Ziff - Conquest and Recovery in Early Writings in America

7/27/2019 Ziff - Conquest and Recovery in Early Writings in America

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Conquest and Recovery in Early Writings from AmericaAuthor(s): Larzer ZiffSource: American Literature, Vol. 68, No. 3 (Sep., 1996), pp. 509-525Published by: Duke University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2928242 .

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Larzer ConquestndRecoverynEarly ritingsZiff frommerica

The Englishxplorershofirstegan eportingonAmericalsoreportednNative mericans,ndvery arlynthehistoryfsuchreportsneencounters senseon thepartofthewritershat he onquest fAmericasdependentpon he onquestof he ndians'anguages,ndthatntwoways.First, romhe m-perial erspectiveeitherhe ndians or he and ould e dealtwitheffectivelynless heiranguagewasmastered.Withoutuchmas-tery,hetopographyfthesurroundingreas, hemostproductiveway oworkhe and,hemost fficientay ohunt ndfish henativespecies, ndthe ocation,trength,ndpoliticallliance fnearbytribeswould ave obediscoveredver long ndwastefuleriod ftrial nd rror; itht he ndians ould erve svaluablenformants.Ominously,owever,earningn ndianonguewas not heonlywaytomastert.Rather,twas easier o teach ndians nglish,ndthiswasmost wiftlychieved yhavinghemiveonEnglishhips ndeven endinghemoEnglandor period f ime. incefewndiansvolunteeredoreceive uchpracticalinguisticnstruction,hecom-monprocedure as tokidnap hem. he subjectionfthenatives'economyothat f heEnglishwasclosely ied othesubjectionftheiranguageoEnglish.Bringingack pecimenndianswaspart f hemissionfCaptainGeorgeWeymouth's605 oyageoMaine, or xample.We hippedfive alvages,woCanoas,with lltheir owes ndarrowes,"amesRosier,hevoyage's eporterrote.' lthoughthnographicuriosityinthehomelandwas also addressed y suchkidnappings,he m-perialmotivesclearwhenRosier peaks f he dvantagef havingAmericaniterature,olume8,Number, eptember996. opyright) 1996 yDukeUniversityress.


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510 Americaniteraturesomeof he nhabitantationofbestunderstandinge saw amongthem)who learningur anguage)may e abletogiveus furthern-structiononcerning.. their overnours,ndgovernment,ituationoftownes, nd what lse shallbe convenient,hich y no meanesotherwise e couldby ny bservationf ur elves earnen a longtime" 388).The IndiansWeymouthookdid ndeed earn omeEn-glish, aught thers bitofAbenaki,nd served s interpretersnsubsequent oyages. hispattern as fairlyommon.The secondway nwhich he onquest fAmerica epended pontheconquest f ndian anguageswas psychologicalnd cultural-andof reateriterarymportance.merica as differentn tsnaturefrom orlds reviouslyxperienced,ndusers f language hapedby Englishife nd andscape ontinuallyensed linkage etweenthematerialesistancef he and o heir ffortstphysicalonquestandthe inguisticesistance f he and opsychologicalttemptsocomprehendr cometotermswith t. Fear of iterallyeing wal-lowed y hemutewilderness,swastheRoanoke olony f 587,wasshadowed y spiritualread f n alien anddensewith henomenathat ackednames nd o defiedhought.The refusal fAmericaospeak heEnglishanguagewas dealizedby GeorgeAlsop,whoarrivednMarylandn thewinter f1658 nflightromheCromwellianegime.With wit harpened y hewishtotriumphnprose verPuritaniews fAmericaven shisRoyal-istcause had finallyriumphedver hat f heRoundheads, lsop'sCharacterfMaryland1666)has a racyvigor nmatchedyotherAmericaneports f ts ime.Keenlyonscious f hePuritaniew fnatures unredeemed,lsop, fter isreturnoEnglandt theRes-toration,ikensheAmerica eknew oEden s itwasnot nly eforetheFallbut venbefore damhad named tscreatures:TheTrees,Plants, ruits, lowers,nd Roots hatgrowhere nMaryland,retheonly mblemsrHieroglyphicksfourAdamaticalrPrimitivesituation,s well or heir arietys odoriferousmells, ogether iththeir irtues,ccordingo their everal ffects,inds ndproperties,which till eartheEffigiesf nnocencyccordingotheir riginalGrafts; hich ytheir umb egetable ratory,achhour peaks othe nhabitantsnsilent cts,Thattheyneednot ookfor nyotherTerrestrialaradise, o suspend rtyre heir uriositypon,whileshe sextant."2Even sAlsop onvertshe tubbornilence f he andscapento


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Conquest ndRecoverynEarlyWritingsrom merica511"dumb egetable ratory,"o heconflatesheMaryland ildernesswith isownwildness:If havewrote r composedny hing hat'swilde nd confused,t sbecause am so my elf, ndtheworld, sfar s I canperceive,s notmuch utof he ame rim;hereforere-solve,f ambroughtotheBarofCommonawfor ny hing havedonehere, opleadNoncomposmentis"429).But uchconversionsandconflationsre,finally,ords hat haseone anotheror hefunof heverbalnterplayatherhannsignificationf n experiencedworld. orAlsop,wildmeans any, nd incehe s a zanyhe hasnoth-ing ofear rom zany and, specially ack nLondonwherehe isinventingis descriptionor hedelectationf eaders.America,owever, asfar romzanyand othosewho oughtocomprehendtrather han o mask heir nabilityo do so bytrivial-izingt, s Alsop uitedelightfullyid.The wild andmenacedhembecause hey ensed wildnessnthemselvesespondingo t. Un-less thenew and ould ereducedocivilizederms,hey eared hewilderness ithin ould verthrowheegoina rush or nionwiththewilderness ithout.

