The obseruations of Master Iohn Pory Secretarie of Virginia, in his trauels.

HAuing but ten men meanly prouided to plant the Secretaries land on the Easterne shore nee•e d••mack. Captaine Wilcocks plantation,* the better to secure and ass••t each other. Sir George Yearley intending to visit Smiths Iles, fell so sicke that he could not, so that he sent me with Estinien M•ll a French-man, to find• a conuenient place to make salt in. Not long after Namenacus the King of Pawtuxunt, came to vs to seeke for Thomas Saluage our Interpreter. Thus insinuating himselfe, he led vs into a thicket, where all sit∣ting downe, he shew•d vs his n•ked brest; asking if we saw any deformitie vpon it, we told him, No; No more, said hee, is the inside, but as sincere and pure; therefore come freely to my Countrie and welcome: which wee promised wee would within six weekes after. Hauing taken a muster of the companies tenants,* I went to Smiths Iles, where was our Salt ho•se: not farre off wee found a more conuenient plac•, and •o retu•ned to Iames towne.

Being furnished t•e second •ime, wee arriued at Aquo hanock, and conferred with Kiptopeke thei• King, P•ssing Russels Ile and Onaucoke, we arriued at Paw∣tuxunt: the discription of those places, you may reade in Captaine Smiths dis∣coue•ies, therefore needlesse to bee writ againe. But here arriuing at A•tough∣comoco the habi•ation of Namenacu• and W•manato, his brother,* long wee staied not ere they came aboord vs with a brasse Kettle, as bright without as within, ful of boyled O•sters Strict order was giuen none should offend vs, so that the next day I went with the •wo Kings a hunting, to discouer what I could in their con∣fines. Wam•nato brought mee first to his house, where hee shewed once his wife and children, and ma•. Corne-fields; and being two miles within the woods a hunting, as the younger conducted me forth, so the elder brought me home, and Page  142 vsed me as kindly as he could, after their manner. The next day he presented me twelue Beuer skinnes and a Canow, which I requited with such things to his content, that he promised to keept them whilst hee liued, and burie them with him being dead. Hee much wondered at our Bible, but much more to heare it was the Law of our God, and the first Chapter of Genesis expounded of Adam and Eue, and simple mariage; to which he replyed, hee was like Adam in one thing, for he neuer had but one wife at once; but he, as all the rest, seemed more willing of other discourses they better vnderstood. The next day the two Kings with their people, came aboord vs, but brought nothing according to promise; so that Ensigne Saluage challenged Namenacus the breach of three promises, viz. not in giuing him a Boy, not Corne, though they had plentie, nor Moutapass a fugitiue, called Robert Marcum, that had liued 5▪ yeeres amongst those northerly nations, which hee cunningly answered by excuses. Womanato it seemes, was guiltlesse of this falshood, because hee staied alone when the rest were gone. I asked him if he desired to bee great and rich; he answered, They were things all men aspired vnto: which I told him he should be, if he would follow my coun∣sell, so he gaue me two tokens, which being returned by a messenger, should suf∣fice to make him confident the messenger could not abuse vs.

Some things being stolne from vs, he tooke such order that they were present∣ly restored, then we interchanged presents: in all things hee much admired out discretions, and gaue vs a guide that hee called brother, to conduct vs vp the Riuer: by the way we met with diuers that stil tould vs of Marcum: and though it was in October, we found the Countrie very hot, and their Corne gathered be∣fore ours at Iames towne.* The next day we went to Paccamaganant, and they di∣rected vs to Assacomoco, where their King Cassatowap had an old quarrell with Ensigne Saluage, but now seeming reconciled, went with vs, with another Wero∣wance towards Mattapanient, where they perswaded vs ashore vpon the point of a thicket; but supposing it some trecherie, we returned to our boat: farre we had not gone from the shore, but a multitude of Saluages fallied out of the wood, with all the ill words and signes of hostilitie they could. When wee saw plainly their bad intent, wee set the two Werowances at libertie, that all this while had line in the Cabbin, as not taking any notice of their villanie, because we would conuert them by courtesie. Leauing them as we found them, very ciuill and sub∣till, wee returned the same way wee came, to the laughing Kings on the Easterne shore, who told vs plainly, Namanicus would also haue allured him into his Countrie, vnder colour of trade to cut his throat. Hee told vs also Opechanca∣nough had imployed Onianimo to kill Saluage, because he brought the trade from him to the Easterne shore, and some disgrace hee had done his sonne, and some thirteene of his people before one hundred of those Easterlings in reseuing Thomas Graues whom they would haue slaine, where hee and three more did challenge the thirteeene Pamavukes to fight, but they durst not, so that all those Easterlings so derided them, that they came there no more.

*This Thomas Saluage, it is sixteene yeeres since he went to Virginia, being a boy, hee was left with Powhatan, for Namontacke to learne the language, and as this Author affirmeth, with much honestie and good successe hath serued the publike without any publike recompence, yet had an arrow shot through his bo∣dy in their seruice. This laughing King at Accomack, tels vs the land is not two daies iourny ouer in the broadest place, but in some places a man may goe in halfe a day, betwixt the Bay and the maine Ocean, where inhabit many people, so that by the narrownesse of the Land there is not many Decre, but most abundance of Fish and Fowle. Kiptope his brother rules • his Lieutenant, who seeing his younger brother more affected by the people than himselfe, freely resigned him the moitie of his Countrie, applying himselfe onely to husbandry and hunting, yet nothing neglected in his degree, nor is hee carelesse of any thing concernes the state, but as a vigilant and faithfull Counceller, as hee is an affectionated Page  143 Brother, bearing the greater burden in gouernment, though the lesser honour, where cleane contrary they on the Westerne shore, the younger beares the charge, and the elder the dignitie. Those are the best husbands of any Sal∣uages we know: for they prouide Corne to serue them all the yeare, yet spare; and the other not for halfe the yeare, yet want. They are the most ciuill and tractable people we haue met with, and by little sticks will keepe as iust an account of their promises, as by a tally. In their mariages they obserue a large distance, as well in affinitie as consanguinitie; nor doe they vse that deuillish custome in making black Boyes. There may be on this shore about two thousand people: they on the West would inuade them, but that they want Boats to crosse the Bay, and so would diuers other Nations, were they not protected by vs. A few of the We∣sterly Runnagados had conspired against the laughing King, but fearing their treason was discouered, fled to Smiths Iles, where they made a massacre of Deere and Hogges; and thence to Rickahake, betwixt Cissapeack and Nansamund, where they now are seated vnder the command of Itoyatin, and so I returned to Iames Towne, where I found the gouernment rendred to Sir Francis Wyat. In Fe∣bruary also he trauelled to the South Riuer Chawonock, some sixtie miles ouer land, which he found to be a very fruitfull and pleasant Country, yeelding two haruests in a yeare, and found much of the Silke grasse formerly spoken of, was kindly vsed by the people, and so returned.