The Englishmen began to build a little town. They called it Jamestown because the King of England was called James. They called the river Lames River, too.
The leaders of the Englishman were Christopher Newport, Edward Wingfield, and John Smith. They wanted to learn more about Virginia, so smith and Newport took twenty men and went up the river in a small boat.
The other men stayed in Jamestown with Wingfield. They began to build houses, and to make gardens and fields outside the town.
“The fields are more important than the houses,” said Wingfield. “And we must work quickly because it’s nearly summer now. We must have corn and vegetables for the winter.”
But it was not easy. The weather was hot, and the men were tired after four months at sea. Some men worked hard , but many sat in the sun, and did nothing. The Indians watched and waited.
Smith and Newport went a hundred kilometers up the river. They visited Indian villages and talked to a lot of Indians. Some of the Indians were friendly, and some were not. When Smith and Newport came back to Jamestown, Wingfield was very pleased to see them.
“I was afraid for you,” he said. “But you’re not dead!”
“No, of course not,” said Smith. “What’s the matter?”
“It’s the Indians,” Wingfield said. “They’re trying to kill us. Yesterday, they nearly killed me!”
Well, what did you do?” Smith asked. “our men have guns, and the Indians are very afraid of guns.
“But there were hundreds of Indians,” said Wing field, “and…we weren’t ready. Our guns were on the ships.”
“Why?” asked Smith angruly. “The men must almays be ready; they must carry their guns with them. The Indians tried to kill you because they weren’t afraid of you.”
“Yes, but – we must be nice to them,” said Winggield
“We can be careful first,” said Smith. “We must build good walls around the town, and put the big guns from the ships on them. Then the Indians can’t kill us.”
For a month ereryone worked haed. They build walls around the town and moved the big guns from the ships. But the men were afraid to work in the fields because of the Indians. And the sun got hotter and hotter.
In June Newport went back to England with two of the ships. A hundred and five men stayed in Jamestown. They had very little food. The corn from England was now bad, and the new corn in the fields was not ready. The river water was bad too, and soon many of the men were sick with a fever. Forty – six men died that summer.
Some of the men tried to leave Jamestoen and and go home in the ship, but Smith stopped them. “We’re here to work and to build a new town,” he said. “But firat, we must find food. There are birds in the sky, fish in the river, animals in the forest – we must kill them and eat them. And we must get corn from the Indians, too. I can do that.”
Smith wasn’t afraid of the Indians, but he was always very careful. He carried his gun all the time. Moat of the Indains were afraid of Smith, but they liked him too. He was friendly, and he loved their beautiful country. And he learned their language because he wanted to talk to them and understand them. Often, he gave the Indians little things from England, and they gave him food.
But when winter came, there were only fifty men alive in Jamestown.
They had some food, but they needed more.
The Virginan winter is long and cold, and fifty men need a lot of food.
In December Smith went up the river in a boat with nine men. Two of the friendly Indian went with them. It was very cold, and the Englishmen were hungry. But Smith was happy and excited.
“I’m going to find food for Christmas,”he said to the men in jamestown.
“Wait for me here, and work hard! This is a beautiful country,and we’re going to stay here!”