The Stronghold: A Story of Historic Northern Neck of Virginia and Its PeopleHaynie, Miriam
History
The Stronghold: A Story of Historic Northern Neck of Virginia and Its People
Haynie, Miriam
Northern Neck (Va.)
Soon after Captain Smith left Henry with the Indians a massacre ensued
in the Indian village. According to early writers of Jamestown, Henry's
life was saved by Powhatan's daughter Pocahontas.
At this time the King of Patowmeke was visiting his emperor, probably to
pay his tribute, and to save the white boy from the "furie of Powhatan"
he took him home with him when he returned to the land between the
Rappahannock and the Potomac.
This arrangement was probably made by Pocahontas. Before very long she
too would be hiding out in the Northern Neck as a guest of the King and
Queen of Patowmeke. It is believed by some that Pocahontas and Henry
fled with the King of Patowmeke to his village on the Potomac at the
same time.
_HENRY AND KING PATOWMEKE_
Henry probably adjusted himself quickly to the way of life in the
village of the Potomac Indian tribe. He was probably soon wearing a skin
belt and a cord as a breechclout like the Indian boys of his age.
Henry doubtless played a game with them that was like football for he
later described this game and indicated that it was played by both boys
and women but with different rules: "They use football play which wemen
and young boyes doe much play at. The men never. They make their gooles
as ours only they never fight nor pull one another doune.
"The men play with a litel balle lettinge it fall out of ther hand and
striketh it with the tope of his foot, and he that can strike the ball
furthest winns that they play for."
We can visualize Henry learning to shoot the bow and arrow, and learning
to follow a trail through the forest. The Indian boys probably taught
him to snare beaver, otter and other small animals, and to fish with
hooks of bone or stone, and to catch crabs with dip-nets made of silk
grass.
We know that Henry watched the women gather corn in hand baskets and
dump it into larger baskets for he later recorded these facts. He no
doubt learned quickly to like the Indian food--the corn pones that came
brown-crusted and smoking from the ashes, the fish and meat broiled on
hurdles over the fire or turned on a spit. He doubtless tasted the broth
and bread made from chestnuts and chinquapins and reserved for the chief
men at the greatest feasts, and opossum and beaver, stews of fish and
vegetables, and doves and partridges baked in wet clay, and dined on
venison, turkey and oysters.
Henry had chores to do too. He wrote that one of his duties was
"stilling the king's young child, for none could quiet him so well as
myselfe." This undoubtedly makes Henry Spelman the Neck's first white
baby-sitter.
He perhaps had his turn with the Indian boys to sit in a little hut on a
platform in the field and scare crows away from the newly planted corn.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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