It was with feelings of curiosity and interest on either side that Captain John Smith, the leader of the colonists, and Opechancanough, the chief of the Pamaunkes, confronted each other. Both men of noble bearing and fearless character, they must have been mutually impressed at the first encounter. The chief’s erect and well-knit frame towered above the forms of his attendant warriors and, together with the dignity and intelligence of his countenance, marked him as a superior being. In later years he played an important part in colonial history and met a shameful death by assassination whilst a captive in the hands of the authorities of Virginia.
Smith, whose presence of mind never deserted him, immediately addressed himself to the task of diverting the chieftain’s mind from the recent unpleasant circumstances and with that end in view produced his pocket compass and presented it to the savage. The Pamaunke was readily attracted by the mystery of the twinkling needle which lay in sight but beyond touch, and when our hero showed how it pointed persistently to the north, the wonder of the savage increased. Having thus excited the interest of his captors, Smith went on to hold their attention with a more detailed explanation of the uses of the instrument. He described, in simple language and with the aid of signs, the shape and movement of the earth and the relative positions of sun, moon and stars. This strange astronomical lecture, delivered in the depths of the forest, at length wearied the auditors and they prepared to set out on the return journey, for they had no thought of killing the captive at that time. He was a man of too much importance to be slain off-hand and without learning the pleasure of the great Powhatan in the matter. They did, however, tie him to a tree and make a pretence of drawing their bows upon him but, as the paleface met the threatened death without so much as blinking, the savages derived little satisfaction from the amusement. Before taking the march, Smith was given food and led to a fire, beside which lay the body of Emery, one of the men he had left in the canoe, stuck full of arrows.
The return of Opechancanough to the settlement of the Pamaunkes was in the nature of a triumphal procession. As the band approached a village they gave vent to their piercing war-whoop and entered it chanting their song of victory. In the midst of the procession walked the Chief with Smith’s weapons borne before him and the captive, guarded by eight picked warriors, following. A ceremonial dance took place before the party dispersed to their various lodgings for the night. The captive was well treated and had an excellent opportunity to study the natives and their habits, for Opechancanough carried his prize on a circuit of many villages before finally bringing him to the capital of Powhatan. Nor did the peril of his situation prevent our hero from exercising his usual keen powers of observation, for he has left us a minute account of his strange experiences during these weeks of captive wandering.
Every morning bread and venison were brought to the Englishman in sufficient quantity to have satisfied ten men. His captors never by any chance ate with him and, remembering the reluctance of Eastern peoples to partake of food with those whom they designed to harm, this fact excited his apprehensions. These Indians were not cannibals but he had not that consoling knowledge, and the insistent manner in which they pressed meat upon him raised a disagreeable suspicion that they were fattening him for the table. The thought of death—even with torture—he could endure calmly, but the idea of being eaten afterwards caused him to shudder with horror. We can not help thinking, however, that the sinewy captain might have visited his enemies with a posthumous revenge had they recklessly subjected him to such a fate and themselves to such grave hazard of acute indigestion.
But the captive’s concern for the settlement at Jamestown outweighed all other considerations. He surmised with reason, that having him in their power, the Indians would endeavor to overcome the colonists, whose natural incapacity to take care of themselves would be enhanced by the belief that their leader was dead. He was racking his brain to devise some means of communicating with them, when chance threw an opportunity to him. It seems that in the encounter preceding his surrender to Opechancanough Smith had seriously wounded one of the Indians. He was now called upon to cure his victim and replied that he might be able to do so if in possession of certain medicine which could be obtained from Jamestown. The Chief agreed that two messengers should bear a letter to the settlement, although he could not believe that a few lines scrawled upon paper would convey any meaning, much less elicit the desired response.
The messengers journeyed to the fort with all speed, and as they were not permitted to approach closely, left the note in a conspicuous place and there received the reply. Of course Smith took the opportunity to warn the settlers of the projected attack, and prayed them to be constantly on their guard. He also suggested that some show of strength, as a salvo from the big guns, might have a salutary effect upon the messengers. The latter, after they had received the medicine requested, and turned homewards, were treated to such a thunderous discharge of cannon and musketry that they ran for miles in terror of their lives and arrived at the village well-nigh scared out of their wits. Their account of this terrible experience decided the Indians not to attempt a descent upon Jamestown and their respect increased for a man who could convey his thoughts and wishes by means of such a mysterious medium as a letter appeared to them to be.
Although the Indians had Smith unarmed and completely in their power, they were not at all satisfied of his inability to harm them, and the question seems to have caused them considerable anxiety. The medicine men of the tribe undertook by incantations and other species of deviltry to ascertain whether the captive’s intentions towards them were good or otherwise. Smith was led in the morning to a large house in the centre of which a fire burned. Here he was left alone, and presently to him entered a hideous creature making unearthly noises in his throat to the accompaniment of a rattle, whilst he danced about the astonished Englishman in grotesque antics. This merry-andrew’s head was decorated with dangling snake-skins and his body painted in a variety of colors. After a while he was joined by three brother-priests who set up a discordant chorus of shrieks and yells, whirling and skipping about the house the while. They were painted half in black and half in red with great white rings round their eyes. Shortly these were joined by three more medicine men equally fantastic in appearance and actions. The ceremony was maintained by these seven throughout the day, much to the disgust of Smith, who soon found it tiresome and uninteresting and particularly so as it involved an absolute fast from dawn to sundown. In the evening women placed great mounds of food upon the mats of the house and invited Smith to eat, but the priests refrained from doing so until he had finished.
This performance was repeated on the two successive days, but we are not told what conclusion was reached by all the fuss.