Jamestown

In anticipation of Walt Disney's ''Pocahontas,'' my wife checked out a few books on the Indian princess to read to our children.''That consummate traitor of the Indian world, Pocahontas . . .'' began one of the stories, a winner of several children's-book awards. Hmmm, not exactly the heroine role we're expecting in the movie. Nevertheless, we went on to read that and other books about Pocahontas to our kids with the knowledge that the actual recounting of that episode nearly 400 years ago is itself a matter of great debate, much less Disney's cartoon version.

Savage Kingdom The Jamestown Project By Karen Ordahl Kupperman Belknap/Harvard University Press / 380 pages / $29.95 The enterprise was nearly dead. It was 1608, and the Virginia Company, formed two years before in the hope that America might produce riches enough to replenish King James I's coffers and even provide a new route to the South Seas, had to face the fact that its Jamestown project was failing. The first settlers, diseased and dying, had turned on one another. Without a working well, they had to drink salt water, which contributed to fatal illnesses like the vividly named "bloody flux."

The IronBirds came through with their fourth straight victory Thursday night, beating the visiting Jamestown Jammers, 6-2. The contest was called complete after the bottom of the eighth inning when heavy rains started at Ripken Stadium. Will Howard led the IronBirds' offense, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Anthony Vega scored two runs in the victory, while teammates Lucas Herbst and Christian Walker each posted one run and one RBI. Aberdeen starter Juan Guzman (2-0) picked up his second win of the season, surrendering two earned runs on three hits, striking out 11 and allowing one walk over six innings.

The Aberdeen IronBirds' Wednesday-night match up was decided in the fifth frame, during which the host-team Jamestown Jammers exploded for five runs, putting themselves far enough ahead to hand the guests an 8-3 defeat. The loss dropped Aberdeen to 12-27 on the season, and through Wednesday, the IronBirds were at the bottom of the New York-Penn League's four-team McNamara Division, 7.5 gams behind third-place Hudson Valley. Trailing 1-0 heading into the fourth frame, Aberdeen tied things up 1-1. After Joe Velleggia and Connor Narron started the inning with back-to-back strikeouts, Austin Knight poked a two-out single through the infield, and Adam Davis followed by taking a pitch off his body.

Have you seen the latest demon movie? Al Pacino in "Devil's Advocate," with his novelty-store fangs? Have you heard the new tune by Marilyn Manson (who hit the heights with "Antichrist Superstar"), or anything by other devil-worshipping rock stars?If so, you might wonder at the continuing preoccupation in this country with satanism, satanic cults and all their foul and bloody rituals. Such as they are. Clearly, these days people expect the worst. Especially these days.Why else would those who run animal shelters around the state (( be extra protective of the black cats under their care in the weeks before Halloween?

"Military Through the Ages" presents a review of military warfare over the past 2,000 years from Boudicca's rebellion, the Celtic revolt against Roman rule in Britain in 61 A.D., to the Vietnam War. The annual event will be held next weekend at Jamestown Settlement near Williamsburg, Va.Jamestown Settlement's own re-enactment group, the Company of James Fort, will act as host of the annual event, which will draw more than 30 re-enactment groups from across the country. You can see units representing the Viking era, the First Crusade, the Jacobite rebellion, the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War and both world wars.

The Aberdeen IronBirds fell on the road Friday night, 5-0, to the Jamestown Jammers. Aberdeen, which is in the cellar of the New York-Penn League's McNamara Division at 13-28 on the year, returns home Saturday for a 7:05 contest with the Mahoning Valley Crosscutters. Aberdeen's best scoring opportunity came in the third when Dudley Leonora led off with a single, stole second and Glynn Davis followed with a one-out single that moved Leonora to third. After Sammie Starr walked to load the bases with one out, Mychal Givens grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Harford County sheriff's deputies and Maryland State Police report: Aberdeen Gene R. Bowser Jr., 34, of the 200 block of Perrywood Court, was charged Thursday with three counts of possessing a drug other than marijuana and three counts of drug possession with intent to distribute. Marcelles A. Kenly, 25, of the 300 block of Center Deen Court, was arrested Aug. 31 on a warrant for one count of trespassing, one count of marijuana possession, one count of possessing another drug and one count of possessing drug paraphernalia.

Last week, TripAdvisor named Williamsburg, Va., as the top place for families to discover. The Virginia's Historic Triangle includes Colonial Williamsburg, Busch Gardens Amusement Park and Jamestown Settlement. Those wanting to get a jump on visiting the area can head into the past this weekend when history repeats itself as hundreds of re-enactors charge the battlefield during Jamestown Settlement's annual "Military Through the Ages. " Pseudo soldiers guard enemy lines as they depict wars from the 18th century to today.

The Weight of Smoke: A Novel of the Jamestown Colony George Robert Minkoff McPherson & Company / 392 pages / $24.95 One of the most compelling stories of early Colonial American history is that of the establishment of the Jamestown Colony. On May 14, 1607, the Virginia Company explorers, funded by a charter by King James I of England, landed on Jamestown Island. They were there to establish an English colony on the banks of the James River, in what is now Virginia, and settle the New World - and mine its untold riches - for England.