Popayán

“ POPAYAN, a city of Colombia, capital of the department of Cauca, about 240 m. S.W. of Bogota, on the old trade route between that city and Quito, in 2° 26′ N., 76° 49′ W. Pop. (1870) , 8485; (1906, estimate) , 10,000. Popayan is built on a great plain sloping N.W. from the foot of the volcano Purace, near the source of the Cauca and on one of its small tributaries, 5712 ft. above the sea. Its situation is singularly picturesque, the Purace rising to an elevation of 15,420 ft. about 20 m. south-east of the city, the Sotara volcano to approximately the same height about the same distance. ”

“ The land, too, produces no maize, nor are there any trees. There is another lake near it of the same kind. Further on there are great mountains, and the Spaniards do not know what there is on the other side of them.
There are other villages on the road to this city, but it seems unnecessary to enumerate them, having already mentioned the principal ones. With regard to this city of Pasto, I have to say that no city or town in the whole government of Popayan has so many Indians subject to it, and it even has more than Quito and other places in Peru. ”

“ It extends back from the ocean south of El Valle and of the Department Huila as well. The region has many undeveloped coal mines, and other minerals, with vegetation tropical and temperate in abundance. In some parts there are dense forests. Over 4000 mining claims have been filed, and gold and platinum are exported, but agriculture is the chief industry.
Popayán, the capital, was founded in 1536 at an altitude of nearly 6000 feet. At the foot of an extinct volcano and 17 miles from an active one, with a good climate it has violent electric storms and earthquakes. ”

“ The ascent from Popayan is gradual, but the descent on the other side is rapid, and you pass quickly from a very cold climate to a hot one. It is a frightful road in some places. You have frequently to ascend and descend very steep places on this side of the mountain, from the many deep glens made by the rivers which you pass. You may be said to be riding up stairs and down stairs in these places, and in several of them it is literally so. The mules are wonderfully steady, being accustomed to these roads, so that they very seldom slip. ”

“ How harmful the habit may be, it is hard to gage. Its devotees are, it is true, languid of manner and slow of intellect; but they show no great contrast in this particular from the “gente decente,” their neighbors, who rarely indulge in the leaves, except on some long and wearisome journey. So marked is this languor in Popayán that, as in most Andean towns, brawls are rare, despite the half-anarchy that reigns. Youths merry with liquor or its equivalent raced their horses up and down the roughly cobbled streets, forcing them to capriole until Hays took to cursing his loss of police powers ”

“ Earthquakes have also caused much damage to Popayan, especially those of 1827 and 1834. The modern city has some small manufacturing industries, including woollen fabrics for clothing, but its trade is much restricted, and its importance is political rather than commercial. ”

“ Every article used in their construction had to be brought either on the backs of men or mules; and there were few native craftsmen capable of performing the necessary work. Many families proud of their ancient descent were settled in the town, and its society was therefore superior to that of any of the surrounding places. In Popayan is a large square, of which I shall have to speak by-and-by, with the cathedral on one side, and the residences of some of the principal people in the town occupying the other sides. There were, besides, several churches, four convents, and two nunneries. ”

“ A number of guns buried on a former occasion by the Patriots, to conceal them from the Spaniards, were also dug up, and mounted. Night and day the people worked, for every hour gained added to the strength of the place, and increased the prospect of successfully resisting the enemy.
There were several known Royalists in Popayan, who had hitherto remained quiet; and many of them, on seeing the preparations made for the defence, hurriedly left the town. Many Liberals also sent off their families, to avoid the risk to which they would be exposed. ”

“ Powhatan. Priest!
Grimosco. From the face of the waters will he send them, in mighty tribes, and our shores will scarce give space for their footsteps. Powhatan will fly before them; his beloved child, his wives, all that is dear to him, he will leave behind. Powhatan will fly; but whither? which of his tributary kings will shelter him? Not one. Already they cry, "Powhatan is ruled by the white; we will no longer be the slaves of a slave!" ”

