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Dromo's Den
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[Up] [Dromo's Den] John Smith Biography SMITH, John (1580–1631). A famous adventurer, explorer, and colonist, born at Willoughby, Lincolnshire, England. He was left an orphan at an early age. At 15 he accompanied the sons of an English nobleman on a tour of the Continent as a page, but left them and enlisted with the Protestants of France. He was a soldier of fortune in different lands and met with a series of romantic adventures. Upon his return to England, in 1605, he was induced to take part in the colonization of Virginia and sailed thence in 1606. He was named a member of the Council for the community in the secret list prepared before departure, but during the voyage he was imprisoned on a charge of sedition. On arrival, when the sealed instructions were opened, he was not allowed to take his seat. Smith went out on expeditions for forage and discovery among the Indians and conducted them ably. After the first trip of discovery he was, in June, 1607, admitted to the Council. On one of these occasions, in December, 1607, he was captured by the Indian chief Powhatan (q.v.). The story which he relates of the young Indian maiden Pocahontas, the daughter of Powhatan, who, when he was condemned to death by the savage chieftain, saved his life by her interposition, is not now fully credited. (See Pocahontas.) After a period of turbulence and disaster Smith’s influence became paramount in Jamestown. During another of his journeys, in 1608, he explored Chesapeake Bay as far as the Patapsco. He was elected President of the Council in September, 1608, but the statement so often made that he saved the colony from ruin rests upon no adequate foundation. (See Dale, Sir Thomas.) In his dealings with the Indians he showed himself astute and valiant, and an adept in Indian peculiarities. His services were not sufficiently appreciated, and upon the grant of a new charter and the reorganization of the government he returned to England at the close of 1609. He was sent out on voyages of discovery and in 1614 made a fairly complete exploration of the New England coast from the Penobscot to Cape Cod. To the same end he twice sailed in 1615, the first time being driven back by bad weather and the second time being captured by the French. He died in 1631. His two really historical works are his True Relation, published in 1608 (the best edition being that edited by Charles Deane, Boston, 1867), and his General Historie of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles, published in 1624. Three other works of importance are his maps of Virginia (1612), his Description of New England (1616), and his New England’s Trials (1620). The New International Encyclopaedia, Vol. XXI (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1920) 198. |