Although Sam had never treated a burn before, he knew Smith was not healing. The raw skin oozed and festered, soaking through bandages. One day, Sam asked the surgeon if his master would survive. The man frowned as he met Sam’s eye. Instead of answering, he shrugged.
The sailors had already begun packing the supply ships with Virginia goods to sell in England. The colony’s gentlemen decided to send John Smith back on these ships. If he survived the crossing, skilled doctors in London could care for him. Smith was too weak to protest.
He called the boys to his side. “You’ve done very well in Jamestown, Nathaniel Peacock,” Smith said, with his eyes closed and a weak smile on his face. “Stephen Calthrop would be proud of the young man you’ve become. He shared my belief in Virginia, you know.”
Sam looked at Nate. My master is talking like a man who expects to die, he thought with an ache in his chest.
“A new world this will be,” Smith continued, “for smart, ambitious men. That’s what Stephen and I used to say. A place where strong fellows will succeed. No matter about the gold or the passage to the Orient. There are enough riches in this land without the sparkle of gold or the touch of silk. You’ll enjoy a prosperous future here, Nate.”
“Master Smith, please,” Nate said, “Let me return to England with you and Sam. I have no love for this land. Ever since Master Calthrop died….”
Smith put his finger on his lips. “I know how hard Stephen’s death was for you, Nate. But there comes a time when a boy takes his place as a man. Time to leave the past behind. Stephen Calthrop wanted this future for you.”
“If it’s a man I’m to be from now on, then it’s for me to decide my own future,” Nate said. “Please Master Smith, I want to return to England.”
Smith opened his eyes. “I’m not going to force you to stay here, Nate. You’ve earned the right to choose your future. But don’t make your decision lightly. Be sure that returning to England is what you want.”
“I’m sure, Master Smith,” Nate said firmly.
“And you, Samuel Collier?” Smith asked gently. “Nate can care for me on the voyage to England, so I won’t be requiring your services any longer. What will you choose?”
Sam looked at Nate. Ever since the boys had set sail from England on this great adventure, Nate had been his companion. He was the best friend Sam had ever known, closer to him than his brother. Sam hesitated. He thought about his family’s farm in Lincolnshire, and he could picture Thomas at work in the barn. He remembered his mother’s soft eyes and how her cheeks wrinkled when she smiled. Oh, how he longed to see her again! Sam could almost feel the reassuring warmth of his father’s hand on his shoulder as he greeted his younger son. How good it would be to see his home and his family again!
John Smith and Nate both watched him. Sam gazed at Smith, the man’s pale face lined with days of suffering. Sam thought about how much he owed this forceful man. Smith had led him out of the small, narrow world of his childhood and shown him so many things—wonderful, strange, and threatening things—things he could never have imagined.
“Sam, this colony will need men like you, men with brains and courage,” Smith said slowly. “There’s no need for both you and Nate to return to England just to care for me aboard the ship. This will likely be my last crossing, anyway.” Smith reached for Sam’s hand. “You’re as near to a son as I will ever have, Samuel Collier, and Jamestown is the greatest achievement of my life. But the future belongs to you. What will you choose?”
Sam hesitated. “I thought I was the luckiest boy in England to sail across the ocean and explore Virginia,” he said. “Even when life in Jamestown was the most terrible, I was sure that I was destined to become a man in this new world. If my service to you is over, Master Smith, then that’s what I choose.” He looked at Nate, then at Smith. “I’ll stay here in Virginia.”
Sam and Nate packed Smith’s belongings and helped the sailors carry him aboard the ship. When all was ready, and the ship was about to sail, Sam clasped John Smith’s hands. He wanted to thank him, to tell him how much he had learned from him. But he didn’t know how to explain what he was feeling. Instead, he said, “I won’t forget you. Whenever I think about coming to Virginia to plant this colony, I’ll remember John Smith.”
Then he turned to Nate and put his hands on his friend’s shoulders. “Godspeed, Nathaniel Peacock. I don’t know when our paths will cross again.” Sam’s throat tightened and his cheeks felt hot. Holding back tears, he punched Nate’s shoulder.
Nate reached up, pulled Sam’s cap off his head, and flung it. The boys watched the cap sail over the ship’s rail, clear the bank, and land on dry ground. Nate laughed. “Always the lucky fellow! I won’t be worrying about you. Farewell, Samuel Collier of Virginia!”
Author’s Note
This novel is based on the history of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America. All of the character’s names and major events are true. But many of the details about the lives of the early settlers are not known, so I’ve speculated about what might have happened. I made up conversations and personalities to create a story. This book is based on primary sources—accounts and letters written by John Smith and other settlers—but it is historical fiction.
How much is true about Sam Collier and the other boys? What happened to them?
Four boys were listed on the first fleet of ships that traveled to Virginia. According to the settlers’ accounts, one boy was killed during the 1607 assault by Indians on the fort, but that boy’s identity is unknown.
