With the coming arrival of the new supply fleet, Captain Smith felt the colony was sufficiently reinforced to engage the Powhatan directly with a diplomatic initiative aimed at securing at least a temporary respite from sniping, kidnapping, and assaulting. Taking a small escort they made their way through incessant attacks to the capital of the Powhatan Confederacy. During one legendary encounter with the warrior Opechancanough, Smith's life was spared (according to his later account) by the intervention of Pocahontas, the daughter of Chief Powhatan.