creative writing essay

The Unforgettable Journey




“At last we have arrived! From this day on we will call this area Jamestown.”

Alexander Williams arrived to Virginia winter of 1607. He left behind him all of his wealth and loving family. His privileged upbringing prepared him to conquer and dominate wherever he went. He and his trusty assistant Robert had been traveling for days, when they finally arrived at their destination. Robert was timid and shy but he trusted Alexander. They had been friends since they were young boys and did almost everything together. They left England with hopes to find a new land they could call their own. They decided to set sail on the open sea. Once they had settled they called the newly found land Jamestown.

Jamestown faced many hardships at first. Alexander and Robert were found themselves with many obstacles to overcome. Alexander had never worked a day in his life, which was about to change. He came from a wealthy family who hired servants to field the crops while he and his father worked on trades with the Native Americans. “Robert, our food source is dwindling”, Alexander found himself saying almost every day. As Alexander was contemplating how to find dinner he knew something had to be done. It was impossible to trade with the Native Americans in Jamestown because of the lack of trust between them and the Europeans. The Native Americans were scared of the Europeans because they were plaguing the Native Americans with unwanted diseases.

The first few days they were in Jamestown they were caught in the middle of a terrible snowstorm. Robert was constantly complaining and Alexander could not withstand much more. They did not have any supplies for the harsh weather conditions. Along with the other men who had made the same journey they started to build a fort for shelter.

The diseases and the starvation kept Alexander from initially developing Jamestown. The food source was depleting fast because, like Alexander and Robert, not a single person in Jamestown had the skills to raise crops. They took for granted the hard labor that goes into developing new land.

Everyone hoped that once the winter passed things would start turning in favor for Jamestown. Alexander noticed a change in Robert’s behavior though. Robert had always been full of life and willing to do anything. “Robert, we have things to do. Get up ! Get up!”, Alexander said one morning. But his behavior had been different these past couple days. He didn’t want to interact with anyone. “Sorry, not today Alexander. I am too tired and wasteful” replied Robert. He started complaining about mosquito bites he found on his leg but Alexander just thought it was Robert being his pesty self.

Alexander woke up early one morning to catch the beautiful morning sunrise. He tried to wake up Robert but he wouldn’t budge, so he decided to head down to the water himself. As he was sitting on a rock reading, he noticed a Native American woman standing in the distance. His eyes were drawn to her silky long hair and exquisite tribal jewelry. She was carrying with her a basket of crops. “ I must be dreaming”, Alexander mumbled to himself under his breath. He wondered how it was possible for her tribe to produce crops when Jamestown was lacking. Just as he was walking near her, she dropped her basket and he could tell she became very nervous. “ Wait, wait” Alexander yelled to the beautiful woman. He ran towards her to help but this only increased the tension between the two. At a quicker pace she gathered up all of her crops and rapidly ran back to her village. Alexander was confused and couldn’t wait to discuss with Robert what had happened.

When he got back to Jamestown he ran right up to the fort and started shaking Robert. He started yelling, “wake up, wake up” but Robert did not move. Alexander’s eyes began to tear and a sense of fear took over his whole body. Fellow mates started running over to Alexander who was now leaning over Robert’s body crying. They called for help but it took over an hour for the doctor to arrive. Robert had become pale and was sweating. The doctor would later tell Alexander that Robert had fallen from Malaria.


After loosing his best companion, Alexander was determined to change the face of Jamestown. “ I must make Jamestown the best place ever in memory of my best friend Robert!” Alexander exclaimed. His father had been a successful businessman in Europe and taught Alexander everything he knew. Using his business ability Alexander approached the Native Americans with a trade idea.

The Native Americans were reluctant to listen to Alexander at first. “ We do not trade with Europeans who try to steal our land” the tribal leaders would say. They were afraid that he would come and take over their land and leave them with nothing. He remembered the beautiful woman that had caught his eye the day Robert died. He went back to the same rock he had noticed her from. It was just his luck that he saw her again in the distance with her basket full of crops. The difference this time was that she was crying, and along side her was a young boy. He slowly walked towards her assuring her that he would not harm them in any way. “ Please listen to me, I am your friend, I will not hurt you” Alexander mouthed to the pair in the distance. When he reached the woman she broke down and explained that the little boy with her was her brother who had come down with a high fever. Alexander knew the necessary medicine to cure the fever. “ Please help him“ she cried to Alexander. He recognized the potential to trade the medicine for the opportunity to speak with the tribe leader.


He approached the leader of the tribe and offered the Native Americans weapons to fight off any invaders and the necessary medicine to cure the little boys fever in exchange for their tobacco crop. “ Please take this trade I offer you to better the both of us!” Alexander said to the tribe leader.

After the Indians agreed to his trade, Jamestown began to flourish. Tobacco had become their new source or wealth and prosperity. Smoking tobacco was popular in Europe at this time. Alexander started selling the tobacco in great quantities at a high price. The money helped him build homes, schools, shopping stores and expand the economy of Jamestown. In memorial to his trusty companion Robert he named the first school of Jamestown – Roberts Source of Education. He would never forget all he and Robert endured to accomplish Jamestown.