Indian hero was dead.

With the death of Opechancanough, the confederacy over which Powhatan
and he had ruled so long came to an end. It was now without a head, and
the associated tribes fell apart. How long it had been in existence
before the whites came to Virginia we cannot say, but the tread of the
white man's foot was fatal to the Indian power, and as that foot
advanced in triumph over the land the strength of the red men everywhere
waned and disappeared.

_THE GREAT REBELLION IN THE OLD DOMINION._

The years ending in "'76" are remarkable in America as years of struggle
against tyranny and strife for the right. We shall not soon forget the
year 1776, when the famous rebellion of the colonies against Great
Britain reached its climax in the Declaration of Independence. In 1676,
a century before, there broke out in Virginia what was called the "Great
Rebellion," a famous movement for right and justice. It was brought
about by the tyranny of Sir William Berkeley, the governor of the colony
of Virginia, as that of 1776 was by the tyranny of George III., the King
of England. It is the story of the first American rebellion that we are
about to tell.

Sir William had ruled over Virginia at intervals for many years. It was
he who took old Opechancanough prisoner after the massacre of 1643. In
1676 he was again governor of the colony. He was a man of high temper
and revengeful disposition, but for a long time he and the Virginians
got along very well together, for the planters greatly liked the grand
style in which he lived on his broad estate of "Green Springs," with his
many servants, and rich silver plate, and costly entertainments, and
stately dignity. They lived much that way themselves, so far as their
means let them, and were proud of their governor's grand display.

But what they did not like was his arbitrary way of deciding every
question in favor of England and against Virginia, and the tyranny with
which he enforced every order of the king. Still less were they pleased
with the fact that, when the Indians in the mountain district began to
attack the settlers, and put men, women, and children to death, the
governor took no steps to punish the savage foe, and left the people to
defend themselves in the best way they could. A feeling of panic like
that of the older times of massacre ensued. The exposed families were
forced to abandon their homes and seek places of refuge. Neighbors
banded together for