Inhis account fhis explorationf heupper hesapeaken1607,Captain ohn mith eportshathisparty avenames o theriversand andformations.naddition,Inall thoseplaces nd hefurthestwe cameuptherivers,"e says, we cut ntrees,wherein e writnotes,nd nsomeplacescrosses fbrasse." heydid o,he claims,in orderto ignifieo any, nglishmenadbeene here"3-in rder,thats,toassert erritorialights. ut lso mpellinguchconductstheunarticulatedear fdisappearingithoutrace, dreadofthefate fRoanoke. he expeditionhathad searched yboatfor hosecolonistsn1590 eportedhatheynchored ffshoren hedark earwhere hey elieved he ost olonists ere ncamped,ndsounded"with trumpetCall, ndafterwardes any amiliarnglishunesofSongs, ndcalled o them riendly;utwe had no answer."4hepathos f he ilence nthat oft ummerightnVirginia,hen hewildernessistened ithoutesponse othetunes fEnglish ongs,hauntsucceedingettlers.mith's artyounteredheterror redbythemute tolidityf hewildernessy mposingymbolic arksupont.Thetreeswere ut ndmade ospeakEnglish.Indeed,hewritingsfCaptain ohnmith, ho husiterallyroteupon hebody fAmericas well s aboutAmerica,merit onsider-ation bove hose f ll other nglishxplorersecause hey apture


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512 Americaniteraturea senseofthe New World s the potentialitefor he making f anewperson. thers eeAmerica rincipallys a virginiteofenor-mous esourceshat equire-even esire-theEnglish resence ortheir xploitation.amesRosier allsthe andhehas seenthe gar-den ofnature, herein heonlyntendedodelight ir elfe, God]havinghitherto bscuredt to any, xcept purblindeneration,whoseunderstandingt hathpleasedGodso to darken,s they anneither iscerne, se, orrightlysteeme he unvaluable iches nmiddest hereofhey ive ensually ontent ith hebarke nd out-ward inds,s neither nowinghesweetnes f he nwardmarrow,nor cknoledgingheDeity f heAlmightyiver" ATrueRelation,388).His implications that hesavoringfthe sweetmarrowasbeenreservedor heEnglish.Smithhares hebelief hat heEnglish ave arrivedo consum-mateAmerica's estiny.ndeed, ts sexualdimension as close to acommonplacenhis day. nEastward oe,for xample, erformedontheLondon tage n1605, heyearRosiermadehis voyage, ohnMarston as Captain eagull ryout:"Comeboyes,Virginiaongstillwe share he restofher maiden-head."5uteven while eeingAmerica s ripefor xploitation,placetheEnglishwillphysicallyenjoy venas theyprofitromteconomically,mith lso sees itas a placethatwillchange heEnglishwhosettle here.He is thefirst riternEnglishwhoseworks mbody sense ofAmerica s ashapingorce atherhanmerely placetobe shaped.The captain id notcomeeasily o thisperception.tgrewuponhim n direct atio ohis gatheringwarenesshathe wouldneverreceive hepost f uthorityna future mericanettlementhat isfirst ritings ere npartdesigned o obtain orhim.As he camereluctantlyo accept hefact hat ll theAmerica e wouldpossesswas whathe capturednhis pages,hiswritingsook nthetone foneconstructingworld therwiseost ohim.Hiswritings,hats,gradually odulatedromiscoveringmericaor thersorecover-ing tfor imself.John mithwasborn nAlford,incolnshire,n1580,6he sonofa farmer,ndearlyn ife nteredmilitaryervice,oldieringntheNetherlandsndfightingheTurksnTransylvania,here, e says,heengagedna numberfhand-to-handombats, asenslaved, aslovedbythe Pasha'swife, ndslewhis master.nDecember 606Smith ailedwith heVirginiaxpeditionf144colonists hoestab-


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Conquest ndRecoverynEarlyWritingsrom merica513lished tJamestownhefirstermanentnglishettlementnNorthAmerica.7neardeadly ivisivenessampered heenterpriseromthe ery tart,ndSmith,uspectedfmutiny,ad uthorityithheldfrom imbut eized sufficientommando conduct he explorationand thetradewith he ndians hatkept hecolonists live. n1606he wasgiven hepresidencyf he ouncil hat overnedhe olony;buthepreferredxplorationoadministration,o thedisputingenton andhe was compelledo defend imself rom ehementriticswhenhe returnedo England hefollowingear.Anxious o returntoAmerica,mithook harge f 1614 xpeditionhat xploredhecoastofNewEngland or merchantroup; hePlymouthilgrimsmadeuse ofhismaps ixyears ater.n1615hesetoutfor dditionalexplorationf hesameregion utwas thwartedyFrench irates.Furtherttemptso return o Americawereunsuccessful,nd hebecame ncreasinglymmersednhis writtenccounts f t.A De-scriptionfNewEngland 1616) nd TheGenerall istoriefVirginia(1624),which eworknd ugmentarlier ublications,rehismajorliteraryecoveriesf heNewWorld. e died n1631.

