single combat in duels that resulted in his killing three Turkish officers. He also claims that his exploits so impressed Prince Sigismund Bathori that he was granted a coat of arms and a pension of 3,000 ducats annually ("Smith" 295). Later wounded and captured, he was sold into slavery and was able to escape by murdering his master and was able to return to the prince whom he had served and by whom he was handsomely rewarded (Barbour 59).
             By this time, John Smith had grown restless in England and longed for something more adventurous. On his return to England in 1604, Smith was first introduced to the plans for a colonized Virginia. A royal charter licensing such activities was signed on April 10, 1606, and the Virginia Company of London was formed (Barbour 60). It was on December 19-20 that the three English ships began their voyage to Virginia. The 144 colonists traveled by route of the Canaries and West Indies, entering the Chesapeake Bay on April 26, 1607. Only 105 of the original 144 colonists disembarked on May 13, 1607, in Jamestown, Virginia. When the instructions from England were opened, they reveal
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