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CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH
CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH
FOURTH IMPRESSION The American Trail Blazers “THE STORY GRIPS AND THE HISTORY STICKS” These books present in the form of vivid and fascinating fiction, the early and adventurous phases of American history. Each volume deals with the life and adventures of one of the great men who made that history, or with some one great event in which, perhaps, several heroic characters were involved. The stories, though based upon accurate historical fact, are rich in color, full of dramatic action, and appeal
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FOREWORD
FOREWORD
The history of the world furnishes few lives so romantic and replete with stirring incident as that of John Smith, the founder of the first English colony in America—that settlement at Jamestown in Virginia, of which the United States of today is the outgrowth. John Smith began life in the year 1580, in the glorious reign of Good Queen Bess. It was a world of turmoil into which our hero came, but a most fitting field for so adventurous a spirit. In France, the gallant Henry of Navarre was fighti
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I. WHERE THERE’S A WILL THERE’S A WAY
I. WHERE THERE’S A WILL THERE’S A WAY
Jack Smith is introduced to the reader—He takes part in the rejoicing at the defeat of the Spanish Armada—His relations to the sons of Lord Willoughby—He runs away from school and sells his books and satchel—He is starting for London when his father dies—He is apprenticed to a merchant and shipowner—He tires of life at the desk and deserts the counting-house—His guardian consents to his going into the world and furnishes him with ten shillings—Jack takes the road to London with a bundle on his b
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II. LONDON TOWN IN SHAKESPEARE’S DAY
II. LONDON TOWN IN SHAKESPEARE’S DAY
Old London as it looked from Highgate Hill—The travelers put up at “Ye Swanne” near New Gate—The start for White Hall to see Sir Francis Walsingham and the Queen—Their wonderment at the strange house signs—The saucy apprentices arouse their anger—Old Paule’s Cathedral and some celebrated mansions—The Royal Palace and a state procession—They go to the Globe, Will Shakespeare’s theatre—The boys see their first play in company with Doctor Hollister—Old London Bridge, its curious houses and its griz
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III. THE SOLDIER APPRENTICE
III. THE SOLDIER APPRENTICE
Jack goes to France with Peregrine—Is persuaded to turn homeward—He starts for Paris and meets David Home—Sees the capital and spends his money—Takes boat on the Seine for the coast and arrives without a penny in his pocket—Enters the service of Captain Duxbury and begins to learn the practice of arms—Sees service in the army of Henry of Navarre—Goes to the Low Countries and fights against the Spaniards—Sails for Scotland and is shipwrecked—Returns to Willoughby and continues his training with S
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IV. DUPED AND ROBBED
IV. DUPED AND ROBBED
John returns to the Netherlands—Determines to go east and fight the Turks—Meets a bogus French nobleman and his attendants—Goes to France with them—They steal all his belongings and with the assistance of the ship-master decamp—John sells his cloak and pursues the thieves—A friend in need—Finds the robbers but can get no redress—Alone in a strange land without cloak or purse—Secures some clothes and money and turns back to the coast—Still determined to get to the Turkish war by some means. John
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V. A DUEL WITH A DASTARD
V. A DUEL WITH A DASTARD
John reaches Havre after a long dreary tramp in mid-winter—Fails to find a ship going to the East and turns south along the coast—Falls exhausted by the roadside and is picked up by a good farmer—Regains his strength and resumes his journey—Encounters Courcelles, one of the Frenchmen who had robbed him—They draw swords and fall to—John completely overcomes his antagonist, punishes him and leaves him repentant—An unlooked for meeting with an old friend—John is set upon his feet again—Goes to Mars
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VI. DARKNESS AND DAWN
VI. DARKNESS AND DAWN
A lonely night with cold, wet and hunger—John falls over a goat and is heartened—A friendly ship and rescue—John sails with Captain La Roche in the Britaine—Learns how to navigate a ship and handle big guns—La Roche cruises in search of adventure—Falls in with a Venetian argosy—The Venetian fires a shot and draws blood—A fierce fight in which the Britaine is finally victorious—John is landed in Piedmont with a fat purse—He journeys to Gratz and secures an introduction to the leaders in the Archd
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VII. SOME STRATAGEMS
VII. SOME STRATAGEMS
John marches with the army against the Turks—Helps the commander-in-chief out of a dilemma—The signal message with torches—“At the alarum, sally you”—John’s dummy battalions of matchlock men deceive the enemy—Baron Kissel attacks the Turkish army and routs it with great slaughter—The campaign in Transylvania—Alba Regalis is attacked—John devises a scheme for entering the city—His “fiery dragons” work havoc within the walls—The place is taken by assault after a fierce fight—Sixty thousand Moslems