“ Dragging Smith forward, his head was laid upon its cold bosom. The savage warriors, with uplifted clubs, crowded around to have a share in beating out his brains.
From among the women in the background sprang Pocahontas, and threw herself at her father’s feet.
“O Powhatan, spare the life of the stranger. Beware lest you anger the Great Spirit of the pale face. He is mightier than the Okee of the ‘real man.’ Will Powhatan not listen to Pocahontas, daughter of the Water Lily?” ”

“ For Pocahontas, his dearest jewel and daughter, came through the irksome woods in that dark night, and told us that great cheer might be sent us by-and-by, but that the king, and all the power he could make, would afterwards come and kill us all. Therefore, if we would live, she wished us presently to be gone. Such things as she delighted in we would have given her; but, with tears running down her cheeks, she said she durst not be seen to have them; for, if Powhatan should know it, she were but dead. And so she ran away by herself, as she came."—Captain Smith. ”

“ POCAHONTAS
Long, long ago, when the Indians owned the land, there lived in Virginia, near the river afterwards called the James, a little girl, the Princess Pocahontas, daughter of the great chief Powhatan.
Pocahontas was her father's favorite child, and the pet of the whole tribe; even the fierce warriors loved her sunny ways.
She was a child of nature, and the birds trusted her and came at her call. She knew their songs, and where they built their nests. So she roamed the woods, and learned the ways of all the wild things, and grew [Pg 5] to be a care-free maiden. ”

“ Filling a dragon-shaped goblet of crystal and gold with sparkling wine, the Lord of Suffolk presented it to Pocahontas, who184 drank in acknowledgment of the good-natured monarch’s toast.
Leaning across his Queen, James said to Pocahontas, “Your royal father hath used the scalping-knife somewhat freely upon our liege subjects, we have heard.”
“Powhatan worships Okee. He bends not the knee to the Royal Christ. When warriors offend, he kills. Therefore he is feared, not loved,” she answered, sadly, unconscious of the irony of her reply. ”

“ She would ask Powhatan to send some one to England to find out, for she could not bear to go to Jamestown and miss him at every turn.
Looking down the river she descried a ship approaching, filled with white men. Calling Japazaws, and pointing to the ship, she said, “Pocahontas will not see the pale-faces now. Her heart is sorrowful, for there is no friendship between us. Powhatan does not heed the pleadings of his best-loved daughter.” ”

“ But the Indian girl did not spend all of her time in such heroic deeds as this, nor in dreaming of the pale-faced Caucarouse. She was usually the merry, care-free child of the forest and daily led her mates in sport and dance. Once when the Captain went to Werewocomoco to confer with Powhatan on matters concerning neighboring tribes, and found the great Chief away from home, Pocahontas did the honors of the village in her father's place. ”

“ Opechanchanough, still angry at the ridicule that a child had brought upon him, lingered to ask;
"Wilt thou not punish her?"
"Surely I will," Powhatan answered. "Go ye all to the guest lodge and I will follow. Away, Nautauquas, and carry my pipe thither."
They were now alone in the lodge, the great chief over thirty tribes and his daughter, who still stood with downcast head. The Powhatan gazed at her curiously. She waited for him to speak, then as he kept silent, she turned and looked straight into his face and asked:
"Father, dost thou know how hard it is to be a girl? ”

“ Our own King James, who hath heard of thee, and of the many tribes that are subject to thee, hath desired that thou, too, shouldst be crowned as another king, his friend, so that the English may know that he calls thee 'brother,' and that thine own people shall hold thee in yet greater awe."
Powhatan manifested no sign of interest in these words; but from the eager look on Pocahontas's face Smith was aware that his Indian speech had at least been comprehended.
"Therefore," Smith continued, "it is planned to hold thy coronation at Jamestown upon as near a day as thou shalt see fit to appoint. ”

“ ACT II. Scene I. Inside the palace at Werocomoco. Powhatan in state, Grimosco, &c., his wives, and warriors, ranged on each side. Music.
Powhatan. My people, strange beings have appeared among us; they come from the bosom of the waters, amid fire and thunder; one of them has our war-god delivered into our hands: behold the white being!
Music. Smith is brought in; his appearance excites universal wonder; Pocahontas expresses peculiar admiration.
Pocahontas. O Nima! is it not a God!
Powhatan. Miami, though thy years are few, thou art experienced as age; give us thy voice of counsel. ”

