Richard of Jamestown : a Story of the Virginia ColonyOtis, James
History
Richard of Jamestown : a Story of the Virginia Colony
Otis, James
Virginia -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775 -- Juvenile fiction
Although she who had halted to look in at our door was only a girl,
Captain Smith treated her as if she were the greatest lady in the world,
himself leading her inside to his own place at the trencher board, while
she, in noways shy, began to help herself to the fattest pieces of meat,
thereby besmearing herself with grease until there was enough running
down her chin to have made no less than two rushlights, so Nathaniel
Peacock declared.
Of course, being a savage, she could not speak in our language, but
the master, who had studied diligently since coming to this world of
Virginia to learn the speech of the Indians, made shift to get from her
some little information, she being the daughter of Powhatan, the king
concerning whom I have already set down many things.
At first Captain Smith was of the belief that she had come on some
errand; but after much questioning, more by signs than words, it came
out, as we understood the matter, that the girl was in Jamestown for no
other purpose than to see what we white people were like.
Captain Smith was minded that she should be satisfied, so far as her
curiosity was concerned, for when the dinner had come to an end, and I
had given this king's daughter some dry, sweet grass on which to wipe
her hands and mouth, he conducted her around the village, allowing that
she look in upon the tents and houses at her pleasure.
She stayed with us until the sun was within an hour of setting, and then
darted off into the forest as does a startled pheasant, stopping for a
single minute when she had got among the trees, to wave her hand, as if
bidding us goodbye, or in plain mischief.
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.
After our people were relieved from the famine through the gifts from
the Indians and the coming of wild fowl, Captain Smith set about making
some plans to provide us with food during the winter, and to that end
he set off in the shallop 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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Richard of Jamestown : a Story of the Virginia Colony — John Shaqi
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