The new British arrivals first encountered the Powatan Indians and much of their customs are represented here. We got to help make a "dug out" canoe. They first burn the wood to soften it and then scrape it our with oyster or clam shells. However, the oyster shells back then were so large that a grown man needed to hands to hold the shell and scrape.
Savannah now wants to find a log at the farm and start building one of her own.
Check out how closely my hips fit. I don't think this canoe was for pregnant Powatans.
They had replicas of the first 3 ships that came. This was our family's favorite part. Below is the kitchen part of the cook's quarters.
We couldn't get Savannah out of here. She played "cook" forever in there!
A deck below is where men were stored as passengers (the space is probably smaller than my living room and dining room). They came to Jamestown as employees of the Virgina Company to work for 4 years in exchange for scarce land back in England. It was a financial venture. These folks weren't looking for religious freedom (those pilgrams came later.) And it was never meant to be a settlement, just a place to work.
They laid on their trunks of luggage also stored on this deck. The port holes were sealed shut for the journey to prevent leaks. For 144 days the men were shut in darkness except for a rare occassion when they might be allowed to come up to the tops deck. It pays to be a sailor. They actually get a bed and daily fresh air! No wonder only 50% of the passengers made it over alive! (They could have used some Vitamin D!)
This is on the deck above again near the captain's quarters. Probably the navigator or 1st mate's bed.
Here is a view of the ship we were just on from the outside.
Did you know the wheel shown in the recent pirate movies (that Captain Jack Sparrow steers on the pirate ships) was not invented until 100 years later. And it was not widely used until 50 more years after that. Ships were instead steered by the shepherds stick shown below. We were told that just about eveything else from the movie was fairly accurate. So, some pirates did turn into skeletons after dark? Hmmmm? I wonder what details of the movie he was talking about?
Savannah tried hard to steer the heavily moored ship. We have a lot to explain to her about sailing!
Where the Powatans lived.
Making corn flour. Savannah could have done this all day. She want's her Daddy to make her one so she can grind fresh flour for me daily. I am telling you, our family would have fit in well back then!
Checking out the bed.
Working the leather with an oyster shell.
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