Searching for Pocahontas

I am starting my 6th week here at FHS! I don't know where the time has gone but times flies when getting lost in the Archives thats for sure! While searching through the documents, I came across this very interesting little book entitled, "Princess Uleah, A Florida Pocahontas" written by a man named Charles Kent. Upon first glance, I wasn't sure if this was fact or fiction. Other than its peculiar small size, the name Pocahontas stood out to me. I assumed that it must have some account relating to Native Americans. Well, not exactly. I began to read the book and realized that it was not a first hand account, but in fact it was a fictional story. Through some additional research and the help of my supervisors Ben and Kevin, we were able to cross reference this primary document with its source located in the Florida Historical Quarterly. It turns out that this story by Charles Kent is is based on work by F.P. Fleming entitled," The Story of Juan Ortiz and Ulelah". It is basically the story of John Smith and Pocahontas, only in Florida. I learned a very valuable lesson: don't take anything at face value! It may take a bit of digging to find where a document comes from, which is the most entertaining part for me. Sometimes working in an archive entails not only good organization skills but good investigative skills as well.