“ I open it and a voice inquires: "Pokagon, what of your people? What will be their future?" My answer is: "Mortal man has not the power to draw aside the veil of unborn time to tell the future of his race. That gift belongs to the Divine alone. But it is given to him to closely judge the future by the present and the past."' Pokagon died January 28, 1899, at his old home in Allegan County, Michigan, at the age of seventy years; and thus passed away the last and most noted chief of the once powerful Pottawatomie tribe. His remains were buried in Graceland Cemetery, Chicago." ”

“ Many romantic stories are told concerning the relations of the early white settlers with the Indians. Among the most interesting is that of Pocahontas, the daughter of the renowned Indian chief Powhatan, the erstwhile implacable enemy of the whites. Pocahontas, who as a child had often played with the young colonists, was visiting a certain chief named Japazaws, when an English captain named Argall bribed him with a copper kettle to betray her into his hands. ”

“ Powhatan and his chiefs were very glad of this marriage, as were also the colonists, and for many years after the Indians were more friendly. Pocahontas was taken by her husband to England, where she was received with great delight by the English court. The king and queen grew very fond of her and showed her every kindness that they could, and all the great English lords and ladies wished to see the Indian girl who had been so kind to their countrymen in Jamestown. ”

“ Pocahontas became a Christian, and what more natural than that the constant friend of the white men should love an Englishman?
Long before the trip up the York River Mr. Rolfe had loved the Indian maiden. He wrote a long letter to the governor, Sir Thomas Dale, asking his advice. Sir Thomas readily consented to the marriage. Pocahontas, on her part, told her brother of her attachment to Mr. Rolfe. He informed Powhatan, who seemed to have been well pleased with the proposition, for within ten days an old uncle of Pocahontas and two of her brothers arrived at Jamestown. ”

“ Leading the vanguard was Powhatan, clinging to a litter borne on the shoulders of four warriors who sped away in the darkness.
In the midst of the confusion, Pocahontas snatched the white boy up and made for the place where Captain Smith was vainly trying to pacify the terrified Adam, who was now wallowing on the ground.
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“Stop your howls, or I will leave you to the mercy of the Indians! Get up, we have not a moment to lose. Pocahontas is here with the boy. We must hasten to the boat for our lives.” ”

“ At once there was wild confusion of shouting and threatening, many crying, "Kill, kill!" while but few were willing to [Pg 25] spare his life, for the Indians feared the white men, and wished to drive them from the land.
But Pocahontas, as Princess of the tribe, claimed her right, and would not yield them up their victim. Then Powhatan, who ruled them all, raised his hand and stopped their clamor. In sullen silence the angry warriors awaited his decision. For a moment he hesitated, and the fate of Captain John hung wavering in the balance. ”

“ Once he saved his life by the marvels of his compass and by the writing of notes to his friends in Jamestown; and once indeed, according to his own record, he was saved by the lovely Pocahontas, who pleaded with her father Powhattan for his life. ”

“ Pocahontas. The paths are well known to us whose feet so often traverse them, and ere the shadows of the trees are much more aslant, we shall reach the abode of Powhatan. Adieu, courteous stranger, at Weorocomoeo we shall meet again.
(Exeunt Pocahontas and Omaya.)
Rolfe. What gone! why they have flitted away like the nimble fawns which start from the thicket to avoid the hunter's aim. And see, they now hold on their light and rapid course, and are now hidden by the luxuriant foliage. How full of grace and courtesy is this princess—savage, should I say. ”

“ Eight years later, when writing a short account of Pocahontas, then in England, for the benefit of Queen Anne, consort of James I, Smith embellished this plain tale with some romantic incidents. According to this later version, first published in 1622, Powhattan, after a parley with his chiefs, decided upon the Englishman's execution, and the natives were preparing to brain him with their clubs, when Pocahontas, ‘the king's darling daughter,’ rushed forward and interposed her own head between Smith and his executioners, whereupon Powhattan ordered his life to be spared. ”