As Smith's opesfor returno America ale,hesituates iswrit-ing bout t n a larger istoricalndgeopoliticalontexthan itherhe oranyothers adpreviouslyone. nhisearly ookconcernedwith eportingnwhat efoundnddid nVirginia, Map ofVirginia(1612), mithwritesnremarkableetail bout he ndians' eligion,government,omesticmanners,unting ractices,nd methods fwarfare,nd n hisconclusion aysoff isopponents y ndicatinghowaccounts hatdifferrom isshouldbe measured. hose whovisitwith he nnual upply hipbutdonot ettle, e says, indt ntheirnterestogivefalse eports,incenoactual olonists presentback n England o challengehem. uchcalumniators,e writes,"Being or hemost art f uchtenderducationnd small xperi-ence inmartiallccidents, ecausethey ound otEnglish ities,nor uchfaire ouses,nor t their wnewishes nyoftheir ccus-tomed ainties, ith eather edsanddowne illows, avernes ndalehousesnevery reathinglace,neitheruchplenty fgold andsilver nd dissoluteibertys they xpected ad ittle rnocareofany hing,ut opamperheir ellies, ofly waywith urPinnaces,orprocure heirmeanesto returneo England" Barbour, :176).Ofnote nthis nd similar assages s a nascent ensethat atherthanbeing limitation,heprimitiveonditionfAmericanspires


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514 Americaniteratureheroism. ut uch mplicationsre subordinatedo thepractical ur-poses ofpromotingoth he olonizationfVirginiand he areer fCaptain ohn mith.When political areer nAmerica easesto be a realistic ossi-bility, owever,mithnvests greatdeal more nhis literaryon-structionf he NewWorld, isualizingt nbroad nd boldhistori-cal terms. Andwhathath verbeene theworke fthe best greatPrinces f heworld,"e asks, but lantingfCountries,ndciviliz-ingbarbarousnd nhumane ations o civilityndhumanity,hoseeternall ctions ils urhistories ithmorehonour han hose hathavewasted ndconsumed hem ywarres"Barbour, :277). Theconcept fAmerica s remedyor nglish ecline ow omes o thefore,nkeeping ith henote oundednGeorgeWither's edicatorypoem o theDescriptionfNewEngland: ther's ope nafter-daiesThenceto repairwhatTime and Pridedecaies/ In thisrichking-dome" Barbour, :315). n developinghis dea Smith ecognizesits dependence pon he profit otive-"I amnot imple o thinkethat very ny thermotive hanwealth, ill rect here Common-weale;or draw ompanie romheir ase andhumours t home, ostaynNewEngland oeffect y urposes"Barbour,:346) but hewishes hatmotive oserve larger estiny,herevitalizationf heEnglish ation.While hehomeland illgainmateriallyrom meri-can resources ouringnto tsmarkets,he arger enefit illbefallthosewho remainnAmerica o be shapedby tsprimitiveigors.Smith'smajor iteraryorksndicate hat nEnglishmannAmericabecomesdifferentnkind rom heEnglishmanhoremainsnthehomeland.The crucialmark f hat ifferences ndustriousness.mith'smostimpassioned ritingbout hepromisefAmerica irectlyddressesan audience ffinanciallyistressedentlemenather hanaborersorthe omfortableembers f he eisure lasses. o forcefullyoeshe argue hat heAmericanxperience illbe themaking f uchmenthat ome scholars ave beentemptedo identifyimas thegreat rogenitorf heAmericanream, f, hats,the nventionfAmericas a landwhere nyonewhobacksthewishwith will owork an advance romnheritedconomic nd ocial nferiorityntoaffluencend a positionfauthority.8nhisDescriptionfNewEn-gland, mithwrites,Whocan desiremore ontent,hathath mallmeanes; r butonlyhis merit o advancehisfortune,hen otread,


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ConquestndRecoverynEarlyWritingsrom merica515andplant hat round eehath urchasedyhazard fhis ife?fwehavebut he aste fvirtue,ndmagnanimitie,hat o such mindecanbee more leasant han lantingndbuildingfoundationor isPosteritie,ott rom herudeearth y Godsblessing nd hisowneindustrie, ithoutrejudice oany?"Barbour,:342). Lestone re-ply hattcertainlys with rejudiceothenativenhabitants,mithpoints ut hat uchplanting illbenefithe ndiansndpleaseGodsince twill ead to their ecominghristians.Butwhateverts connection ithwhat ame tobe knowns theAmericanream,mith imselfigorouslynd onsistentlyonnectshisvision f hecontinent'salue o tsbeing hesitefor ngland'sgrandntry nto he tage funiversalistory.hegreatmonarchiesofthepast-Chaldean, yrian, reek, nd Roman-weremade,hesays, y heir outh irectingheir dventurousnessnto nterprisesabroad atherhan iots thome. hroughoutiswritingnthe ub-ject,he conveyshesensethat he ultimateational ain s moralrather hanmaterial,ecausethose broadwho ugmenthewealthof hehomelandrethosewho thome rode he ocial abric: ounggentlemenutoffromelf-sufficiencyy awsof ntailmentndpri-mogeniture,ho ive dly, hark bout or meal, pend heir imeatcards nd dice,borrow romriendsndfamily ith omeans frepayment,esentheiriblings,ndwish or heir arents' eath oas to come ntowhatevernheritancewaits hem.America,hat s,redeems oth hehomeland,y purgingt of hedissolute,nd thedissolutehemselves,y ffordinghem field f pportunity.Smith ad been anenergeticoldier, nafraidfdanger, ho didnothesitate o takeby forcewhat ouldmost asily e procurednthat ashion,nd ven nhis iterary orks eexplicitlyalues ctionabovewords. evertheless,fter616 t swords, ot eeds, hatmostconcern im,ndtheconflictetween his ituationnd hisavowedpreferenceurfaces evealingly,funintentionally,nhisDescriptionofNewEngland.While iscussinghe opic f herise ndfall f m-pires, ewrites,This s thedifferenceetwixtheuse ofArmesnthefield,nd ontheMonumentsfstones; hegolden ge andtheleaden ge,prosperityndmiserie,ustice ndcorruption,ubstanceand hadowes, ords nddeeds, xperiencend magination,akingCommonwealthsndmarringommonwealths,hefruits fvertueand he onclusionsfvice" Barbour,:344). nthis eries fpairedcontrasts,hebetter ermppears irst,nd theworse econd.Only


