The ships departed for England in December, 1608.When Smith returned from his expedition for food in the winter of 1609, he found that all the provision except what he had gathered was so rotted from the rain, and eaten by rats and worms, that the hogs would scarcely eat it.Yet this had been the diet of the soldiers, who had consumed the victuals and accomplished nothing except to let the savages have the most of the tools and a good part of the arms.
Taking stock of what he brought in, Smith found food enough to last till the next harvest, and at once organized the company into bands of ten or fifteen, and compelled them to go to work.Six hours a day were devoted to labor, and the remainder to rest and merry exercises.
Even with this liberal allowance of pastime a great part of the colony still sulked.Smith made them a short address, exhibiting his power in the letters-patent, and assuring them that he would enforce discipline and punish the idle and froward; telling them that those that did not work should not eat, and that the labor of forty or fifty industrious men should not be consumed to maintain a hundred and fifty idle loiterers.He made a public table of good and bad conduct; but even with this inducement the worst had to be driven to work by punishment or the fear of it.
The Dutchmen with Powhatan continued to make trouble, and confederates in the camp supplied them with powder and shot, swords and tools.Powhatan kept the whites who were with him to instruct the Indians in the art of war.They expected other whites to join them, and those not coming, they sent Francis, their companion, disguised as an Indian, to find out the cause.He came to the Glass house in the woods a mile from Jamestown, which was the rendezvous for all their villainy.Here they laid an ambush of forty men for Smith, who hearing of the Dutchman, went thither to apprehend him.
The rascal had gone, and Smith, sending twenty soldiers to follow and capture him, started alone from the Glass house to return to the fort.And now occurred another of those personal adventures which made Smith famous by his own narration.
On his way he encountered the King of Paspahegh, "a most strong, stout savage," who, seeing that Smith had only his falchion, attempted to shoot him.Smith grappled him; the savage prevented his drawing his blade, and bore him into the river to drown him.Long they struggled in the water, when the President got the savage by the throat and nearly strangled him, and drawing his weapon, was about to cut off his head, when the King begged his life so pitifully, that Smith led him prisoner to the fort and put him in chains.
In the pictures of this achievement, the savage is represented as about twice the size and stature of Smith; another illustration that this heroic soul was never contented to take one of his size.
The Dutchman was captured, who, notwithstanding his excuses that he had escaped from Powhatan and did not intend to return, but was only walking in the woods to gather walnuts, on the testimony of Paspahegh of his treachery, was also "laid by the heels." Smith now proposed to Paspahegh to spare his life if he would induce Powhatan to send back the renegade Dutchmen.The messengers for this purpose reported that the Dutchmen, though not detained by Powhatan, would not come, and the Indians said they could not bring them on their backs fifty miles through the woods.Daily the King's wives, children, and people came to visit him, and brought presents to procure peace and his release.While this was going on, the King, though fettered, escaped.A pursuit only resulted in a vain fight with the Indians.
Smith then made prisoners of two Indians who seemed to be hanging around the camp, Kemps and Tussore, "the two most exact villains in all the country," who would betray their own king and kindred for a piece of copper, and sent them with a force of soldiers, under Percy, against Paspahegh.The expedition burned his house, but did not capture the fugitive.Smith then went against them himself, killed six or seven, burned their houses, and took their boats and fishing wires.Thereupon the savages sued for peace, and an amnesty was established that lasted as long as Smith remained in the country.
Another incident occurred about this time which greatly raised Smith's credit in all that country.The Chicahomanians, who always were friendly traders, were great thieves.One of them stole a Pistol, and two proper young fellows, brothers, known to be his confederates, were apprehended.One of them was put in the dungeon and the other sent to recover the pistol within twelve hours, in default of which his brother would be hanged.The President, pitying the wretched savage in the dungeon, sent him some victuals and charcoal for a fire."Ere midnight his brother returned with the pistol, but the poor savage in the dungeon was so smothered with the smoke he had made, and so piteously burnt, that we found him dead.
The other most lamentably bewailed his death, and broke forth in such bitter agonies, that the President, to quiet him, told him that if hereafter they would not steal, he would make him alive again; but he (Smith) little thought he could be recovered." Nevertheless, by a liberal use of aqua vitae and vinegar the Indian was brought again to life, but "so drunk and affrighted that he seemed lunatic, the which as much tormented and grieved the other as before to see him dead."Upon further promise of good behavior Smith promised to bring the Indian out of this malady also, and so laid him by a fire to sleep.