I would like to study Pocahontas.  She was caring and helping for everyone!  She was also pleasant and warm. I want to be just like her.   She risked her life for John Smith.  She died around the age 25 but she deserved a longer life.

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Listen to an Interview with Pocahontas

                 Pocahontas was born around 1595.  Pocahontas’s father was Powhatan the supreme chief; the Powhatan’s bored his name.  She had 30 siblings. In Pocahontas’s tribe the native women were to marry a chief so Powhatan had many wives and many children.  They also were able to get married at the age of 14.  Pocahontas was pampered by her father’s many wives.  Most of the reason was because she was her father’s favorite child.

   When Pocahontas was 11, English settlers came.  They came and settled at what is called Jamestown.  Powhatan saw the English come in on their boat and he already knew who they were.  He called them the white men and he did not like them.  If any of them left their fort they would get shot with an arrow by the Powhatans.

  Captain John Smith was the captain of the crew so the Indians would not kill him.  He went to the Indians village to befriend them.  Powhatan sent Smith an invitation to his long house for a feast.  Pocahontas was at her fathers’ side the whole feast.

  After the feast Powhatan ordered two of his people to bring two big rocks and a jack hammer in front of him.  Once they had brought those things over he told them to put John’s head in the middle of the rocks.  One man held Smith down and the other man had to smash Smiths’ head.  But before they could Pocahontas ran over to Smith and put her head on top of his.  Powhatan yelled stop and then Pocahontas asked her father to adopt him as her brother he said yes.

  John Smith and Pocahontas became greatfriends; they taught each other the other person’s language.  One night Smith and a couple of the other Englishmen were sitting by a fire and Pocahontas came out with a couple of her friends and put on a show for Smith.  They sang and danced.

  The English men didn’t like how Smith was working them.  They had told Smith that they would rather starve and eat each other than work.  A man named Captain Newport (an Englishmen) thought giving Powhatan a crown to be king he would do whatever they say.  When it was time to give Powhatan the crown he had already knew what was going.  They were also going to give him a bed complete with bedding, a wide spouted pitcher, a basin, and a scarlet coat.  When Powhatan had to kneel to receive his crown he refused.  Some settlers had to push down his shoulders to make him bend down a little Newport quickly put the crown on his head and Powhatan knew he had to give something in return.  He gave them an old pair of moccasins and a long deer skin cloak which he had been wearing that day.  He also offered some bushels of corn.

  Soon after Powhatan decided not to trade with the English anymore.  He always traded things with them.  Like corn and supplies.

  But Smith was no longer the captain of the Jamestown settlers he got fired.  A ship from England picked up Smith and there was a horrible fire.  Smith caught on fire and he jumped into the water. Some other men on the boat jumped in and brought Smith back to the boat.  He was severely injured.  He had gone back to England.  Rumors started spreading about Smith like either he had gone back to England and Smith died in the fire.  Soon they spread all the way to Pocahontas she didn’t know what to believe.

  Ever since Smith left the English men no longer had to work or search for food.  They were starving!  They really did mean what they said about eating each other instead of working.  They killed their cats and dogs to cook and eat.  One man dug up his dead wife and ate her!

  For revenge the English sent a ship over to get Pocahontas, they found a way to get her to come on the boat came with them to England but she didn’t know where they were going She got stuck on their ship but she was very occupied people got sent over to keep her busy and keep her company.  She begged to go back home but something inside of her wanted to stay.  She was treated better than back home.  The only reason they took Pocahontas was because Powhatan took some weapons and the English wanted them back.  They thought if they took his favorite child he would return the weapons but he only sent a few broken swords.  Pocahontas was furious with her father how could he only send a couple swords to get her back!

  She got to England and she met a man named John Rolfe it was love at first sight.  They got married.

  For as long as she lived in England did not find John Smith.  She looked and looked and did many things but she gave up hope.

  The couple had a child in 1615.  His name was Thomas.

  Smith came to Pocahontas’s house but by now she didn’t want to talk.  Rolfe told Smith to take a walk with him until Pocahontas was ready to talk.

   A while after Pocahontas became ill from smallpox.  Rolfe decided she needed to go back to Jamestown.  On their way Pocahontas became very ill.  Rolfe asked the pilot to drop the anchor luckily they were by an island, he called a doctor to come but it was too late Pocahontas was gone.  Poor Thomas was only 2 when his mother (Pocahontas) died.

Sullivan, George.  Pocahontas in Their Own Words.  New York:  Scholastic Reference, 2001.

Schaefer, Lola.  Pocahontas.  Minnesota:  Capstone Press, 2002.

Powhatan Museum.  5/6/2010.  http://www.powhatanmuseum.com/Pocahontas.html .

Townsend, Camilla.  “Pocahontas”.  World Book Encyclopedia .  2010.  World Book Online.  5/3/2010.  http://www.Worldbookonline.com .