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516 Americaniteratureone pair scapes thisparallelism;ne would xpect o find deeds"alignedwith experience,"substance,"nd prosperity,"ut nstead"words" ccupies hatposition nd "deeds"occurs n parallelwith"shadowes,"miserie,"nd "imagination."he obvious xplanationis that mith or momentoses his concentrationnd allows hereversal o occur. hisseems ndisputable.Yetwhen neremembershat y he ime e swritinghesewordsSmith s beginningoaccept hefact hat isfamewillhave to reston hiswritingather hanhis exploring-or t leastonhis explor-ing only nsofars it s representedn his writing-one as reasonto believe hathe fails o catchhis error ecauseforhim he deedhas, ndeed, ecome he hadow ndtheword he ubstance fwhatAmericameant. is experiences then vailableohim nly hroughhis magination,o that deeds" re not, fter ll, o glaringlyutofplace when inedupwith imagination";e then ivesmost ullynhiswriting,o thatwords" renot, fter ll, o glaringlyutofplacewhen ined p with experience."Eightyears ater,whenhe is compilinghemost iteraryf ll hisworks nAmerica,heGenerall istoriefVirginia1624), mith on-sciously eeks o ncorporatehe nsightbout herelationfwritingto experience hathe unconsciouslyllowed o obtrudenhispre-viouswork.nthededicationfhisbook o LadyFrances, uchessofRichmond,ewrites:I havedeeply azardedmy elfe ndoingandsuffering,ndwhy hould sticke o hazardmyreputationnRecording? e that ctethwoparts s themorebornewithallfhecomeshort, rfaylenone ofthem."A niceambiguityurroundsSmith'sense hat neofhisenterprises-doingrrecording-mightfall hort ndthereforeeed thesupportfthe other.Whereonemight nticipateheconventionalrefatorypology f the man ofaction-that incehe is a doerhiswriting illbe found ough ndinadequate-one ncountersnstead he uthor'suggestionhat llhehas donemight ellbe consideredfailure ithouthe upportfhiswritingbout t. n otherwords,ven s hemakes hedistinctionbetween istoryived ndhistoryecorded,mith eliberatelylursit;hemaintainsheambiguityhenhe offersmodel or iswork:"Where hallwe ooke ofinde Julius aesar,whose tchievementsshine s cleare nhis owneCommentaries,s they id nthefield?"(Barbour: :41).Buthowclearly ould hey aveshone nthefieldhad Caesarnot epresentedhem n thepage?


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ConquestndRecoverynEarlyWritingsrom merica 517Smith's hoiceofCaesaras a modelmaybe vainglorious,ut talso marks is recognitionfthefact hathistorical eanings re-

constructedn the report ather han onstructednthe event.HisGenerallistoriefVirginia,omehave uggested,riftsartherromthe facts hanhis earlywritingsn the same topics,writingshatread ikedispatches romhe field.Whetherr not his s so-theissue may till e debated-it s neverthelesshecase that he iter-arypower fthework erives rom mith's inal cceptance fthehistorian'sole s equaltothat f he oldier-statesmanndofhistoryas the iteof hemeaningshat nmediatedxperiencelone annotyield. she turns romeeds owords, is Generall istorieecomesthefirstook oreport ot imply hat heEnglishre iterallyoingin America utalsowhatAmericas doing othe consciousnessftheEnglish.An nformativeontrastoSmith'sutlooks presentedy hebriefObservations1607)ofGeorgePercy,who with mithwas a mem-berofthe 1606expedition. ithno apparentense of rony, ercycompareshefertilityfVirginiaoparadise et eportshat iscom-pany tarved,ndwith onsistentoathingondemns he ndians streacherousillains etreports hat hey oluntarilyupplied oodwhen hey awthe ettlers ere tthepoint fdeath.Allmanifesta-tions f ndian ostilityre attributedothesubhumanityf ndiannature,ndall manifestationsf ndian umanityo divinenterces-sion.Percy ays, or xample,If thadnotpleasedGodtohaveputa terrourntheSavageshearts, e hadallperishedy hose ild ndcruell agans, eing n theweake state s wewere; urmennightanddaygroaningnevery ornerf heFortmost itifulloheare";9God,not he ndians,akespity n the ufferers.his nterpretationenablesPercy o receive elief romhe handsofthe ndianswith-outrelinquishingisbeliefntheir nmitigatedavagery:ItpleasedGod, fter while,osend hosepeoplewhichwereourmortallne-mies o releeve s with ictualls,s Bread,Corne, ish, ndFlesh ngreat lentie, hichwas the ettingp ofourfeeblemen, therwisewehadallperished"22).As ithappens, ercywas politicallypposed o Smith,o his attri-butions fdivine ssistancemay nsomepartbe designed o elidetherole Smith layedngainingupplies romhe ndians. ut ofgreatermoments the llustrationercy ffers,ncontrastoSmith,fthe onventionalnglish eactionothebewildering ixturefmes-


