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Among the people that came to Virginia in 1609, two years after the colony was planted, was a boy named Henry Spelman. He was the son of a well-known man. He had been a bad and troublesome boy in England, and his family sent him to Virginia, thinking that he might be better in the new country. At least his friends thought he would not trouble them so much when he was so far away.

Many hundreds of people came at the same time that Henry Spelman did. Captain John Smith was then governor of the little colony. He was puzzled to know how to feed all these people. As many of them were troublesome, he was still more puzzled to know how to govern them.

In order not to have so many to feed, Smith sent some of the colonists to live among the American Indians here and there. A chief called Little Powhatan asked Smith to send some of his men to live with him. The Indians wanted to get the European colonists to live among them, so as to learn to make the things that the colonists had. Captain Smith agreed to give the boy Henry Spelman to Little Powhatan, if the chief would give Smith a place to plant a new settlement.

Spelman stayed awhile with the chief, and then he went back to the colonists at Jamestown.

But when he came to Jamestown, he was sorry that he had not stayed among the Indians. Captain John Smith had gone home to England. George Percy was now governor of the European colonists. They had very little food to eat, and Spelman began to be afraid that he might starve to death with the rest of them. Powhatan—not Little Powhatan, but the great Powhatan, who was chief over all the other chiefs in the neighborhood—sent a European colonist who was living with him to carry some deer meat to Jamestown. When it came time for this colonist to go back, the colonist asked that some of his countrymen might go to the Indian country with him. The governor sent Spelman, who was glad enough to go to the Indians again, because they had plenty of food to eat.

Three weeks after this, Powhatan sent Henry Spelman back to Jamestown to say to the colonists, that if they would come to his country and bring him some copper, he would give them some corn for it. The Indians at this time had no iron, and what little copper they had they bought from other Indians, who probably got it from the copper mines far away on Lake Superior.

The colonists greatly needed corn, so they took a boat and went up to the Indian country with copper, in order to buy corn. They quarreled with the Indians about the measurement of the corn. The Indians hid themselves near the water, and, while the colonists were carrying the corn on their vessel, the Indians killed some of them. About this time, seeing that the colonists were so hungry, the Indians began to hope that they would be able to drive them all out of the country.

Powhatan saved Spelman from being killed by the Indians; but, now that the Indians were at war with the colonists, who were shut up in Jamestown without food, they wished to kill all the colonists in the country.

Spelman and a Dutchman, who also lived with Powhatan, began to be afraid that Powhatan would not protect them any longer. So, when a chief of the Potomac Indians visited Powhatan, and asked the Dutchman and the boy to go to his country, they left Powhatan and went back with them. Powhatan sent messengers after them, who killed the Dutchman. Henry Spelman ran away into the woods. Powhatan's men followed him, but the Potomacs got hold of Powhatan's men, and held them back until Spelman could get away. The boy managed at last to get to the country of the Potomac Indians.

It was very lucky for Spelman that he was among the Indians at this time. Nearly all the colonists in Jamestown were killed or died of hunger. Spelman lived among the Indians for years. During this time, more people came from England, and settled at Jamestown. A ship from Jamestown came up into the Potomac River to trade. The captain of the ship bought Spelman from the Indians. He was now a young man, and, as he could speak both the Indian language and the colonists, he was very useful in carrying on trade between the colonists and the Indians.

At the time that Henry Spelman first went among the Indians, they had no iron tools except a very few that they had bought of the colonists. They had no guns, nor knives, nor hatchets. They had no hoes nor axes. They made their tools out of hard wood, shells, stones, deer horns, and other such things. They had not yet bought blankets from the colonists, but made their clothes mostly out of the skins of animals.

The Indians could not learn much about the Europeans' arts from Spelman, because he did not know much. Besides, he had no iron of which to make tools. He learned to make arrow shafts of cane such as we use for fishing rods. He also learned to make arrow heads with the spur of a wild turkey or a piece of stone. These arrow heads he stuck into the arrow shaft with a kind of glue. But he first had to learn how to make his glue out of deers' horns. Before he could make any of the tools, he had to make himself a knife, as the Indians did. Having no iron, the blade of his knife was made out of a beaver's tooth, which is very sharp, and will cut wood. He set this tooth in the end of a stick. You see how hard it was for an Indian to get tools. He had to learn to make one tool in order to use that in making another tool.

One of the principal things that an Indian had to do was to make a canoe; for, as the Indians had no horses, they could travel only by water, unless they went afoot. Canoes were the only boats they had. They had to make canoes without any of the tools that colonists use. Let us explain this by a story about Henry and an Indian boy. The things in the story may not have happened just as they are told, but the account of how things are made by the Indians is all true.

Directions

Study the lesson for one week.

Over the week:

  • Read the story multiple times.
  • Read the synopsis.
  • Review the vocabulary terms.
  • Learn the concepts.
  • Complete the enrichment activities.
  • Study the review questions.

Synopsis

The European settlers did not have enough food, so they sent some of the people, including a boy named Henry Spelman, to live among the American Indians. Spelman survived brushes with starvation and plots against him to become a translator who brokered trade deals between the settlers and the Indians. Along the way, he learned to make tools like the Indians, such as beaver tooth knives, canoes, and arrows made from cane, deer hooves, and stone pieces.

