At the junction of the Appomattox and the James, at a place he calls Wynauk, the natives welcomed them with rejoicing and entertained them with dances.The Kingdom of Wynauk was full of pearl-mussels.The king of this tribe was at war with the King of Paspahegh.Sixteen miles above this point, at an inlet, perhaps Turkey Point, they were met by eight savages in a canoe, one of whom was intelligent enough to lay out the whole course of the river, from Chesapeake Bay to its source, with a pen and paper which they showed him how to use.These Indians kept them company for some time, meeting them here and there with presents of strawberries, mulberries, bread, and fish, for which they received pins, needles, and beads.They spent one night at Poore Cottage (the Port Cotage of Percy, where he saw the white boy), probably now Haxall.Five miles above they went ashore near the now famous Dutch Gap, where King Arahatic gave them a roasted deer, and caused his women to bake cakes for them.This king gave Newport his crown, which was of deer's hair dyed red.He was a subject of the great King Powhatan.While they sat making merry with the savages, feasting and taking tobacco and seeing the dances, Powhatan himself appeared and was received with great show of honor, all rising from their seats except King Arahatic, and shouting loudly.To Powhatan ample presents were made of penny-knives, shears, and toys, and he invited them to visit him at one of his seats called Powhatan, which was within a mile of the Falls, where now stands the city of Richmond.All along the shore the inhabitants stood in clusters, offering food to the strangers.The habitation of Powhatan was situated on a high hill by the water side, with a meadow at its foot where was grown wheat, beans, tobacco, peas, pompions, flax, and hemp.
Powhatan served the whites with the best he had, and best of all with a friendly welcome and with interesting discourse of the country.
They made a league of friendship.The next day he gave them six men as guides to the falls above, and they left with him one man as a hostage.
On Sunday, the 24th of May, having returned to Powhatan's seat, they made a feast for him of pork, cooked with peas, and the Captain and King ate familiarly together; "he eat very freshly of our meats, dranck of our beere, aquavite, and sack." Under the influence of this sack and aquavite the King was very communicative about the interior of the country, and promised to guide them to the mines of iron and copper; but the wary chief seems to have thought better of it when he got sober, and put them off with the difficulties and dangers of the way.
On one of the islets below the Falls, Captain Newport set up a cross with the inscription "Jacobus, Rex, 1607," and his own name beneath, and James was proclaimed King with a great shout.Powhatan was displeased with their importunity to go further up the river, and departed with all the Indians, except the friendly Navirans, who had accompanied them from Arahatic.Navirans greatly admired the cross, but Newport hit upon an explanation of its meaning that should dispel the suspicions of Powhatan.He told him that the two arms of the cross signified King Powhatan and himself, the fastening of it in the middle was their united league, and the shout was the reverence he did to Powhatan.This explanation being made to Powhatan greatly contented him, and he came on board and gave them the kindest farewell when they dropped down the river.At Arahatic they found the King had provided victuals for them, but, says Newport, "the King told us that he was very sick and not able to sit up long with us."The inability of the noble red man to sit up was no doubt due to too much Christian sack and aquavite, for on "Monday he came to the water side, and we went ashore with him again.He told us that our hot drinks, he thought, caused him grief, but that he was well again, and we were very welcome."It seems, therefore, that to Captain Newport, who was a good sailor in his day, and has left his name in Virginia in Newport News, must be given the distinction of first planting the cross in Virginia, with a lie, and watering it, with aquavite.
They dropped down the river to a place called Mulberry Shade, where the King killed a deer and prepared for them another feast, at which they had rolls and cakes made of wheat."This the women make and are very cleanly about it.We had parched meal, excellent good, sodd [cooked] beans, which eat as sweet as filbert kernels, in a manner, strawberries; and mulberries were shaken off the tree, dropping on our heads as we sat.He made ready a land turtle, which we ate; and showed that he was heartily rejoiced in our company." Such was the amiable disposition of the natives before they discovered the purpose of the whites to dispossess them of their territory.That night they stayed at a place called "Kynd Woman's Care," where the people offered them abundant victual and craved nothing in return.
Next day they went ashore at a place Newport calls Queen Apumatuc's Bower.This Queen, who owed allegiance to Powhatan, had much land under cultivation, and dwelt in state on a pretty hill.This ancient representative of woman's rights in Virginia did honor to her sex.
She came to meet the strangers in a show as majestical as that of Powhatan himself: "She had an usher before her, who brought her to the matt prepared under a faire mulberry-tree; where she sat down by herself, with a stayed countenance.She would permitt none to stand or sitt neare her.She is a fatt, lustie, manly woman.She had much copper about her neck, a coronet of copper upon her hed.She had long, black haire, which hanged loose down her back to her myddle;which only part was covered with a deare's skyn, and ells all naked.