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518 Americaniteraturesages thewild ountrynd ts nhabitantsre sending. hreatenedpsychologicallys well s physicallyy fertileand nwhich necanneverthelesstarve nda hostilendalienpeoplewho re neverthe-less sensitive nd generous, ewithdrawsehind heprejudices ehas brought ith im, efusingorecognize sameness n seemingdifference-tocknowledge,hats,that he ndians' riendlyehav-ior tems rom fellow eelinghat xists eneath heirwild xteriorand hat is own nimositytems rom wildness hat xists eneathhis domesticatedurface.The power fCaptain ohn mith's enerall istorie,owever, e-rivesfromts mplicitcceptance fthe essons aught y the con-frontationf he wo ultures. isaccount fPocahontas'saving imfrom eathby execution ffirmshatwhite nd red share he samesensibilityndholds orthhepromisef futurenwhich heunionofthetworaceswillbring orth new person, heAmerican. ndSmith's ccountfhismilitaryctionsgainst he ndians fPocahon-tas'stribe,ed byheruncle, ffirmshat heEuropeanan behave ssavagely sthe ndian ndholds orthhepromisef future arkedbyviolencenwhich ivilizationill dvance hroughnleashinghewildness hat lways urks eneathts urface.10The complex able mbeddednSmith's istoryasbeen urnedotime nd gain s Americanuthors ave oughtorealize hemean-ingof henational xperience.npoems, lays, ovels, nd, ndeed,big-screennimation,ocahontas iguress the mediatoretweenhernativeworldndthat f heEuropeans,hebody heplacespro-tectinglyver mithhe ite f he econciliationetweenrimitivismand civilization.he legendaryppealof hestory, owever,wesagreat ealto tsunspokenountertheme:ocahontass thebetrayerofnative merica,er ubmissionoEnglishways whoredomhatinvites he nvaders' ape of thecontinent.n itstotal ontent erlegend hus esembleshat urroundingaMalinche,he ndianmis-tresswho ed Cortes rom isVeraCruzbeachhead o the hallsofMontezuma.utLa Malinche's ualitys bothmotherndbetrayeris farmore xplicitnMexicanore,where o manyMexicans ec-ognize heir panish-Indianncestrynddailyiveout tsmeaning.1"InEnglish merica, owever,ulturalot iologicalmiscegenationsacknowledged:o be an Americans to remain pure-bloodeduro-peanwhohasacquiredhe dealizednatural" annersf he ndians.Pocahontas,n heradoptionfEnglishmanners, resents mirror


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Conquest ndRecoverynEarlyWritingsrom merica 519image f his ondition.-2ndmoremportanthan heworks asedonthePocahontastorytselfsthewaynwhich neof hedominantthemes f the Americaniteraturehichwas to followinCreve-coeur, ooper, horeau, ndMelville,or xample)smadeupof heintertwiningf hedream f ndian-Europeanarmonynd henight-mareofracialwarfare,trands irstraidednthework fCaptainJohnmith.Almost ll the earlynarrativesf English xplorationf NorthAmerica xemplifyhe nterdependencefphysical nd iteraryon-quest.The accounts f hefirstxplorersreshaped yexpectationsbasedupon ables bout he ndies, ndthese ccountshape nturntheperceptionsf succeeding xplorers.Moreover, subtler ndmore otent omplicationf herelation fwrittenext o actual x-perience esides n theactoftranslatingomethingo completelyalien s the andandpeopleofAmericanto language ormedycenturiesf ocial xperiencentheBritishsles.Whereas he iter-ary epresentationf letteredulturemay ugmenthat ulture,heliteraryepresentationf n unletteredulture eplacestwith ome-thing ifferent.nthis ensethe iteraryeplacementf he ndiansclears heway or heir hysical isplacement.So far s thewrittenecordhows, heNativeAmericans iewedEnglishwritings a technologyhat ould eadto dire onsequencesfor hem. eldcaptive y he ndians fter skirmishnwhichhreeofhispartywerekilled,mithnteredntonegotiationsith hemand sent ndianmessengersoJamestownith noterequestinggoods.Themessengers'eturn ithherequested oods, aysSmith(writingfhimselfnthethird erson), aused widespread onder"thathe couldeither ivine, rthepaper ouldspeake" Barbour,2:149).A thread eemsto wind ackfrom uch a viewofwritingoThomasHariot'sixteenth-centuryeportrom irginiaf he ndianexplanationf hefact hat heywere uccumbingo a diseasethatseemednot to be affectingheEnglish. omeprophesied, ritesHariot,that hereweremore fourgeneration et o come, okilltheirsnd ake heir laces, s some houghthepurposewas by hatwhichwas already one.Those thatwere mmediatelyo come ftervsthey maginedo be inthe ire,yet nuisible without odies&that hey your ntreaty for he oue ofvsdidmake hepeople odie nthat ort s they idby hootingnuisible ullets nto hem."13Thegap between nvisibleauses and visible ffectsntheexplana-


