Campfire Girls' Lake Camp; or, Searching for New Adventures

by Irene Elliott Benson; Stella M. Francis

So in the case of Powhatan, chief of many tribes, who knew of the coming of the white men while they were sailing up the James, and for several days before he saw any one of them. It is easy to understand how an ordinary message, relating to simple affairs, can be carried by the means named, but it is wonderful how news, unlike any that had ever before been sent across an expanse of forest, could have been read by the sachem and others for whom it was meant.

Powhatan left no doubt that he was deeply displeased by the appearance of the white men, where they had never before set foot. They had come into the heart of the country which belonged to him, and he was too wise to fail to see the meaning of the visit.

"They will come to land, and build their wigwams; they will till the ground, and hunt the game in the woods; by and by others will come and make their homes beside them; and they will keep on coming, till they are like the leaves on the trees; we have heard from the red men of the south that they bring strange weapons; that they shoot fire, and slay men who are far beyond the reach of our bows and arrows; all the pale-faces are alike; they will kill the red men or drive them into the sea, until none is left."

"The words of Powhatan are wise," said Nantaquas respectfully; "I am afraid of them, and would not trust Pocahontas in their power."

"My son did right; she is but a child; she must stay away from them."

"And what shall be done with the pale-faces?" asked Nantaquas, who understood the dark expression of his father. "Shall they be left alone when they go ashore, that their numbers may increase-though I do not think they have any women with them?"

"When the serpent is small, a child may crush it under the heel of her moccasin, but, if left to grow, it will soon sting her to death."

The meaning of these words was plain; Powhatan intended to destroy the weak colony before the white men could send for other friends to sail across the Great Water. Few even though they were, the work should be hard and dangerous, when so little was known of the real nature of their fearful weapons; but, no doubt, the thousands of warriors that Powhatan could summon to the task would do it well, thus crushing the danger in the bud.

Powhatan, like most of his race, was a man of few words. Having made known his resolve, he ordered his son to lead the way to where the canoe had been left on the bank of the stream. When it was reached he stepped within, and, instead of seating himself at the stern, took his place at the bow. It would have been sacrilege for Nantaquas to suggest that the chieftain who is referred to by historians as "Emperor" should use the paddle. No vassal could have been meeker than the son when he headed down the river, handling the oar with the same skill that he had shown earlier in the day.

By this time the afternoon was drawing to a close, but there was a bright moon in the sky, which lit up the broad, smooth surface of the James as if it were day. The sachem sat silent and erect, with no appearance of curiosity, but the keen eyes, which pierced the gathering gloom, did not let the smallest object escape them. Passing around the long, sweeping bend that has been described, the large vessel and two smaller ones came into view, lying at anchor, within a short distance of shore. It might have been thought that the emigrants had come to rest, to wait till the morrow before going farther up stream, had not smaller boats been seen passing to and fro between the ships and the land. But more still was soon learned.