From the first Smith had been the natural leader of the colony, and in time was made president of the council. He found the men of his own race almost as difficult to manage as the Indians. They were so lazy that Smith was obliged to make a law by which he declared, "He that will not work shall not eat." The law proved to be a good one, and the idlers were soon busy making glass, felling trees, and preparing tar, pitch, and soap-ashes. But they hated rough labor, and were very apt to swear when it hurt their hands. To put an end to the swearing, Smith required each man to keep a record of his oaths, and for every offence ordered a can of cold water poured down the sleeve of the uplifted right arm of the culprit. By such discipline the settlement was soon put into excellent working order.
If Smith could have remained at the head of the colony, everything might have continued to go well. But one day, while out in a boat, he was wounded so severely by the explosion of some gunpowder that he was obliged to return to England for treatment. This accident happened in October, 1609. Five years later he returned to Virginia and explored the coast to the north, making a map of the region, and naming it New England. He not only wrote an account of his own life, but also several books on America. He died in 1632, at the age of fifty-three years. Without his leadership, the weak and puny colony at Jamestown must have perished before the end of its first year. But his resolution and courage held it together until it received from England the help needed to put it on a firm footing.
REVIEW OUTLINE
The London Company sends to America a colony in search of gold.
The emigrants set sail.
The long, roundabout voyage.
The colonists make a settlement at Jamestown In 1607.
Their dwellings and their church.
Fever, hunger, and Indians.
John Smith saves the settlement from ruin.
His early adventures.
He goes up the Chickahominy River in search of the Pacific.
The Indians capture Smith.
They spare-his life.
Life among the Indians of Virginia.
Smith is taken to Powhatan.
Little Pocahontas saves John Smith's life.
His explorations.
The crowning of Powhatan.
He plans to get rid of the white men.
He refuses them corn.
The friendly aid of Pocahontas.
"Corn or your life!"
Smith made president of the council.
His return to England.
TO THE PUPIL
1. Describe the Jamestown settlers. Can you form a mental picture of their first dwellings?
2. Write an account of Smith's capture by the Indians and of his later experiences with them.
3. What do you admire in Smith? In Pocahontas? What do you think of Powhatan?
4. Trace on your map Smith's voyages and explorations.
5. When was Jamestown settled?