In 1798, Smith dictated his life experiences and with his family had it printed by The Bee, in New London, CT. By this time Venture was showing the signs of his old age: his strong, tall body was bowed and he was going blind. The narrative has been the subject of some contention, regarded in many instances as "whitewashed" and inauthentic. It was suspected that the white editor manipulated Smith's story, a common practice among editors of slave narratives. After four conferences and numerous scholarly papers, it is the conclusion of most scholars and the Documenting Venture Smith Project that the Narrative is entirely Venture Smith's own words. The work is titled "A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa: But Resident above Sixty Years in the United States of America."