John Smith is often called the father of Virginia. After his burns had healed, he left England in search of new adventures. He sailed again to the shores of America. He came to a place much farther north than Jamestown. He looked upon a land with rocky shores. It was not like Virginia. He called this part of America "New England" and so it has been called ever since. Smith sailed all along the shores of New England. He went in and out of its bays and harbors. He made a good map of what he saw. Then he went back to his own country to show his map to the king. The next year he sailed on his last voyage. This time he wished to settle in New England. He met with many troubles. There was a dreadful storm and he was chased by pirates. Last of all, he was overtaken by a fleet of French ships and made a prisoner. After a while he managed to escape and get back to England. This brave and daring man lived long enough to hear of other people settling in New England. That is another story, however. As Uncle Sam stopped speaking, Joe jumped up, crying: "Hurrah for Captain John Smith! Next to Columbus he was the bravest man I ever heard of. I wish I could have seen him kill that Turk." "I should have liked to have been there when he offered those blue beads to Powhatan," said Lucy. "He must have been laughing inside when he did it." "As for me, I like to think of his making those lazy Englishmen do some work," said Uncle Sam, stroking his chin. The neighbors all said there was no laziness about Uncle Sam, so it is no wonder he spoke as he did. "Uncle Sam is like John Smith in some ways," the children's father said not long afterwards. He had come into the back yard where Joe was stretched on the ground with Lucy's arms around his neck. "We are playing that I am John Smith and Lucy is Pocahontas. She is trying to save my life. Uncle Sam told us all about them." Joe sat up to explain. "Yes, Uncle Sam is a good deal like John Smith. He is afraid of nothing. He is always busy, and he can turn his hand to anything. One time when he was a boy he was out sailing. The sail was an old one and a sudden gust of wind caught it and tore it badly. Uncle Sam was a long way from home and the sun was already setting. Quick as a thought he took off his shirt, tore it open, and patched the sail with it. That was the very thing John Smith did when he was away from Jamestown on one of his excursions." CHAPTER VII HENRY HUDSON "Listen! That is thunder, Uncle Sam. I'm afraid we are going to have a storm. I wish I had covers to my ears so I couldn't hear that dreadful rumbling." "Nonsense, Lucy. There is no use in being afraid of anything. You should have lived long ago among the Dutchmen in New York. They would have told you it wasn't thunder, but was the sound made by Henry Hudson and his men as they played ninepins with the dwarfs in the caves of the Catskill mountains.