Vocabulary

Colony: An area under the political control of another country, typically a distant one, and occupied by settlers from that country.
Colonist: A settler in or inhabitant of a colony.
Europeans: People from the continent of Europe.
Arrow: A shaft sharpened at the front and with feathers or vanes at the back, shot from a bow as a weapon or for sport.
Cane: The hollow, jointed stem of a tall grass, especially bamboo or sugar cane.
Beaver: A large semiaquatic broad-tailed rodent noted for its habit of gnawing through tree trunks to build dams.
Canoe: A narrow, boat with pointed ends, propelled by paddles.

Concepts

  1. The book you are studying features stories set in a country called the United States of America. Zoom in and study the map of the United States. If you live in the United States, find your state on the map.
  2. Long ago, settlers from the continent of Europe traveled across a vast ocean to make their home in the land now known as the United States of America. People came from European countries including France, Spain, England, and Germany. Zoom in on the map of Europe and find France, Spain, England (UK), and Germany.
  3. The colonists sailed from Europe to the United States in large ships. Find Europe and the United States on the world map. Follow the red arrow and trace the path the colonists took.
  4. When the European colonists arrived, there were already people living on the land, called American Indians. There were many conflicts between the colonists and American Indians over the land.
  5. The European colonists had a hard time growing food in the United States, and many people starved to death.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Narrate the Lesson

  • After you read the lesson, narrate it aloud using your own words.

Activity 2: Draw and Label an Arrow   

  • Click the crayon above. Complete page 4 of 'Second Grade American History Coloring Pages, Copywork, and Writing.'
  • In the lesson, Spelman learned how to make arrows like the American Indians.
  • Draw an arrow, and label it as shown.

Activity 3: Identify Foods and Tools of the Virginia Indians

Find the following objects on the image below:

  • Cooking Tools (1 and 2)
  • Tomahawk (3)
  • Seafood (4 and 5)
  • Corn (6)
  • Gourd Storage Container (7)
  • Shell (8)
  • Woven Mat (9)
  • Pipe

Activity 4: Complete Coloring Pages, Copywork, and Writing   

  • Click the crayon above. Complete pages 5-6 of 'Second Grade American History Coloring Pages, Copywork, and Writing.'

Review

Question 1

Where were the European colonists originally from?
1 / 9

Answer 1

The European colonists came from the continent of Europe, including the countries of France, Spain, England, and Germany.
1 / 9

Question 2

Where did the Europeans settle?
2 / 9

Answer 2

The European colonists settled the land that is now the United States of America.
2 / 9

Question 3

How did the European colonists cross the ocean?
3 / 9

Answer 3

The European colonists traveled across the ocean in large ships.
3 / 9

Question 4

Why did Captain John Smith send his people to live with the American Indians?
4 / 9

Answer 4

The European colonists were starving, and the Indians had food.
4 / 9

Question 5

Why did the American Indians agree to take in colonists and feed them?
5 / 9

Answer 5

The American Indians wanted to gain the knowledge and tools of the Europeans.
5 / 9

Question 6

Why did Henry Spelman's family send him to America?
6 / 9

Answer 6

Henry was a troublemaker in England. The family hoped he would straighten up in America.
6 / 9

Question 7

Why did the Powhatan Indians try to kill Henry Spelman?
7 / 9

Answer 7

The Powhatan and the colonists were at war over a bad trade deal. The Powhatan wanted all of the colonists to leave America.
7 / 9

Question 8

Who saved Henry Spelman from the Powhatan Indians?
8 / 9

Answer 8

The Potomac Indians saved Spelman from the Powhatan Indians.
8 / 9

Question 9

How was Henry Spelman useful to the American Indians?
9 / 9

Answer 9

Henry Spelman learned at least one American Indian language. He became a translator who helped broker trade deals between the colonists and the American Indians.
9 / 9

  1. Where were the European colonists originally from? The European colonists came from the continent of Europe, including the countries of France, Spain, England, and Germany.
  2. Where did the Europeans settle? The European colonists settled the land that is now the United States of America.
  3. How did the European colonists cross the ocean? The European colonists traveled across the ocean in large ships.
  4. Why did Captain John Smith send his people to live with the American Indians? The European colonists were starving, and the Indians had food.
  5. Why did the American Indians agree to take in colonists and feed them? The American Indians wanted to gain the knowledge and tools of the Europeans.
  6. Why did Henry Spelman's family send him to America? Henry was a troublemaker in England. The family hoped he would straighten up in America.
  7. Why did the Powhatan Indians try to kill Henry Spelman? The Powhatan and the colonists were at war over a bad trade deal. The Powhatan wanted all of the colonists to leave America.
  8. Who saved Henry Spelman from the Powhatan Indians? The Potomac Indians saved Spelman from the Powhatan Indians.
  9. How was Henry Spelman useful to the American Indians? Henry Spelman learned at least one American Indian language. He became a translator who helped broker trade deals between the colonists and the American Indians.

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