Of the four boys, historians know the most about Samuel Collier. This boy was mentioned as Smith’s page after the settlers arrived in Virginia. Collier accompanied Smith on at least two expeditions into Indian villages. On the expedition to Powhatan’s town in 1608–09, he was left in the Indian village of Warraskoyack to learn the natives’ language and customs. Collier did remain in Virginia after Smith’s return to England in 1609.
Collier survived the colony’s most difficult time, which was the winter of 1609–10, and he lived for another twelve years in Jamestown. During the winter of 1622–23, he was accidentally shot and killed by an English guard. John Smith mentioned Collier’s death in his 1624 book, The General History of Virginia, New-England, & the Summer Isles. He wrote, “Samuell Collyer one of the most ancientest Planters, and very well acquainted with their [the Indian’s] language and habitation, humors and conditions, and Governor of a Towne, when the Watch was set going the round, unfortunately by a Centinell that discharged his peece, was slaine.”
Historians know very little about the background, and nothing about the physical characteristics and personalities of these four boys. Although I used real names for my characters, all the descriptions of them are made up. As more information is discovered, we may learn that one or another of these boys was brave or clever, strong or kind. Until that time, we can only guess how they responded to the difficult conditions they faced in Jamestown.
Did John Smith survive his injury? What happened to him?
Yes, Smith survived the gunpowder accident. After his return to England, he wrote and published books about his Jamestown experiences. John Smith’s map of the Chesapeake and points north was so accurate that it was used as the basis for maps of the area for more than a hundred years.
In 1614, he returned to North America and explored Massachusetts Bay. He gave this area the name, “New England.”
John Smith died in 1631, at about 51 years of age. He never married, and he never returned to Jamestown.
Why isn’t Pocahontas a major character in this book?
Although the story describing how Pocahontas saved John Smith’s life has captured the popular imagination, it may not have happened at all! Smith did not mention this incident until years after he left Virginia. Some historians think that he may have made it up to attract some of the attention that his countrymen were giving to Pocahontas, who was visiting England as the wife of John Rolfe.
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nbsp; What happened in Jamestown after John Smith returned to England?
The most terrible period in Jamestown’s history, the “starving time,” happened right after Smith’s departure, during the winter of 1609–10. Of the roughly three hundred and fifty people living in the colony at the start of that winter, only ninety survived!
One of the lost ships of the third supply, the Sea Venture— commanded by Captain Newport and carrying Sir Thomas Gates, the governor appointed by the Virginia Company—shipwrecked in 1609 in Bermuda, where passengers and crew spent the winter. They arrived in Virginia in May of 1610, and they found such gruesome conditions that they decided to abandon the settlement. However, they changed their minds when they learned that a new supply was arriving from England with one hundred and fifty settlers and plenty of provisions. This fourth supply arrived in June. It was commanded by Lord De La Warr, who would take over as Jamestown’s governor.
For the next few years, Jamestown was put under martial law and great progress was made in building and planting. The colonists discovered that tobacco was a highly successful cash crop for the region. As more colonists arrived, settlements were established east and west of the original site along the James River.
Jamestown was the center of colonial Virginia for ninety-two years. In 1698, after a major fire, the seat of colonial government was moved to Middle Plantation, which was renamed Williamsburg. Gradually, the site of the original settlement was abandoned.
How do people know what happened during the settlement of Jamestown?
Some of the early settlers wrote accounts of their experiences. These were sent in letters to friends and relatives in England or published in books. John Smith wrote several long narratives about the colony’s early years. Other information comes from archaeological investigations, which are still underway.
Where can you learn more about Jamestown?
You can visit the site of the original settlement, which is owned by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA) and the Colonial National Historical Park, part of the National Park Service. Archaeologists are uncovering tools, weapons, skeletal remains, foundations of buildings—all of which provide pieces to the puzzle about what happened during the colony’s early years.
Near the site is a living history museum called Jamestown Settlement, which is run by the state of Virginia. Costumed interpreters help visitors discover the daily lives of the original settlers, as well as their Native American neighbors. Replicas of the first fleet of ships to reach Jamestown are docked on the river beside the re-created settlement, and visitors are welcome on board. A building contains displays and artifacts.
You can visit the APVA’s website at www.apva.org, the Colonial National Historical Park’s website at www.nps.cgov/colo, and Jamestown Settlement’s website at www.historyisfun.org.
About the Author
GAIL LANGER KARWOSKI, a former teacher of elementary, middle, and high school students, frequently returns to schools as a visiting author. She also wrote QUAKE! DISASTER IN SAN FRANCISCO, 1906, SEAMAN: THE DOG WHO EXPLORED THE WEST WITH LEWIS AND CLARK, and cowrote THE TREE THAT OWNS ITSELF AND OTHER STORIES FROM OUT OF GEORGIA’S PAST with Loretta Hammer. Karwoski received her B.A. from the University of Massachusetts and her M.A. from the University of Minnesota, later earning her elementary and gifted teaching certificates at the University of Georgia. She lives with her family in Oconee County, Georgia.
About the Illustrator
PAUL CASALE, a native of Brooklyn, New York, received his B.F.A from the Pratt Institute. A member of the prestigious Society of Illustrators in New York City, Casale has illustrated many children’s books. He lives with his family in New Jersey.
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