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520 Americaniteraturetion eportedyHariotsclosednSmith'sccount ywritingomingto be viewed s themeans hrough hich he nvisiblechieved tsvisible ffects.RogerWilliams, heradicalreligious nd political hinker hofounded hode sland, aught imselfhe Narragansettongue norder oth opreach hristianityothenativenhabitantsnd ocon-ductpoliticalnd commercialegotiationsith hem.Onone occa-sion fter ehadbeenpreaching,e overheardwo ndians ebatingthevalidityfhiscontentionhat ouls ftereath o toheaven atherthan, s their raditionaught,o the southwest.ndefense fWil-liams's octrine,ne Narragansettsked heotherwhether,fter ll,he had everseen a soulgo southwest.ut, he other sked,whenhadWilliamsver eena soulgo toheaven; owhich he irsteplied,"He hath ooks ndwritings,ndonewhichGodhimselfe ade, on-cerningmens oules, ndtherefore aywellknowmore hanweethat avenone, ut ake ll upon rust rom urforefathers."114ucha viewgoesbeyond ecognizingritings a crucialink etweenheinvisible ndvisibleworlds o grantingt an authorityuperior othat f ral radition,hichstosay, oacceptingtsdisplacementfIndian ulture.Noneof hefirstenturyfworks evotedo the ndian anguagehasthe iterarytaturefRogerWilliams's Key nto he anguageofAmerica. lthoughts mmediateimappears o be lexical,tisso structureds toembody sympatheticresentationf ndianifeand criticallyronic ommentponEuropean ivilizationngeneralandNewEngland ocietynparticular.15na series f hapters,achdevotedopresentinghenativewords onnectedo some spect fNarragansettifesleep and odging, amilyelations,easonsof heyear,nd o on Williams ntroduceshepertinentndian hrasesnthe form fdialogues,nterspersinghemwithhisobservationsnwhat s being aid, nd hen oncludingachchapter ith poem hatcompares nglish nd ndian onductwith egard othe matter thand.While hefundamentalcheme f achpoem s topresentheEnglishutlooknone tanza,he ndiann nother,nd heChristiandoctrineywhich oth re tobe measurednd foundwantingnathird,sthebook dvancesntomore omplex opics uch sreligionandgovernment,he ndian iewpointncreasinglyerves oexposetheshortcomingsf heEnglish. ne stanza, or xample,eads sfollows:


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ConquestndRecoverynEarlyWritingsrom merica 521We weareno Cloaths, avemanyGods,Andyet ur innes re esse:Youare Barbarians,aganswild,Your and's heWildernesse.204)Thehighlytructuredormatf ach chapter-dialogue,bserva-tion, idactic oem-seemsto be modeled fter heextravagantlystylized enaissancemblem ooks, s Williams'smodern ditorscontend.'6etbecauseof,ratherhandespite, tsmanifestrtifice,the work ucceeds, s less structuredorksdo not, nrendering

Indianultureor nglish eaderswithoutntheprocess eplacingt.Groundednthe ll-but-tactilemmediacyf ndianwords MdttapshyotegSit bythe fire], wanagusantowoshSpeakEnglish]),whicharethenmodulatedhroughuthorialbservationsoward he con-cluding oem, ach chapteronsists f progressionrom hetotalothernessfNarragansetthroughhe nformalityfEnglishonver-sationothehigh ormalityf iterarynglish. ialogue, bservation,andpoem hus orrespondoIndian,NewEnglandettler,ndOldEngland esident, ith ndian ultureinked o English hroughhemediationfWilliams,heNewEnglander ho peaksNarragansett.Strikingly,he formatfA Keyparallels he circumstancesf tsauthort the ime e wrotet.Summonedo answer efore heMas-sachusettsuthoritiesorhis radical eachingsbout heseparationof church ndstate,RogerWilliams ad fled heir urisdictionnJanuary636to settle inally,nthespring f thatyear, n RhodeIsland,where e foundedhefirstolonyntheEnglish orldsomesay he irstovernmentinceRome ccepted hristianity-thater-mittedreedom fworship.When he otherNewEngland oloniesleagued gainst hode sland, earing-amongtherhings-thattwould helteroliticalefugees romheirurisdictionsndbecomestagingroundor evolutionarycts, he nhabitantsfRhode slandaskedWilliamso gotoEnglandndthere rocureromhePuritanparliamentcharter hatwouldguaranteeheir utonomyndre-move he hreat f ntrusionrom eighboringolonies.Williamsetsail nJune 643 ndcomposed Key uringhevoyage, ublishingit n Londonwhenhe arrived here. he book hat ridges rimitiveAmerica nd iterarynglandn tspageswas thuswrittenhen tsauthor asactuallyntransitetweenhe wo.In a prefaceddressed TomyDeare andWelbelovedriends nd


