The first attack on Jamestown brought good results. It was clear to all that the settlement must have a vigorous head, and that he must be a military man. Wingfield, as has been shown, had no qualification whatever for the office. He must be displaced, or the colony would go to ruin. Smith was determined on his removal, and as a first step he demanded that a trial by jury should be given himself on the charges made long before, and for which he was still under arrest.

Wingfield refused, and when Smith insisted he replied that he would send him back to England to be tried by the authorities there.

"You will not!" said the angry Captain. "The charter provides for the trial of all such charges in Virginia; it is my right, and I will not be denied it!"

So, against his will, the Governor gave Smith his trial, which was the first one by jury in America; and never did an accused man gain a greater triumph. Every charge brought against him was shown to be false: the witnesses broke down, and those who swore that Captain Smith had plotted to obtain the mastery of the colony were proved to have sworn falsely. He might have been boastful and overbearing at times, but he was unselfish, and always thought of the real interests of those who had crossed the ocean with him to found homes in the New World. Smith was not only declared innocent of the shameful charges, but his chief persecutor, a member of the Council, was ordered to pay a fine of 200 pounds. When this large sum was handed to Smith, he gave it to the colony for the general use. Then all parties partook of the Communion, declared themselves friends, and Smith took his seat as a member of the Council.

He had no wish to be Governor or President, though he knew the day was near when no one else would be able to save the colony. He had a freer hand in certain matters while simply Councillor, and was willing that the people should become tired of Wingfield before he stepped into his shoes.

We cannot dwell upon the miseries of that first summer in Jamestown. The sickness, caused by paying no heed to the laws of health, rapidly grew worse. It looked for a time as if disease would carry off every man. They lay groaning and fever-smitten in their cabins, until no thought was given to the danger from the Indians. Had Powhatan, or any other leader, chosen to attack Jamestown with only a score of warriors, he would have had no trouble in destroying every man. Even Captain Smith, who seemed safe against every disease and weakness, took the fever, but refused to give up, and with the help of a few others he was able to drag out and bury the dead. Among those who passed away were the good Bartholomew Gosnold and Studley, the treasurer.

There remained, however, Wingfield, the corrupt and wicked President, and the one who had been defeated in the trial of Smith. The two were his bitter enemies, and they formed a plot which, if successful, would not only ruin Smith, but would probably destroy the colony itself.

CHAPTER VII.
UP THE CHICKAHOMINY

When September came one-half of the Jamestown colony had passed away, and most of the survivors were tottering with weakness and disease. I have said that for weeks theses wretched beings could have hardly raised a hand to keep off the Indians had they chosen to attack them; but instead of that, Providence moved the hearts of the red men to pity, and they brought corn to the sufferers, though the supply was so scant that it could last but a short time.