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VIII. THE DIN OF BATTLE
VIII. THE DIN OF BATTLE
The battle of Girkhe—The Duc de Mercœur pits twenty thousand Christians against sixty thousand Turks—The conflict rages from morn till night—Meldritch’s men do valiant service—John’s horse is killed under him—He is rescued by Culnitz and saves the latter’s life in turn—Duplaine dies fighting one to ten—The Earl’s fearful plight—Seven hundred against three thousand—“For faith and Meldritch!”—The Earl is cut off—“Culnitz! Vahan! Follow me! To the Chief, my men!”—Count Ulrich turns the scales—The T
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IX. GUERILLA TACTICS
IX. GUERILLA TACTICS
The Duc de Mercœur defeats Hassan Pasha and Alba Regalis is secure—Meldritch carries the war into Transylvania—The advance against Regall—The troops are constantly attacked on the march—Captain Smith treats the Turks to a surprise—He proposes a scheme for counteracting the night attacks—Five hundred Turks are entrapped and cut up—Clearing the mountain road to Regall—The army gains the summit and encamps—The Turks issue a challenge to single combat—The Christian captains draw lots for the honor o
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X. THE THREE TURKS
X. THE THREE TURKS
Captain Smith meets the Turkish champion in a duel with lances—The gorgeous pasha makes a brave appearance but loses his life at the first encounter—Smith presents Prince Moyses with a grizzly trophy—The slain Turk’s bosom friend challenges Smith—The combatants’ lances are shattered to splinters—They continue the fight with pistols and the Englishman is hit—The gallant war-horse saves the issue—Grualgo bites the dust—Smith sends a challenge into Regall—Meets Boni Mulgro and for the third time is
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XI. BRAVE HEARTS AND TRUE
XI. BRAVE HEARTS AND TRUE
Regall is bombarded and taken by assault—The Earl of Meldritch leads an army of thirty thousand into Wallachia—Fierce fighting and a retreat through the enemy’s country—The “Master of Stratagem” commands the vanguard and clears a pass—The Earl’s depleted army makes a last stand in the fateful valley of Veristhorne—Forty thousand Tartars lay before them and in their rear thirty thousand Turks—The Christians make a splendid but hopeless defense—They attempt to cut their way out and a mere handful
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XII. SLAVERY AND A SEA-FIGHT
XII. SLAVERY AND A SEA-FIGHT
John Smith is delivered to the Lady Charatza, his future mistress—He falls into kind hands and excites the Turkish Maiden’s interest—Her mother intervenes and he is sent to an outlying province—He finds a brutal master and is subjected to treatment “beyond the endurance of a dog”—He slays the cruel Timariot and escapes upon his horse—Wanders about for weeks and at length reaches a Christian settlement—Adventures in Africa—A trip to sea with Captain Merham—The Britisher fights two Spanish ships a
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XIII. A BAD BEGINNING
XIII. A BAD BEGINNING
John Smith becomes interested in American colonization—Devotes his money and his services to the Virginia venture—Sails with an expedition to the New World composed of an ill-assorted company of adventurers—They fall into dissensions at the outset—Each is jealous of others and all of John Smith—He is placed under arrest and a gallows erected for his accommodation—The emigrants grow weary of the adventure—When almost within sight of the continent they plan to put about and return to England—A sto
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XIV. POWHATAN AND HIS PEOPLE
XIV. POWHATAN AND HIS PEOPLE
The President and Council are established and a settlement made at Jamestown—Newport and Smith go on an exploring expedition—They meet Powhatan, the great Werowance of the country—They are feasted and fêted by the old Chief—A quick return to Jamestown and a timely arrival—The Indians attack the settlers and take them unawares—Gallant stand made by the gentlemen adventurers—The appearance of Newport and his men prevents a massacre—A fort and stockade are hurriedly erected—Smith is tried on a char
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XV. TREASON AND TREACHERY
XV. TREASON AND TREACHERY
The colonists experience hard times and a touch of starvation—Fever seizes the settlement and one-half the settlers die—The entire charge of affairs devolves upon Captain Smith—President Wingfield is deposed and Ratcliffe appointed in his place—Smith leads an expedition in search of corn—Returns to find trouble at Jamestown—The blacksmith to be hanged for treason—At the foot of the gallows he divulges a Spanish plot—Captain Kendall, a Councilman, is involved—His guilt is established—He seizes th
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XVI. CAPTIVE TO THE INDIANS
XVI. CAPTIVE TO THE INDIANS
