poorer sort took him up again and eat him, and so did divers
one another boyled, and stewed with roots and herbs. And one amongst the
rest did kill his wife, poudered her and had eaten part of her before it
was knowne, for which he was executed, as he well deserved; now whether
she was better roasted, boyled, or carbonaded, I know not, but of such a
dish as powdered wife I never heard of. This was that time, which still
to this day we called the starving time; it were too vile to say and
scarce to be believed what we endured; but the occasion was our owne,
for want of providence, industrie and government, and not the barreness
and defect of the country as is generally supposed."

This playful allusion to powdered wife, and speculation as to how she
was best cooked, is the first instance we have been able to find of what
is called "American humor," and Captain Smith has the honor of being the
first of the "American humorists" who have handled subjects of this kind
with such pleasing gayety.

It is to be noticed that this horrible story of cannibalism and
wife-eating appears in Smith's "General Historie" of 1624, without a
word of contradiction or explanation, although the company as early as
1610 had taken pains to get at the facts, and Smith must have seen their
"Declaration," which supposes the story was started by enemies of the
colony. Some reported they saw it, some that Captain Smith said so, and
some that one Beadle, the lieutenant of Captain Davis, did relate it. In
"A True Declaration of the State of the Colonie in Virginia," published
by the advice and direction of the Council of Virginia, London, 1610, we
read:

"But to clear all doubt, Sir Thomas Yates thus relateth the tragedie:

"There was one of the company who mortally hated his wife, and therefore
secretly killed her, then cut her in pieces and hid her in divers parts
of his house: when the woman was missing, the man suspected, his house
searched, and parts of her mangled body were discovered, to excuse
himself he said that his wife died, that he hid her to satisfie his
hunger, and that he fed daily upon her. Upon this his house was again
searched, when they found a good quantitie of meale, oatmeale, beanes
and pease. Hee therefore was arraigned, confessed the murder, and was
burned for his horrible villainy."

This same "True Declaration," which singularly enough does not mention
the name of Captain Smith, who was so prominent an actor in Virginia