Captain Newport’s narration of the exploration of the James is interesting, being the first account we have of this historic river.  At the junction of the Appomattox and the James, at a place he calls Wynauk, the natives welcomed them with rejoicing and entertained them with dances.  The Kingdom of Wynauk was full of pearl-mussels.  The king of this tribe was at war with the King of Paspahegh.  Sixteen miles above this point, at an inlet, perhaps Turkey Point, they were met by eight savages in a canoe, one of whom was intelligent enough to lay out the whole course of the river, from Chesapeake Bay to its source, with a pen and paper which they showed him how to use.  These Indians kept them company for some time, meeting them here and there with presents of strawberries, mulberries, bread, and fish, for which they received pins, needles, and beads.  They spent one night at Poore Cottage (the Port Cotage of Percy, where he saw the white boy), probably now Haxall.  Five miles above they went ashore near the now famous Dutch Gap, where King Arahatic gave them a roasted deer, and caused his women to bake cakes for them.  This king gave Newport his crown, which was of deer’s hair dyed red.  He was a subject of the great King Powhatan.  While they sat making merry with the savages, feasting and taking tobacco and seeing the dances, Powhatan himself appeared and was received with great show of honor, all rising from their seats except King Arahatic, and shouting loudly.  To Powhatan ample presents were made of penny-knives, shears, and toys, and he invited them to visit him at one of his seats called Powhatan, which was within a mile of the Falls, where now stands the city of Richmond.  All along the shore the inhabitants stood in clusters, offering food to the strangers.  The habitation of Powhatan was situated on a high hill by the water side, with a meadow at its foot where was grown wheat, beans, tobacco, peas, pompions, flax, and hemp.

Powhatan served the whites with the best he had, and best of all with a friendly welcome and with interesting discourse of the country.  They made a league of friendship.  The next day he gave them six men as guides to the falls above, and they left with him one man as a hostage.

On Sunday, the 24th of May, having returned to Powhatan’s seat, they made a feast for him of pork, cooked with peas, and the Captain and King ate familiarly together; “he eat very freshly of our meats, dranck of our beere, aquavite, and sack.”  Under the influence of this sack and aquavite the King was very communicative about the interior of the country, and promised to guide them to the mines of iron and copper; but the wary chief seems to have thought better of it when he got sober, and put them off with the difficulties and dangers of the way.