Kevin Felty

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While Captain John Smith is today best remembered, if at all, for the incident in which Pocahontas saved him from execution at the hands of the Powhatan, he ought be remembered as the first great Virginian warrior, and the man who best understood how to deal with the Indians Most of the early settlers were, if not starving, convinced that they could preach and minister to the Indians and convince them of British goodwill and the bright light of the Lord. This is what led to them letting their guard down before the 1622 massacre, 15 years on Not Smith. From the beginning, he understood the pagan Indians to be much like the Moslem Turks he had spent the early years of his life fighting, and so knew that they needed to be treated with sternness, harshness, and shows of resolute force. If weakness were even hinted at, they'd be on the attack. This happened almost immediately after he had to leave in 1609 So, whether dealing with the friendly Susquehannock or the very unfriendly Powhatans, or anywhere in between, Smith used shows of English musketry to awe the Indians and always acted as though he had the upper hand, no matter how weak the English were...which was generally quite weak. This gave him the upper hand in negotiations, as did technological marvels, such as his compass, and much-desired trade goods, like iron hatchets Philip Alexander Bruce, describing it in his life of Smith in The Virginia Plutarch, volume 1, provides a few examples of what it was like for Smith to do so by the 1609 period of English weakness, saying: Smith never suffered himself to be assaulted first by the Indians. He always anticipated his adversaries’ blows. When the savages at Paspaheigh in 1609 showed by their demeanor that they were about to attack him and his escort, he ordered his men to fire on them. Six or seven were killed and many taken prisoners. He set the torch to their wigwams, pulled up their weirs, and carried off their boats. When he moved forward to capture the Chickahominy village, its inhabitants dropped their tomahawks, bows, and arrows, and implored him to be merciful; and this example of submission on their part was followed by the members of other tribes. Smith was always severe in punishing the thievery of the Indians who visited Jamestown. In 1609 he threw into the jail there a youthful warrior who had stolen a pistol. The frightened savage soon lost consciousness under the influence of the fumes of a charcoal fire, and his brother, thinking him dead, raised a wild lamentation. Smith promised that he would bring the supposed corpse back to life if thence-forward they would refrain from purloining further. By means of simple remedies, the limp brother in a few minutes evinced signs of recovering his senses, and the two were sent to their village to relate the story of this incident of miraculous restoration to health. Powhatan was made so apprehensive by the tale, that he gathered up all the stolen articles at Werowocomoco and, together with the thieves themselves, returned them to Jamestown.

Massive brawl broke out Friday night at a Chipotle in the Navy Yard area.