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522 AmericaniteratureCountrey-men,n old and new-England,"illiams ays, I drew heMateriallsna rude umpe t Sea,as a private elpe omy wnemem-ory, hat might otby mypresentbsence ightlyosewhat hadso dearelyoughtnsomefewyearshardship,ndchargesmong heBarbarians"83). His writing,hats, s an act ofbringingutwhathe has internalizedbout ndian ife ather han, s is commonlyhecase inreportsfAmerica,n account fobservations adefrommentalantage oint utside he bserved orld.nthiswayhisbookresemblesheotherwiseuitedifferentooks fCaptain ohn mith,which re lso, s hasbeennoted,uthorialttemptsorecover atherthan iscover merica.From he tandpointf iteraryistory,hewritingsf heEnglishexplorersndthefirstnglishettlers epresent crucial ncounterof heEnglishanguagewith hat orwhich thadno diction rgram-mar.Althoughome ndianwords reptnto hevocabularynd omeneologisms ereformed,he users ofEnglish verwhelminglye-duced heNewWorld otheir wn erms. avidGraysonllen'studyofnamingnseventeenth-centuryewEngland,or xample, eportsthatAs sign f heir ccupationndownershipf henew and, ndas a means fmakingrder utof he eeminghaos nthe trangewilderness,he new settlers uickly ook awaythe Indianplace-names nd topographicaleatures,illedwith boriginalmeanings,andreplaced hemwith he namesfamiliaro seventeenth-centuryEnglishmen."'7yquoag, or xample, uickly ecameWethersfield,and pswich eplacedAgawam. eatures uch as rivers,akes, ndmountains anagedmore uccessfullyocling o theirndian amesbecausetheyhad noproductivealue but servedmerelys pointsofreference.ut atthe ocal evel, opographicaleatures amed yIndiansweresupplanted ynew nomenclature-oftenfter lants,animals,minerals,r other esources hatdescribed he economicvaluethat ettlersoundnthe and" 1-2). Finally,s Allen's tudysuggests,he ollowingines rom salm 9 welldescribehe ettlers'attitude:Theirnwardhoughts, hatheir ouses hall ontinueorever, And heir welling lacesto allgenerations; Theycall thelands fter heirwnnames."Throughuch inguisticeplacement,heradical reakwith radi-tion mplicitnthe act offoundingnewtownwasdenied, heEn-glishname dentifyinghefoundings part f n unbrokeneriesofevents tretchingack hroughnglish istoryndpointingorward


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ConquestndRecoverynEarlyWritingsrom merica523totheAnglicizationf hewild. he common onguendthe iterarytraditionarried y t werepowerfulolonizingorces,ssimilatingunprecedentedxperienceo a familiarrammar.Yet s Captain ohnmith ndRogerWilliamsevealntheir epa-rateways, he iteraryonquestwas not otal;America as so inter-nalized y thesewritershat tspeaks hroughheir nglish atherthan implyeing pokenboutn t.Each wrotefterhefact romconsciousnessransformedyhisexperiencef hedifferentatherthan t themomentf heencounterrom consciousnessn recoilfromhedifferent.ttheheart f heir estworks a sense of oss,a bittersweetwarenesshat nlyntheir bsence romhenew andhavethey ometorealize-andso to attemptorecover-thewayin which thad possessed hem venwhile heywere ttemptingopossess t.18 iteraryonquest ad, o tospeak, eenreversed.Thisreversal,he andwritingtselfhroughhe lteredonscious-nessof hewriter,s themark f great ody fAmericaniterature.The currentmanner f reading ccounts f explorationnd earlysettlemento as toexpose he mperialmotivesgreed or and ndhungeror oliticalominance)hat suallyie soclose othe urfaceof hetexts hat heir etection emandsittleffort,longwith hecurrent annerfviewingll encounters ith capitalized ther sreinforcementsf heresistingdentityf heobserverothe xclu-sion f ny ossibilityf lterationntheobserver'senseof elf,maymake heir ontributionsopolitical istory.ut n their ailureodistinguishecoveryromonquestnd consciousnessransformedbyAmerican xperience rom ne opposed o it they end lso tovulgarizeiteraryistory.TheJohns opkins niversityNotesThe centraldeas ofthe precedingssaywerefirst evelopedna lecturedeliveredt a number fAsianUniversities. henJapanesecholars skedforwrittenlarification,versionf he ecture asprintedn heBulletinorthe enterforAmericantudiesf heUniversityfTokyo,o.16.1 JamesRosier, TrueRelation ftheVoyagef CaptaineGeorgeWay-mouth,605, nEarly nglishndFrench oyages,hieflyorm akluyt,1534-1608, d. Henry . Burrage NewYork: harles cribner'sons,1906), 79.


