THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 8, 1994 TAG: 9411080351
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Short : 38 lines
As visitors walk into the center gallery of the Virginia Historical Society, they face a sculpture of Pocahontas striding forward, her arms extended in a supplicating plea for peace.
The bronze statue is mostly green with 70 years of weathering at Jamestown Island, but Pocahontas' forearms gleam dully, free of corrosion where hundreds of thousands of tourists have touched her each year, said exhibit curator William M.S. Rasmussen.
It's that kind of adoration and universal recognition that have marked the history and legend of Pocahontas, the Powhatan Indian chief's daughter who saved Capt. John Smith from execution and the first permanent English settlement in North America from extinction.
``She's always appealed to Americans. Our civilized society is corrupt, and to men not living in a state of virtue, Pocahontas is more virtuous,'' Rasmussen said. ``And she seems to validate that theory: she lessened bloodshed, reduced warfare and contributed to the survival of the Jamestown colony.''
The exhibit, ``Pocahontas: Her Life and Legend,'' and a Gloucester County celebration planned for Nov. 19 are parts of a series of events marking the 400th anniversary of Pocahontas' birth in 1995 that will culminate in the release of a Walt Disney Co. animated film in April.
Disney helped sponsor the exhibit's catalog and will also take part in the Gloucester events, showing a 4 1/2-minute trailer of the film, ``Pocahontas.'' by CNB