The near collapse of the colony
By September of 1607 just over 40 settlers in the James Fort were still alive, with more than half of the men and boys left ashore by Christopher Newport earlier that year dead from malnutrition, tainted water, disease, or simple exhaustion. There was no crop to harvest, the ongoing drought having ensured its failure. Goods to trade with the natives for food were exhausted, and the natives under Powhatan were not inclined to extend credit. A large portion of the day was spent gazing down the broad James River, hoping to espy a return of Newport bringing supplies to sustain the colony through the winter.
During the autumn and early winter of 1607, Captain John Smith used Discovery to sail up the James River and the Chickahominy River in search of food. It was during one such expedition that he was captured and the myth of his being saved by Pocahontas was born. In his later written account, Smith did not mention Pocahontas, and described a long meeting with Powhatan, in which the native chief attempted to persuade the English to relocate their settlement within the lands controlled by his confederacy. Smith claimed to have only met Pocahontas many months later. Smith was released and returned to James Fort in January 1608.