The birth of the daughter of Chief Powhatan was a good omen for the Indian village of Werowocomoco because, as she was presented to her father, rain fell after a long drought on the sun-parched fields of the village. Her father named his little princess Metoaka or Little White Cloud, but later, because she could run so swiftly, she came to be known as Pocahontas or Water Running About Swiftly.
Pocahontas was only a girl when the first white settlers appeared at the mouth of Powhatan's river, which we now know as the James River in Virginia. These Englishman did not adapt readily to the new land and, in an effort to get food, they attacked the Indians. For many months feeling ran high and it was only through the friendship of Pocahontas and Captain John Smith that peace was finally made. For many months the Indians helped the settlers in return for many strange objects from the Old World such as grindstones and guns. Suddenly one day John Smith was badly injured in an explosion and sailed back to England. Again war broke out, and again it was Pocahontas who helped restore peaceful relations by marrying an Englishman, John Rolfe.
In The Story of Pocahontas Shirley Graham has written the inspiring story of this Indian princess who did as much for the white man coming to the shores of the New World as she did for her own people.
About the Signature:
An intensive search of museums and libraries in England and the United States has convinced the publishers that there exists no authentic signature of Pocahontas. For this reason, we have represented her name as though it had been spelled out in a piece of Indian beadwork.
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