"[.] Pocahontas the Kings dearest daughter, when no intreaty could prevaile, got his head in her armes, and laid her owne vpon his to saue him from death-. .
There are a few reasons to believe that the story of John Smith's rescue is more fiction than fact. First and foremost, Smith wrote several accounts of his capture by Powhatan and he only added Pocahontas to the story in a letter to the Queen in 1616. By this time, Pocahontas was a celebrity in England and Smith, who was known to be a self-promoter, may well have added Pocahontas to his story to enhance his own prestige. In another account he wrote only a year after the incident, Smith made no mention of Pocahontas' courageous act. Another theory is that, if the rescue did take place, Smith simply misinterpreted the incident. According to some anthropologists, Smith's near-execution was simply an initiation ceremony. By being symbolically rescued by the chief's daughter, Smith was accepted into the tribe as Powhatan's son. .
In spite of the doubts concerning the accuracy of this incident, Pocahontas most likely did play a crucial role in helping the settlers survive in their new surroundings. Incapable of planting crops, the settlers of Jamestown were starving by January 1608. Powhatan decided to deliver much-needed food to the colony and the supplies were often brought to Jamestown by Pocahontas herself. The girl also acted as her father's ambassador or go-between in dealing with the settlers. Over time, the relations between the Indians and the English deteriorated and Powhatan stopped trading with them. According to Smith's Generall Historie, Pocahontas then saved his life a second time, when she warned Smith and his men that her father was plotting to kill them. .
"Pocahontas [Powhatan's] dearest jewel and daughter, in that darke night came through the irksome woods, and told our Captaine.if we would live, shee wished us presently gone-.