“Her name was Matoaka, but they called her Pocahontas.” There are many books, some more story and legend than accurate portrayal, on the famous Indian girl who “saved” the life of Captain John Smith. Few books, however, offer as concise or possibly as an accurate accounting of the life of Matoaka as can be found in Pocahontas by Stuart E. Brown, Jr.
Brown’s recount of life and events of Pocahontas are brief, the book being only 34 pages. However, the details and stories told in these few pages are fascinating. From the time Pocahontas entered the small settlement at Jamestown she seems to have captured the interest and fascination of the English colonists. Many of the settlers wrote about the young, spirited, and wanton girl who would play in market place with the boys.
Stuart uses the words of those who wrote about Pocahontas directly in the story he weaves throughout this book. These direct quotes are unchanged in spelling or tone. Brown masterfully includes many of the quote inline with his own words, providing essential details but with the direct observations of those who witnessed these events first hand. Here are a couple of examples:
“Pocahontas also warned that is Smith and his friends ‘would live, whe wished us presently to bee gone.’
Prior to departing, the grateful Smith offered Pocahontas ‘such things as shee delighted in…but with the teares running down her cheekes, she said shee durst not be seene to have any; for if Powhatan should know it, she were but dead, and so shee ranne away by her selfe as she came.”
Another short example:
“However, in Virginia, Hamor noted that ‘a gentlemen of approved behaviour and honest carriage, maister John Rolfe’ was ‘in love with Pocahontas and she with him.’
In addition to his fabulous recounting, Brown includes a number of paintings, wood engravings, and other images, which he carefully selected as being the best representations he could provide. In the forward, he mentions other popular images and why he thinks some of them probably took “artistic license” as opposed to an accurate representation of events. Either way, this book is as fun as it is informative. If you ever wanted the read the true story of Pocahontas, then this book is for you.
Get your copy of Pocahontas from Family Roots Publishing; Item #: CF9098, Price: $14.21.