By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer
DRY PRONG, La. (LBM) – An attack by the Powhatan tribe on the colony of Jamestown, Virginia, was imminent on March 22, 1622, but a warning from an Indian convert to Christianity saved the life of settler Richard Pace and many others.
Upon learning of the plot, Pace immediately traveled by boat across the James River into Jamestown to warn those living in the area. While 347 died in the attack, many more were saved.
Kevin Goodman, a descendant of Pace, and pastor of First Baptist Church, Dry Prong, is thankful God used the Indian named “Chanco” to alert the family of the planned attack.
“Somehow, someway, God was working behind the scenes,” Goodman told the Baptist Message. “This Indian could have sat on the information and not told Richard about it, but he had the courage to speak up and alert him.
“Richard then rowed his boat across the river to warn his countryman and save some lives,” he continued. “It’s a reminder that when God stirs something up and wants us to share it, we don’t need to just sit and be idle.”
William Stith, a historian and third president of the College of William and Mary, documented the impact Chanco had in saving Pace and his bloodline.
In his book, “History of the first discovery and settlement of Virginia,” Stith said: “This Slaughter was a deep and grievous Wound to the yet weak and Infant Colony; but it would have been much more general, and almost universal, if God had not put it into the Heart of a converted Indian, to make a Discovery.
“This Convert, whose name was Chanco, lived with one Richard Pace, who treated him, as his own Son. “The Night before the Massacre, another Indian, his Brother, lay with him; and telling him the King’s Command, and that the Execution would be performed the next Day, he urged him to rise and kill Pace, as he intended to do by Perry, his Friend. As soon as his Brother was gone, the Christian Indian rose, and went and revealed the whole matter to Pace; who immediately gave Notice thereof to Captain William Powel, and having secured his own House, rowed off before Day to James-Town, and informed the Governor of it.”
Goodman said he learned five years ago that he was a descendant of Pace after his uncle, David, alerted the family about their famous relative.
Now, Goodman and his family take the opportunity each Thanksgiving to reflect on the courage of Chanco and Pace, among other blessings. Though his children are three and five years old, Goodman looks forward, one day, to in-depth discussions about the day in March 1622 that saved the descendants of Pace.
“Thanksgiving a few years ago was the first time he shared it with me, and that memory of his legacy has stuck with me ever since,” he said. “You always hear talk about pilgrims, Indians and the Mayflower and the obstacles they had to overcome. But knowing that I am a descendant of a man who had an impact on an Indian, who also was a Christian, that led to saving many lives is pretty special and an incredible story. I would encourage everyone to take the time this Thanksgiving and thank God for all He gives us.”
