POCAHONTAS, po-lca-hon'tas, Indian princess: b. Virginia, about 1595; d. England, March 1617. She was the daughter of Pow hatan (q.v.), a celebrated Indian sachem in Virginia and chief of the Chickahominy tribe. She discovered the warmest friendship for the English colonists, and undoubtedly did render many services to the struggling outpost. In vestigations have, however, cast doubt on the traditional narrative of the rescue by her of Captain John Smith (q.v.). Smith, during his explorations, was taken prisoner by Powhatan, and after six weeks sent back to Jamestown. But he makes no allusion to the familiar story until 1616, when Pocahontas was in England; although in his 'True Relation' (1608) he had testified to her services to the colony. In 1616, in a letter to the queen, he says that l'at the minute of my execution she hazarded the beat ing out of her own brains to save mine? But not until the appearance of his 'Generall His toric' (1624) does the tale appear in full elaboration. It has been thought that Smith's known tendency to embellishment and his desire to satisfy English curiosity led him to inter polate the story. Several writers have, never theless, contended for the general accuracy of Smith's account. It is argued, among other things, that it is very difficult to understand Smith's statements in the 'True Relation,' the employment of Pocahontas on difficult missions to the whites, and Pocahontas' own benefac tions, such as the supplying of starving James town with provisions, except on the supposi tion that Smith's narrative is substantially veracious. After Smith had left the colony in
1609 Pocahontas fell into the hands of an Eng lish expeditionary party (1613), who kept her as a valuable hostage. Her marriage to John Rolfe (q.v.) was solemnized in presence of the uncle of Pocahontas and her two brothers. This event relieved the colony from the enmity of Powhatan, and preserved peace between them. During her visit to England in 1616-17, Pocahontas attracted much attention, being ap parently invested in English minds with quite a degree of royal dignity. She was often called the Lady Rebecca from the name received in Christian baptism. Her remains lie at Grave send, and the burial is noted in the parish records. Consult Deane's edition of Smith's 'The Relation' (1866) ; Eggleston and Seelye, 'Pocahontas> (1879) ; Robertson and Brock, 'Pocahontas and her Descendants' (1887) ; Poindexter, C., 'Captain John Smith and his Critics' (1893) ; Fiske, 'Old Virginia and her Neighbors' (1897) ; Smith, E. B., 'Pocahontas and Capt. John Smith' (Boston 1914).