Pocahontas (16 page)

My uncle admired the way Little Red-Haired Warrior showed no fear. Also, as proof of his friendly intentions, he sat down and showed my uncle some of his medicine objects. One of them was a circle of metal with a round piece of ice in it that never melted. Under that ice was a stick that spun about. With signs and the few words of our language he spoke, Little Red-Haired Warrior explained to my uncle how he, too, gave respect to the Sun and the Great Circle of life.

My uncle was pleased, but to make certain that he could trust the Coatman warrior, he called the
quiyoughsokuk
and asked them to consult with Okeus and the other spirits that listen.

With great care, the priests made their circles of cornmeal about the fire. They laid down the sacred kernels of corn and the sticks that would speak to them with the voices of Okeus and the helpful spirits. They sang the powerful songs and listened to the voices that answered. Finally, after three days, they told my uncle that Little Red-Haired Warrior meant our people no harm. This pleased my uncle even more.

Little Red-Haired Warrior then gave my uncle a gift. It was a bag idled with the black grains that burn and make the weapons of the Coatmen thunder. It is my uncle's plan to plant the black grains in the spring as we do our corn. Our earth is so ferttle that surely we will grow a great crop of those black grains.

My uncle then took Little Red-Haired Warrior to his town of Paspahegh and to other towns of our people, showing him our strength and how good our lives are.

At Rappahannock, the werowance came to look at Little Red-Haired Warrior to see if he was the captain of the Coatmen who had come there four turnings of the leaves ago. That captain was the one who behaved so badly and kided the previous werowance. But as soon as the werowance of Rappahannock stood close to Little Red-Haired Warrior, he saw that he was not the man. He touched the top of his own head and then lowered his hand to his chest.

"
Waugh,
" the werowance of Rappahannock laughed. "This Coatman is only half the size of that one. Welcome,
nettoppew!
"

It is the hope of both my uncle and my wise father that Little Red-Haired Warrior now understands how much better it is to live as we live. Perhaps today, after meeting my father, he will decide to join us. He will get us thunder weapons that we can use to defend ourselves. He will help us get rid of those other rude and worthless Tassantassuk.

My father has told me that I will also have a special part to play. I have thought about it ad night. I am more than ready for the dawn.

The inhabitants themselves, especially his frontier neighbor princes, call him still Powhatan; his own people sometimes call him Ottaniack, sometimes Mananatowick, which last signifies "great king"; but his proper right name which they salute him with is Wahunsenacawh; the greatness and bounds of whose empire by reason of his powerfulness and ambition in his youth hath larger limits than ever had any of his predecessors in former times....

He is a goodly old man, not shrinking though well beaten with many cold and stormy winters, in which he hath been patient of many necessities and attempts of his fortune to make his name and family great. He is supposed to be little less than 80 years old (I dare not say how much more others say he is); of a tall stature and clean limbs, of a sad aspect, round fat visaged, with gray hairs, some hairs upon his chin and so on his upper lip.

—
FROM
T
HE
H
ISTORY OF
T
RAVEL
BY
W
ILLIAM
S
TRACHEY

DECEMBER
6
TH
–26
TH
, 1607

T
WO DAYS AFTER
, a man would have slain me but that the guards prevented it. That man sought revenge for the death of his son whom I had wounded, to whom they conducted me and asked me to recover the poor man then breathing his last. I told them that at James Town I had a water would do it if they would let me go to fetch it, but they would not permit that.

Craving my advice, the salvages then told me of the preparations they had made to assault James Town. They were solicited to do so by the King of Paspihae. They promised me that for recompense I should have life, liberty, land, and women.

"There is great difficulty and danger," I said to the salvages.

I told them of the mines, the great guns and other engines, which exceedingly affrighted them. Ere long their cruel minds towards the fort I had diverted in describing the ordnance and mines in the field as wed as the revenge Captain Newport would take of them at his return.

I then told the King that I desired to have a messenger sent to James Town with a letter I would write, by which they should understand how kindly they had used me, and that I was wed, lest they should revenge my death.

King Opechancanough granted this. In part of a table book I wrote my mind to them at the fort, telling them what was intended, how they should follow my directions to afright the messengers, and without fail send me such things as I writ for in an inventory I sent with them. According to my request, the salvages went to James Town, in as bitter weather as could be of frost and snow. Within three days they returned and told of how when they came to James Town, seeing men sally out as I had told them they would, they left my table book and fled. Yet
in the night they came again to the place where I had told them they should receive an answer. There they found such things as I had promised them. This was told to the wonder of ad them that heard it, who concluded that I could either divine the future or that the paper could speak.

They then led me to the Youghtaununds, the Mattapanients, the Paiankatanks, the Nantaughtacunds, and Onawmanients upon the rivers of Rappahannock and Potowameck, over ad those rivers and back again by diverse other several nations, to the King's habitation at Pamaunkee, where they entertained me with most strange and fearfid conjurations,

As if neare led to hell,
Amongst the Devils to dwell.

So would the poet Lucretius have it. Not long after, early in the morning a great fire was made in a long house and a mat spread on the one side. They caused me to sit and ad the guards went out of the house. Presently came skipping a great grim fellow with a hellish voice and a rattle in his hand. He was ad painted over with coal mingled with od, and he wore many snakes' and weasels' skins stuffed with moss, ad their tads tied together so they met on the crown of his head in a tassel. Round about the tassel was a coronet of feathers, the skins hanging round about his head, back, and shoulders.

With most strange gestures and passions he began his invocation, and environed the fire with a circle of meal. Which done, three more like such devils came rushing in with the like antic tricks, painted half-black, half-red, but ad their eyes were painted white and they wore some red strokes like mustaches along their cheeks. Round about me these fiends danced a
pretty while, and then in came three more as ugly as the rest, with red eyes and white strokes down their black faces.

