Three hundred savages conducted him to Powhatan, who received him in great state.  Before his house were ranged forty or fifty great platters of fine bread.  Entering his house, “with loude tunes they made all signs of great joy.”  In the first account Powhatan is represented as surrounded by his principal women and chief men, “as upon a throne at the upper end of the house, with such majesty as I cannot express, nor yet have often seen, either in Pagan or Christian.”  In the later account he is “sitting upon his bed of mats, his pillow of leather embroidered (after their rude manner with pearls and white beads), his attire a fair robe of skins as large as an Irish mantel; at his head and feet a handsome young woman; on each side of his house sat twenty of his concubines, their heads and shoulders painted red, with a great chain of white beads about each of their necks.  Before those sat his chiefest men in like order in his arbor-like house.”  This is the scene that figures in the old copper-plate engravings.  The Emperor welcomed Smith with a kind countenance, caused him to sit beside him, and with pretty discourse they renewed their old acquaintance.  Smith presented him with a suit of red cloth, a white greyhound, and a hat.  The Queen of Apamatuc, a comely young savage, brought him water, a turkeycock, and bread to eat.  Powhatan professed great content with Smith, but desired to see his father, Captain Newport.  He inquired also with a merry countenance after the piece of ordnance that Smith had promised to send him, and Smith, with equal jocularity, replied that he had offered the men four demi-culverins, which they found too heavy to carry.  This night they quartered with Powhatan, and were liberally feasted, and entertained with singing, dancing, and orations.

The next day Captain Newport came ashore.  The two monarchs exchanged presents.  Newport gave Powhatan a white boy thirteen years old, named Thomas Savage.  This boy remained with the Indians and served the colony many years as an interpreter.  Powhatan gave Newport in return a bag of beans and an Indian named Namontack for his servant.  Three or four days they remained, feasting, dancing, and trading with the Indians.

In trade the wily savage was more than a match for Newport.  He affected great dignity; it was unworthy such great werowances to dicker; it was not agreeable to his greatness in a peddling manner to trade for trifles; let the great Newport lay down his commodities all together, and Powhatan would take what he wished, and recompense him with a proper return.  Smith, who knew the Indians and their ostentation, told Newport that the intention was to cheat him, but his interference was resented.  The result justified Smith’s suspicion.  Newport received but four bushels of corn when he should have had twenty hogsheads.  Smith then tried his hand at a trade.  With a few blue beads, which he represented as of a rare substance, the color of the skies, and worn by the greatest kings in the world, he so inflamed the desire of Powhatan that he was half mad to possess such strange jewels, and gave for them 200 to 300 bushels of corn, “and yet,” says Smith, “parted good friends.”