第57章
John Smith was now a distinguished soldier, but he was soon to find that war is not entirely made up of brave deeds and rich rewards.A day came when ill-fortune befell him.In a great battle in which the Christians were beaten, John Smith was wounded and left on the field.He lay there until night, when some thieves, who had come to rob the dead bodies of whatever they could find upon them, heard him groaning from the pain of his wound, and stopped.He had on a very rich suit of armor, and from this they supposed that he was some great lord.Hence they did not kill him,but resolved to carry him away and keep him prisoner until he paid a large price for his freedom.
John Smith did not tell them that they were mistaken in this, as his life depended on his saying nothing.They carried him to a city called Axiopolis, and here they found that he was only a poor soldier.He was, therefore, sold in the slave market as a common slave, and was sent to a Turkish officer called a tymor, who lived near the Sea of Azov.
The tymor was a very hard master.He stripped off Smith's clothes and ordered him to put on coarse sheepskins.He next shaved his head and put an iron ring round his neck, after which he ordered him to go to work with the rest of his slaves.Smith's life was now very miserable.He therefore made up his mind to escape as soon as possible.
His work sometimes took him to a lonely barn on the tymor's estate, where his business was to thresh out grain with a flail.One day while he was at this labor the tymor came to the barn.He was in a very bad humor, and when he saw Smith he began to offer him every insult.This made the young soldier very angry.He looked around him.No one was in sight, and he had in his hands his heavy flail.At last the tymor struck him with his riding whip, at which John Smith returned a deadly blow with his flail.
The great thing now was to get away, and the young fellow did not stop long to think.He took off his coarse sheepskins and clothed himself in the tymor's suit, then he leaped on that officer's horse and rode off at full gallop.He meant to make his way to Russia where he was sure that he would be safe; but he did not know the road.
After wandering about for many days, he came at last to a Russian fortress.There he was received with the greatest kindness; the iron ring was struck from his neck, and not long afterward he went on his way toward England, "drowned in joy," as he said, at his escape.
III.
Young John Smith soon found that London was no place for a man like himself.He could not remain idle, and he began to long for new adventures.He had seen life in Europe and Asia, and now his thoughts were turned toward America.But little was then known of that country,and many strange and exciting stories were told about it.Now and then sailors had visited it; and when they came back they reported that the earth was full of gold and precious stones, and that the rivers ran over golden sands.
James I., who was King of England at that time, gave the right to Sir Thomas Gates and others to form a settlement in the New World; and in December, 1606, three small vessels set sail for the shores of America.John Smith was on board one of the vessels.The ships, with one hundred and five men in them, crossed the ocean in safety, and reached the West India Islands.They then sailed northward along the coast of Florida and the Carolinas, looking for a good harbor.
When they reached the mouth of Chesapeake Bay they were tossed by a terrible storm' but managed to sail into a harbor without being wrecked.This was in April, 1607, and some time was spent in looking for a place to make a settlement.Before them was a broad river, which was called Powhatan by the Indians, and this they sailed up, delighted with the beautiful prospect before them.
Some Indians came down to the shore and stared at the ships as they sailed by, but the settlers went on up the broad current until they reached a sort of island close to the shore.Here, on the 13th of May, 1607, the ships cast anchor, and here a settlement was made, and was called, in honor of the king, Jamestown.To-day there is nothing to mark the spot, except an old ruined church.
King James had not told any one the names of the men who were to rule over the settlement.The paper containing their names was sealed up in a box which was not to be opened until the ships reached the end of their voyage.But the time had now come: the box was opened, and the name of John Smith was found among those who were to be councilors.
The colonists soon saw that Smith had more sense and energy than all the rest.He was the real leader.Nobody had any respect for the councilors, who were a poor set at the best.They passed their time in eating and drinking and idleness.They had seen little of the Indians, and very foolishly seemed to care nothing about them.Besides this, but very little was done toward raising corn for food.Smith knew that the woods werefull of Indians, and also that the food in the ships would not last always.He, therefore, set out with a few men to visit the king of the Indian tribes, who lived some distance farther up the river.