Peace and plenty at the settlement—Smith sets out to discover the source of the Chickahominy—He falls into an ambush and has a running fight with two hundred warriors—Walks into a swamp and is forced to surrender—Opechancanough the chief of the Pamaunkes—Smith is put to a test of courage—He figures in a triumphal procession—Has suspicions that he is being fattened for the table—He sends a timely warning to Jamestown and diverts a projected attack by the Indians—Smith is dealt with by the medicin
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XVII. POCAHONTAS TO THE RESCUE
XVII. POCAHONTAS TO THE RESCUE
After a weary circuit of the Indian villages Smith is brought to Werowocomico—He is received by Powhatan in the “King’s House”—The chiefs in council decide to put him to death—He is bound and laid out, preparatory to being killed—Pocahontas intervenes at the critical moment—Powhatan’s dilemma and Opechancanough’s determination—“The Council has decreed the death of the paleface”—“I, Pocahontas, daughter of our King, claim this man for my brother”—The Indian maiden prevails—Smith is reprieved and
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XVIII. FIRE AND STARVATION
XVIII. FIRE AND STARVATION
Powhatan by excessive greed overreaches himself—Smith is allowed to return to the settlement—He finds the colonists, as usual, disturbed by dissensions—Arrives just in time to prevent Ratcliffe and others from deserting—Newport arrives with the “first supply”—The Indians continue to treat Smith as a tribal chief—Fire destroys Jamestown completely—Newport and Smith visit Powhatan—The purple beads “fit only for the use of Kings”—The astute Indian Chief meets his match in Captain John Smith—The set
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XIX. A TURN IN THE TIDE
XIX. A TURN IN THE TIDE
Captain Nelson arrives in the Phœnix with reinforcements and supplies—Powhatan becomes disgruntled—Smith yields to Pocahontas what he had refused to her father—Smith sets out to explore Chesapeake Bay—The expedition meets with storm and shipwreck—The party is led into an ambush—They find the Indians everywhere unfriendly and learn of Powhatan’s treachery—The Susquehannocks and their giant chief—They propose to make Smith the head of the tribe—Ratcliffe is deposed and Scrivener assumes the Presid
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XX. DIAMOND CUT DIAMOND
XX. DIAMOND CUT DIAMOND
Smith goes on a foraging expedition and engages in a contest of wits with Powhatan—Doctor Russell and Captain Smith get into a tight place—And get out again—Powhatan plans to murder his adopted son—Pocahontas warns the Captain of the intended treachery—The feast and the disappointed waiters—How eight designing Indians afford goodly entertainment to three Englishmen—And how they are neatly laid by the heels by their intended victims—“The English sleep like the village dog, with one eye cocked”—Ho
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XXI. SOME AMBUSCADES
XXI. SOME AMBUSCADES
Smith pays a visit to Opechancanough and declines to walk into a trap—“Drop your arms on the instant or your Chief’s life is forfeit”—Smith affords the Pamaunkes an object lesson and reads them a lecture—A messenger with sad news from Jamestown—Smith loses an old friend and a faithful ally—The Indians set a trap for the White Werowance and fall into it themselves—Smith loads his boats and returns to Jamestown—He finds the settlement in a condition of anarchy and threatened with starvation—And pr
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XXII. A CURIOUS COMBAT
XXII. A CURIOUS COMBAT
The settlement is reduced to order and industry—The renegade Dutchmen and their friends in the fort—Smith stalks a traitor through the forest—Captures him and brings him back to be hanged—The Chief of the Paspaheghs enters upon a dangerous enterprise—He finds Smith ready to try a conclusion with him—The Indian giant and the Englishman engage in a wrestling match—The bout ends in the discomfiture of the Paspahegh—He cuts “a sorry figure squirming like a toad under a harrow”—He is carried captive
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XXIII. A HUMBLED CHIEFTAIN
XXIII. A HUMBLED CHIEFTAIN
Powhatan stirs his Dutch allies to reluctant activity—They concoct a conspiracy to seize Jamestown and massacre the English—The movement fails and all Powhatan’s warriors fall into the hands of Smith—“It is within my power to cut off the Powhatans root and branch!”—The old Chief is bowed in shame and repentance—A very righteous fate befalls the perfidious Dutchmen—Friendly relations are again established between the whites and the Indians—A grand scheme of government which has a bad inception—Ra
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XXIV. A DISMAL TALE
XXIV. A DISMAL TALE
What befell Jamestown after Captain John Smith left it—A score of rival leaders create disorder and encourage license—The Indians overcome the white men and put them to flight—Ratcliffe falls into a trap and with his men is massacred—Winter finds them sick and starving—“Now we all felt the want of Captain Smith”—Reinforcements arrive but it is determined to abandon the colony—The appearance of Lord Delaware frustrates the move—Jamestown is restored and prospers for a spell—The tobacco craze and
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