Evening star., 1927-10-17
Capt. John Smith
Praised by Writer
To the Editor of The Star:

In following the interesting pictorial
series, Fifty American Soldiers of
Fortune" running in your paper, 1
feel that I must call attention to a
slight discrepancy in the historical
accuracy OF the text.
Apart from the amusing omission
Of the jamestown, Va, foundation.
the cradle of America, the sighting
remarks on Capt. John Smith and the
impugning of his veracity, which has
never been called in question except
by few misguided New England
writer's anxious to place their section
of the country in the limelight, call
for some explanation.
Can't. John Smith, who might be
called the founder Of Anglo-Saxon
civilization on this continent, was not
only a man of amazing courage and
tremendous experience, but also of
sterling character and great upright
ness and truthfulness. Incidentally,
he was devout Christian, and the
first thing that the broken, gold
seeking gallants," that Mr.. Terhune
talks so glibly about, did when they
landed eat jamestown was to celebrate
the holy communion, and later, as
soon as possible, to build little
wooden church on the shores Of the
New World. 1t was not gold-seek.
ing expedition by a handful of "disso-
Lutte aristocrats," but great national
movement of the whole of England,
backed by the King and the govern
ment and by men of affairs-patriots,
mobiles and gentlemen and sturdy yeo-
men-and there would have been no
Mayf1ower expedition, certainly not
until an even much later date, with.
out it.
After founding and consolidating the
jamestown colony, Capt. John Smith
in 1914 went to New England, then
| unnamed and unexplored, except by
the earlier Norsemen. He mapped and
| charted it's coast, interviewed the In
| dians, saw it's possibilities and the fu.
ture of it's whaling and fishing indus
| tries, named 1t New England" and
when he got back to Old England
spent nearly all his private means and
| most of his time in "stumping the
country" as we would say, to arouse
the youth Of England to the glories
| Of colonization in the New World.
AT the height of the excitement pro-
| duced by the success of the Virginia
expeditions. a company of people,
| called "Brownists," because they fol-
| lowed a dissenter called Brown" re-
turned from Holland and decided to
try their fortunes across the ocean.
Smith interviewed them and offered
to lead the expedition, but they econ.
omiZed on his services, but used his
| maps and charts, and having received
| their grant from the head of the Lon
don Virginia Co., Sir Edwin Sandys,
| son OF the Bishop of York and one of
| the most liberalminded men of the
age. they had permission to "settle
within Virginia territory" las all the
country at that time was called from
| Nova Scotia to South Cardinal, and
| accordingly set sail on the Mayflower,
| chartered by the Virginia Co. and off.
| cered by the employees of that COM
pany, and, as we all know, landed at
Plymouth on December IL, 1920, 13
years after the founding at James
| town, Va.
The 12O persons on the Mayfiower
| were not all Pilgrims. Some were
from Essex, London and other places
IN England. Christopher Martin, "the
Governore in the Mayfiower," was a
member Of the Virginia Co. and owned
| a plantation on the James River as
also did Stephen Hopkins, another
planter. Also the captain of the May
mower, Thomas Jones, and his mate,
John Clarke, were employees of the
London company, and one OF the own
! ers OF the Mayfiower, Thomas Weston,
was big landowner on the James
River, and his ships traded between
| jamestown and London.
The Mayfiower was only one Of 21
ships that went out to "Virginia" in
1920, and when the Pilgrims landed at
Plymouth there were already 2.2OO
| colonists living at or near Jam nestown:
the first vessel of American construc.
ton, the pinnace Virginia, had been
built; the first representative legisla.
tive assembly had met, 1919, and the
first American university, at Henrico,
| had been laid out. Construction on
the buildings began in 1922, but
the terrible massacre of that year
| stopped it.
A new edition Of Capt. John Smiths
works, with cotemporary writings of
his associates. has been issued by the
Edinburgh Press, and fully confirm
| the veracity and integrity Of that re-
markable man. The Scotch editors.
| indeed, express establishment that New
England writer's should have uues.
| toned his statements.
Yes, Mr.. Terhune may not think the
gallant Capt. John Smith worthy to
rank with the rest of his company,
put Virginia and posterity will hail
MIN as the man whose sagacity and
courage and magnificent vision guard
| ed the cradle Of America and saved
the infant colony from whose cavalier
IONS were later to spring the patriots,
and heroes, and jurists, and soldiers,
| and statemen, from Washington to
Wilson, that have made the Republic
glorious. FRANCES A. WALKER.