Martinsburg statesman. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1869-1906, 1906-04-27
The jamestown Exposition.

subjects pertaining to the settlement OF
= Virginia by the approaching EXPOSE
fion emphasizes the fact that this pro.
iected celebration has already created
great demand for information con
corning the founding Of this English
colony in America and in the pictures
que and dramatic incidents connected
with the lives of those associated with
these early settlement days.
Particularly has interest been
aroused in the personality and re-
markable career of Capt. John Smith,
sometime Governor of Virginia and
Admiral of New England, 1.-The sturdy
soldier of fortune''upon whose intrepid
courage and indomitable will the very
existence Of the infant colony hung
There is also question concerning Po-
cahontas, daughter Of the Indian en-
peror Powhatan. She it was WHO
saved john Smith from death at the
hands of her fathers savage warriors
and thus preserved the life, not merely
of most remarkable man, but the life
of the leader OF the Virginia colony at
"A time when his death would almost
Inevitably been followed by the aban-
donment Of the settlement
Such history of the founding OF
jamestown, togeth er with an account
of those associated with it, has in re-
cent years been given TO the world IN
ssThe True Story of Capt. John Smith"
written by resident of Maryland,
Miss Katharine Pearson Woods, and
her work is Of such unusual excellence
that many suggestions have come
from Maryland and Virginia alike,
asking that this volume receive the in
dorsement of the jamestown Com
mission as the official history of the
founding of jamestown.
"The true story of Capt. John smith
is an unusual and valuable book in
many ways. 1t bears every evidence of
a veracity worthy it's title, and the
proofs of that accuracy are so quietly
and skillfuIly presented as to in no
way mar the interest and force of the
narrative. The book is written with the
mastery of English that is delightful
failure of Miss Woods successful
novel.
The military training acquired by
Capt. Smith in his early campaigning
days as Continental free lance in the
wars of Pennsylvania, his subsequent
captivity in Tartary and his escape
from thence by way Of Siberia, all had
a direct bearing upon his life in Amer
lea and proved invaluable experiences
il equippins him for leadership in
Virginia Hence Miss Woods has been
at i..finite pains to substantiats by de-
finite proof of Captain Smiths written
records Of those Continental days.
Another interesting point OF differ
ence among writers concerning which
Miss Woods book will doubtless be &C
cepted as the final word is whether
Capt. John Smith ever married in or
out of Virginia. She finds nothing in
his history to indicate either interest
ia, or ties of marriage, and concerning
Pocahontas says: That Smith con-
sdered her simply as child and had
no thought of her that approached the
equality even of friendships witness
ed by his friends and fellowsoldiers.
The will of Capt. John Smith, dated
1881, is quoted in full in Miss Woods
book also that of his father, George
smith, probated 1886 and no mention
made in it OF wife or children. In
stead, Captain Smith bequeaths both
his worldly goods and coat Of arm, to
friend, Thomas Packer.
Miss Woods annals present also
much delightful information concern
ing Pocahontas, showing her to have
been the first real Indian friend Of the
jamestown settlers who as child Of
Il years saved the life Of John Smith
and who sfterward preserved not only
his life, but the lives Of the colonists
by repeated warnings OF Indian plots
aIOOl, ana WHO sdNeu lutfn iIObi stdl-
walton by gifts of corn and venison.
Pocahontas WAS the first Indian maid
II TO accept Christianity and speake
the English language, the first of her
race to marry an English gentleman.
She was received at the Court Of St.
James az The daughter Of an emperor,
and is represented by Miss Woods as a
woman of unusual moral and mental
power. The story is made more graphic
b. portraits of this Indian beauty;
oa2 is known as the Sully portrait
Tn latter shows in her hand the three
white fssth rs which, as the little
Princess Mstoica, the "Whitc Feath-
e." " Pocahontas, she always wore in
hcr Lair or upon her breast.
len PAST Sixty IN DANGER
Mere than half OF mankind over