village and see all the wonders she had heard so much about. Winter
changed to spring and the Indian braves went hunting, and spring
deepened into summer, and in the early fall her first wish was granted,
for Captain Smith with some friends came to Pow-ha-tan's village to
invite that chief to go with them to the white man's town of Jamestown
to be crowned by the English people as king of the Pow-ha-tan tribe.
The Captain had not forgotten the twelve-year old Indian princess and
had brought her a necklace of coral beads and bracelets set with red
stones, and in thanks she led ten other girls of her own age in an
Indian dance before the Captain and his friends, a graceful dance about
a fire in the forest to the accompaniment of gay Indian songs and the
music of the Indian drum. By now Po-ca-hun-tas and Captain Smith had
become great friends, and Pow-ha-tan, watching them with his shrewd
eyes, decided that if he should ever need to ask a favor of the white
settlers this little daughter of his might prove the best of messengers
to send.
It was only a few weeks afterward that some of Pow-ha-tan's braves were
made prisoners by the settlers through fear that a conspiracy was being
planned against them. The old chief sent his daughter with Ra-bun-ta to
Jamestown, and she begged the Captain to free the captive braves. Like
Pow-ha-tan John Smith knew when to be gracious, and he at once gave
orders for the release of the Indians. Then he entertained
Po-ca-hun-tas as though she were a royal princess. She met the white
girls and boys who lived at Jamestown and learned their games, teaching
them in exchange the sports of the Algonquin children. One day when
Captain Smith came into the market-place square he found his young
guest leading a line of boys who were turning handsprings. A crowd had
gathered to watch them go round and round the square in a great circle,
the Indian princess at the head, turning better wheels than any of the
boys. She had such a good time that she came again and again, sometimes
on matters of business with Ra-bun-ta, sometimes with her brother
Nun-ta-qua-us, and sometimes with her girl friends. With each visit her
admiration for Captain John Smith increased.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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