Name: _________________________________
Jamestown and Captain John Smith Part 3
In another book that Captain John Smith wrote, he told
about his adventures among the Indians. He told about the time
the Indians captured him. One day, he said, he was exploring far
up the Chickahominy River. He left his boat and the men who
were with him. A big band of Indians came out of the forest and
captured him.
They took him to their Great Chief Powhatan. Powhatan
was the head of all of the Indian tribes near Jamestown. There
were about thirty of these tribes. This is sometimes referred to as the Powhatan
confederation. The chiefs and the warriors of every tribe had to obey Powhatan. Powhatan’s
town was more important than any other Indian town, Werowocomoco. His long house was
larger than the house of any other chief.
On their way to Powhatan’s town, the Indians marched in a long line. They made
Captain Smith march in the middle of the line. Big warriors held Captain Smith’s arms. Other
warriors marched on each side of him. They had arrows in their bows ready to shoot.
The warriors led Captain Smith in Powhatan’s long house. The house was crowded with
Indian men and women. The men had their heads and shoulders painted red, and they wore
many white feathers. The women had strings of small white shells around their necks.
Powhatan sat in the middle of the house in front of the fire. He had a big raccoon robe over
him.
All of the people gave a great shout when they saw Captain Smith. At first, Powhatan
treated him like a special guest. The queen of the Pamunkey Indians brought him water to
wash his hands. Another Indian handed him a bunch of feathers to use as a towel. The
Indians gave him a big dinner.
There was a little girl in Powhatan’s house. She was Pocahontas, Powhatan’s daughter.
Pocahontas knew all the Indians who came to see her father, but she did not know this man
with white skin and red hair on his face and head. Pocahontas had never seen him before.
Who was he? What was her father going to do with him?
After dinner, the Indians talked for a long time. Captain Smith did not know what they
were saying, because it was in the Algonquian language and not English. But he knew they
were talking about him. When the talk was over, some Indians brought two big stones. They
laid the stones in front of Powhatan. Some of the Indians grabbed Captain Smith. They
dragged him over to the stones and pushed his head down on them. Indians with clubs in
their hands stood over him. Then Pocahontas knew what was going to happen. They were
going to kill the Englishman.
Directions: Circle the correct answer or
write the correct answer neatly on the
lines.
1. Who was the head of all of the Indian
tribes near Jamestown?
A. John Smith
B. Pocahontas
C. Chief Powhatan
D. Queen of the Pamunkeys
2. About how many tribes were in this
confederation?
A. 10
B. 30
C. 100
D. 57
3. Who was the man that the Indians
captured?
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4. Why might he be an important
Englishman for the Indians to
capture?
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5. What kind of houses did the Indians
of that area live in?
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6. Why do you think Powhatan’s
longhouse was the largest?
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7. What language did the Powhatan
people speak?
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8. What language can you infer the
Pamunkey people spoke?
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9. What was the name of Chief
Powhatan’s daughter?
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10.What did Pocahontas predict her
father had ordered his Indian
warriors to do to the Englishman?
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