Page "Folklore of the United States" Paragraph 5

In May 1607, the Susan Constant, the Discovery, and the Godspeed sailed through Chesapeake Bay and thirty miles up the James River to a parcel of densely wooded, swamp land.

There, settlers built Jamestown, Virginia, England's first permanent colony, and like many other explorers before, they set out to find treasure.

Too late in the season to plant crops, many were not accustomed to manual labor.

Within a few months, some settlers died of famine and disease.

Only thirty-eight made it through their first year in the New World.

That these settlers survived at all is due in large measure to Captain John Smith, a pirate turned gentleman.

He turned the settlers into foragers and successful traders with the Native Americans, who taught the English how to plant corn and other crops.

Smith led expeditions to explore the regions surrounding Jamestown, and it was during one of these that the chief of the Powhatan Native Americans captured Smith.

According to an account Smith published in 1624, he was going to be put to death until the chief's daughter, Pocahontas, saved him.

From this the legend of Pocahontas sprang forth, becoming part of American folklore, children's books, and movies.