Our first century . in Jamestown,there was of course no home Hfe there. The companyin London owned everything, inchiding the proceeds ofevery mans labor. No man was permitted—for someyears at least—to own the land he tilled or even thecrop that he might produce. Consequently no man hadany inducement to work, and in fact no man should he ? Havingno family to provide for,having no property of hisown to improve, having nofuture of betterment tolook for, why should anyman in the colony—mostof them unused to work atany time—exert himselfto produce crops that hecould not own or to createa
Our first century . in Jamestown,there was of course no home Hfe there. The companyin London owned everything, inchiding the proceeds ofevery mans labor. No man was permitted—for someyears at least—to own the land he tilled or even thecrop that he might produce. Consequently no man hadany inducement to work, and in fact no man should he ? Havingno family to provide for,having no property of hisown to improve, having nofuture of betterment tolook for, why should anyman in the colony—mostof them unused to work atany time—exert himselfto produce crops that hecould not own or to createa prosperity which hecould not share.!* Whynot play at bowls insteadand idle away the time in a delicious climate, trusting John Smith to get him some-thing to eat by trading with the Indians ? John Smith did this in a masterly manner. He was a young man of extraordinary vigor and unusual sagacity. He had been an adventurer in many parts of the world. His personal history was so wonderful that^ many histo- c. Capt. John wSmith. 34 OUR FIRST CENTURY rians in our time are disposed to doubt its more adven-turous details. But in view of wliat he certainly did forthe Jamestown colony, and in view of his really remark-able explorations in America, which extended even toNew England, the better opinion seems to be that in themain John Smiths story of his own life was true. Professor John Fiske has pointed out that the strangestand least credible of Smiths previous adventures in for-eign countries were first reported not by himself but byothers, in official records and in books written by thosewho knew the facts, for circulation in countries withwhich Smith had no relations whatsoever. Doubtless John Smith was something of a he liked to make his stories of adventure asstriking and as dramatic as he could. But there is atleast room for the opinion that his account of himself, ofhis adventures, and of his deeds of prowess, is substan-tially true. Very certainly h
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