At last they ad sat down right against me, three of them on the one hand of the chief Priest, and three on the other. Then, with ad their rattles, they began a song, which when it ended, the chief Priest laid down five wheat corns. Then, straining his arms and hands with such violence that he sweat and his veins swelled, he began a short oration. At the conclusion they ad gave a short groan and then laid down three grains more. After that began their song again and then another oration, ever laying down so many corns as before until they had twice encircled the fire. At the end of every song or oration, they laid down a stick between the divisions of corn.

Till six o'clock in the evening neither I nor they did eat or drink, and then they feasted merrily with the best provision they could make. Three days they used this ceremony, the meaning whereof, they told me, was to know if I intended them wed or no. The circle of meal signified their country, the circle of corn the bounds of the sea, and the sticks my country. They imagined the world to be round and flat like a trencher, and they in the middest. After this they brought in my bag of gunpowder, which they carefully preserved till the next spring to plant as they did their corn because they would be acquainted with the nature of that seed. Opitchapam, the Great King's brother, invited me to his house where, with many platters of bread, fowl, and wild beasts he bid me welcome, but not any of them would eat a bit with me, but put the remainder in baskets. At my return to Opechancanough's, ad the King's women and their children flocked round me for their parts, as due by custom, to be merry with such fragments.

At last they brought me to Meronocomoco, where was
Powhatan, their Emperor. More than two hundred of those grim courtiers stood wondering at me, as if I had been a monster, till Powhatan and his train had put themselves in their greatest braveries. Before a fire upon a seat like a bedstead, a foot high upon ten or twelve mats, their Emperor proudly sat. He was richly hung with a great many chains of great pearl about his neck and covered with a great robe made of rarowcun skins, and ad the tads hanging by. At his head sat a woman, at his feet another. On each side, sitting upon the ground, were ranged his chief men, ten in a rank, and behind them as many women, with ad their heads and shoulders painted red, many of their heads bedecked with the white down of birds and each with a great chain of white beads about her neck.

At my entrance before the Great King, ad the people gave a great shout. The Emperor had such a grave and majestical countenance as drove me into admiration to see such a state in a naked salvage. He kindly welcomed me with good words. Opossunoquonuske, the Queen of Appamattuck, was appointed to bring me water, and another brought me a bunch of feathers, in stead of a towel to dry my hands. Having feasted me after their best barbarous manner they could, a long consultation was held.

The Emperor asked me the cause of our coming.

"We had been in a fight with the Spaniards, our enemies," I told him. "Being overpowered, near put to retreat and troubled by extreme weather, we put to this shore where, landing at Chesepiock, the people shot at us, but at Kecoughtan they kindly used us. We by signs demanded fresh water. They described us up the river was ad fresh. At Paspihae also they kindly used us. Our pinnace being leaky, we were inforced to stay to mend her till Captain Newport, my father, came to conduct us away."

He demanded why we went further with our boat.

On the other side of their land, I told him, where was salt water, my father had a child slain. His death we intended to revenge. It was, we supposed, the Monacans, his enemies, who had done this.

It seemed he accepted my lies as truth. After good deliberation, he began to describe to me the countries beyond the fads, confirming what not only Opechancanough but also an Indian who had been prisoner to Powhatan before had told me. Some called it five days, some six, some eight where the said water dashed among stones and rocks.

Atquanachuke he described to be the people that had slain my brother, whose death he would revenge. Many kingdoms he described to the head of the bay. I requited his discourse, seeing what pride he had in his great and spacious domains, seeing that ad he knew were under his territories.

I then described to him the territories of Europe, which was subject to our great King, and the innumerable multitude of his ships. I gave him to understand the noise of trumpets and the terrible manner of fighting under Captain Newport, his father, who was the werowance of ad the waters. At his greatness Powhatan admired and not a little feared.

But the conclusion was that two great stones were brought before Powhatan. He spoke stern words to me, like unto those of a death sentence. Then as many salvages as could laid hands upon me, dragged me to the stones, and thereon laid my head, ready with their clubs to beat out my brains.

One of the greatest gifts given us by Ahone is tobacco. Its smoke carries our words when we pray. The great Road of Stars in the sky is white from the smoke that has risen with the prayers of our people.

When we travel upon the rivers or into the Great Salt Water Bay, we carry tobacco with us. If the wind should rise and the waters grow rough, we take that tobacco and offer it to the wind and water. Then, accepting our gift, hearing the truth of our words, the wind grows quiet and the waters grow calm.

So it is that when we have a great ceremony, when we gather to speak in council, we place tobacco into the central fire. Then the words that we speak are true, and our promises are sacred.

COHONK
TIME OF LONG NIGHTS
LATE DECEMBER
1607

M
Y BROTHER AND
I watch as my father welcomes Little Red-Haired Warrior. It is good to hear the words that my father speaks to him. He explains our ways, how he has brought together the many villages and nations in a great alliance. Together they are strong. Now, if Little Red-Haired Warrior will help us, if he will bring us some of his powerful weapons, then no one could defeat us.

It seems that Little Red-Haired Warrior is listening well. When he speaks, making gestures with his hands and using those few words of ours that he knew, it seems clear that he recognizes my father's greatness. He asks for his help and shows himself ready to become one with us. The Monacan people have killed one of Little Red-Haired Warrior's brothers. So he has been going up and down our rivers, trying to find his way to the land of those people who are our enemies, too. He wants to seek revenge.

My father stands.

"As Mamanatowic," he says, "the power of life is mine. I am the one who will revenge the death of your brother."

He gestures to his guards. They take Little Red-Haired Warrior by his arms and lead him to the stones of justice. They press him down upon the stones and turn his head so that he can see them up close.