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524 Americaniterature2 GeorgeAlsop, Characterf he rovincefMarylandNewYork:Wil-liamGowans,869), 45.This s a reprintf he1666 dition.3 Captain ohnmith, heGeneral istoriefVirginia, ew-England,ndthe ummersles,nTheComplete orksfCaptain ohnmith, vols.,ed.Philip . BarbourChapelHill:Univ. fNorth arolina ress, 986),2:172.4 TheFourth oyage adeto Virginian theYere 587,byGovernorohnWhite,nBurrage,17.5 ThePlaysofGeorge hapman,d. ThomasMarc Parrot NewYork:Russell ndRussell,nc., 961), :498;Eastward oewasa collaborativeeffort,ndAct ,Scene3, nwhich he uotedine ppears,s attributedtoMarston.6 Interestingly,lford asalso thebirthplacefAnneHutchinson,hosefather,heReverend rancisMarbury, as probablymith's chool-master.7 MichaelDraytonddressed hisgroupnhispoem To theVirginianvoyage,"allinghembrave eroiqueminds, Worthyour ountriesname," alling irginiaEarth's nely aradise,"ndaskingHakluytomemorializehevoyageo that thers ill e inflamedoseekfame.8 See,for xample, .A. Leo LemayJr., heAmericanream fCaptainJohnmithCharlottesville:niv. ressofVirginia,991).9 ObservationsfMaster eorgeercy,nNarrativesf arlyVirginia,606-1625, ed. LyonGardineryler NewYork:Charles cribner'sons,1907), 2.10 The mannern which civilizedavagery" orkedhrough mericanhistorysthe ubject fRichardlotkin'segenerationhroughiolence:TheMythologyf he mericanrontier,600-1860 Middletown,onn.:Wesleyan niv. ress, 973),while heAmericanistoryf he deaofcivilizationnd tsdependencepon conceptf ndian avagerysthesubject fRoyHarvey earce's SavagismndCivilization: Study f

the ndian ndtheAmerican ind BerkeleyndLosAngeles: niv. fCaliforniaress, 988).11 For surveyf hismatter,ee SandraMessenger ypess, a MalincheinMexican iteratureAustin: niv. fTexasPress,1991).For a dis-cussion f heway n which ocahontas'sescue fSmith ame nthepopularmaginationo obliterateermarriageoRolfe,ee Robert .Tilton,ocahontas:heEvolutionf nAmericanarrativeNewYork:Cambridge niv. ress,1994).Tiltonnotesparallels etween heac-tions fPocahontasnd La Malinche utdoes notspeculate n theabsence nthe Pocahontasmythfthetheme fbetrayalhat ompli-catesLa Malinche'segend. he fact hatwe encountero Pocahontasfigures henwe examine ovelswrittenyAmericanndian uthors"(CharlesR. Lawson, uoted nTilton, 80)would eem tobe a signthatNative mericans,t east, re aware f henegativeubtextf hePocahontas yth.


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ConquestndRecoverynEarlyWritingsrom merica 52512 Another arallels provided ythe story fSacajawea, heShoshone

woman ho ccompaniedheLewis ndClark xpeditionndpreventedits membersrom erishingntheRockyMountains.opular ore n-sisted hat hewas Clark'smistressndborehischild.13 ThomasHariot, Briefnd TrueReport f heNewFound andofVir-ginia (AnnArbor,Mich.:Edwards rothers,931), ig.F2. This is afacsimilef he riginaluarto f1588.14 RogerWilliams, Key nto he anguage fAmerica,d.John . Teu-nissen ndEvelynJ.Hintz Detroit:Wayne tateUniv. ress,1973),198-99.15 I am ndebtedo theeditors fthecited dition or heirntroductoryessay,whiched me to anappreciationf he omplexityf hework.16 "The emblems practicedn theearly ears fthe century as a tri-partiteompositiononsistingf symbolicngraving,moralmottorepigramrawn romheBibleor the lassics, nd an explicatoryoemwhich requentlyilked n amazingmount fmeaningrom heoftensimple llegoryf he ngraving.nAKey he ngravingsreplaced ythedialogue.... And nWilliams's andlingf he mblematic,heob-servationsanbe seento replace hemoral ppendedo the ngraving"(TeunissenndHintz, Key, 1-62).17 David Grayson llen, Vacuum omicilium: he Socialand CulturalLandscape fSeventeenth-CenturyewEngland,"nJonathan. Fair-banks ndRobert .Trent, ew ngland egins: he eventeenthentury(Boston:Museum fFineArts, 982), .18 The centralityf he ense of ossto the iteraryct, mplicitnSmithandWilliams,s madeexplicit yPedrode Castanieda,hoaccompa-niedCoronadonthe1540-1542xpeditionhat ailed ofind hefabledSevenCities f normous ealth. ordecades fterward,astanieda ashaunted yhis sensethat hereal oss was nothaving ailed ofindheSevenCities, utrather aving ailedo realize he ransformingffectofwhat adbeenfound;hemembersfCoronado's arty ere he irstEuropeansomeet hecliff wellers,ee theGrand anyon, nd viewthe endlessherds fbison overingheGreat lains.Finally,n1565,Castaniedaatdown orecover hisnwriting,ayingfhisfellowdven-turers,Justs men ee more t thebullfighthen hey re upon heseats hanwhen hey rearoundnthering, owwhen hey now ndunderstandhedirectionnd situationn which heywere, nd see, n-deed, hat hey an not njoy or ecovert,nowwhent stoo ate heyenjoy ellingboutwhat hey aw, nd ven fwhathey ealize hat heylost" "Narrativefthe ExpeditionfCoronado,"nSpanish xplorersin the outhern nitedtates,d.Frederick .Hodge ndTheodoreH.Lewis NewYork: harles cribner'sons, 907], 84).

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Ziff - Conquest and Recovery in Early Writings in America