When Smith returned wounded to Jamestown, he was physically in no condition to face the situation.With no medical attendance, his death was not improbable.He had no strength to enforce discipline nor organize expeditions for supplies; besides, he was acting under a commission whose virtue had expired, and the mutinous spirits rebelled against his authority.Ratcliffe, Archer, and the others who were awaiting trial conspired against him, and Smith says he would have been murdered in his bed if the murderer's heart had not failed him when he went to fire his pistol at the defenseless sick man.However, Smith was forced to yield to circumstances.No sooner had he given out that he would depart for England than they persuaded Mr.Percy to stay and act as President, and all eyes were turned in expectation of favor upon the new commanders.Smith being thus divested of authority, the most of the colony turned against him;many preferred charges, and began to collect testimony."The ships were detained three weeks to get up proofs of his ill-conduct"--"time and charges," says Smith, dryly, "that might much better have been spent."It must have enraged the doughty Captain, lying thus helpless, to see his enemies triumph, the most factious of the disturbers in the colony in charge of affairs, and become his accusers.Even at this distance we can read the account with little patience, and should have none at all if the account were not edited by Smith himself.
His revenge was in his good fortune in setting his own story afloat in the current of history.The first narrative of these events, published by Smith in his Oxford tract of 1612, was considerably remodeled and changed in his "General Historie" of 1624.As we have said before, he had a progressive memory, and his opponents ought to be thankful that the pungent Captain did not live to work the story over a third time.
It is no doubt true, however, that but for the accident to our hero, he would have continued to rule till the arrival of Gates and Somers with the new commissions; as he himself says, "but had that unhappy blast not happened, he would quickly have qualified the heat of those humors and factions, had the ships but once left them and us to our fortunes; and have made that provision from among the salvages, as we neither feared Spaniard, Salvage, nor famine: nor would have left Virginia nor our lawful authority, but at as dear a price as we had bought it, and paid for it."He doubtless would have fought it out against all comers; and who shall say that he does not merit the glowing eulogy on himself which he inserts in his General History? "What shall I say but this, we left him, that in all his proceedings made justice his first guide, and experience his second, ever hating baseness, sloth, pride, and indignity, more than any dangers; that upon no danger would send them where he would not lead them himself; that would never see us want what he either had or could by any means get us; that would rather want than borrow; or starve than not pay; that loved action more than words, and hated falsehood and covetousness worse than death; whose adventures were our lives, and whose loss our deaths."A handsomer thing never was said of another man than Smith could say of himself, but he believed it, as also did many of his comrades, we must suppose.He suffered detraction enough, but he suffered also abundant eulogy both in verse and prose.Among his eulogists, of course, is not the factious Captain Ratcliffe.In the English Colonial State papers, edited by Mr.Noel Sainsbury, is a note, dated Jamestown, October 4, 1609, from Captain "John Radclyffe comenly called," to the Earl of Salisbury, which contains this remark upon Smith's departure after the arrival of the last supply: "They heard that all the Council were dead but Capt.[John] Smith, President, who reigned sole Governor, and is now sent home to answer some misdemeanor."Captain Archer also regards this matter in a different light from that in which Smith represents it.In a letter from Jamestown, written in August, he says:
"In as much as the President [Smith], to strengthen his authority, accorded with the variances and gave not any due respect to many worthy gentlemen that were in our ships, wherefore they generally, with my consent, chose Master West, my Lord De La Ware's brother, their Governor or President de bene esse, in the absence of Sir Thomas Gates, or if he be miscarried by sea, then to continue till we heard news from our counsell in England.This choice of him they made not to disturb the old President during his term, but as his authority expired, then to take upon him the sole government, with such assistants of the captains or discreet persons as the colony afforded.
"Perhaps you shall have it blamed as a mutinie by such as retaine old malice, but Master West, Master Piercie, and all the respected gentlemen of worth in Virginia, can and will testify otherwise upon their oaths.For the King's patent we ratified, but refused to be governed by the President--that is, after his time was expired and only subjected ourselves to Master West, whom we labor to have next President."It is clear from this statement that the attempt was made to supersede Smith even before his time expired, and without any authority (since the new commissions were still with Gates and Somers in Bermuda), for the reason that Smith did not pay proper respect to the newly arrived "gentlemen." Smith was no doubt dictatorial and offensive, and from his point of view he was the only man who understood Virginia, and knew how successfully to conduct the affairs of the colony.If this assumption were true it would be none the less disagreeable to the new-comers.