Class b \^ia Book._J COPWIGHT DKPOSm \ ^ * vi PATRICK henry: "iF TUTS BE TREASON, MAKE THE MOST OF IT !" .«•./' The Beginner's History of Our Country BY HARRY F. ESTILL PRESIDENT SAM HOUSTON STATE NORMAL INSTITUTE, HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS; ASSOCIATE AUTHOR OF " THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY " DALLAS, TEXAS THE SOUTHERN PUBLISHING COMPANY 1912 £7 7? TO MY WIFE LOULIE SEXTON ESTILL THIS LITTLE BOOK IS DEDICATED Oipyright, I901, 1912 By .Harry ¥. Estill PREFACE • TJie Beginner's History of Our Country, as its title indicates, is designed to introduce the study of American history. The underlying idea throughout the book is adaptation to the nature and needs of the child. Some distinctive features of the plan may here be noted. In the first place, unlike some primary histories in com- mon use, this is not an abridgment of a larger history. To attempt, within the narrow limits of a primary text- book, to present all of the events of our national life that are commonly considered important from the adult's standpoint, would be to reduce the narrative to little more than a catalogue of names and dates. Moreover, some subjects embraced in our country's history are absolutely beyond the comprehension of an immature mind. To require the young pupil to memorize statements upon such subjects is nothing short of a pedagogical crime. On the other hand. The Beginner s History of Our Country is not a story book. It is not made up of dis- connected biographies of a few great Americans. Even in this early stage of his school life it is deemed important that the pupil gain a connected view — incomplete though it be — of his country's continuous life and progress. Accordingly, in the preparation of this book the author's purpose has been to present only such events as may be brought within the range of the child's com- IV PREFACE prehension and interest. The space allotted to the sub- jects selected is not apportioned according to adult ideas of historic importance. The sequence in the presenta- tion of topics is not always that of chronology. The biographical treatment is freely, but not exclusively, used; individual biography is subordinated to the biog- raphy of the Union. The aim has been to give the learner a connected view of the life of our country in some of its simpler aspects rather than a series of dis- connected views of the lives of great Americans. Loyalty to the memory of their fathers who fought for deathless principles, respect for honest differences of opinion and belief, admiration for noble character, in whatever section it has its home, are three elements of the earnest and hopeful patriotism which this little book is intended to arouse in the breasts of the children who study it. In the mechanical execution of the book, as in its au- thorship, the idea of adaptation to the pupil has been steadily kept in view. With large print, excellent paper, abundant and artistic illustrations, and helpful maps, the publishers have left nothing undone that would con- trilmte to the pleasure and l:)enefit of the learner. Note. — In the preparation of this work for the press the author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of his sister, Miss Jennie Estill. Contents :hapter page I. The Finding of America. 1. Christopher Cohimbus i 2. Discoveries of Columbus 7 3. The People Whom Columbus Found 17 4. Some Results of Columbus's Discoveries ..... 21 II. Making Homes in the New Land. Walter Raleigh 29 III. Virginia and Her Neighbors, 1. John Smith — Virginia 38 2. Virginia's Northern Neighbor — Maryland 54 3. Virginia's Twin Southern Neighbors — the Carolinas . . 59 4. Virginia's Youngest Neighbor — Georgia 63 IV. Massachusetts and Her Neighbors. 1. Myles Standish — Massachusetts ........ 71 2. The Little Neighbor of Massachusetts— Rhode Island . 81 3. Two Other Neighbors of Massachusetts — Connecticut and New Hampshire 82 4. King Philip's War 83 V. Pennsylvania and Her Neighbors. 1. William Penn — Pennsylvania 87 2. Pennsylvania's Little Neighbor — Delaware 94 3. Pennsylvania's Twin Neighbors — the Jerseys .... 94 4. Pennsylvania's Dutch Neighbor — New York .... 95 VI. The Rise of New France. 1. Cartier, the Explorer loi 2. Champlain, the Father of New France 104 3. The Founders of the Louisiana Territory La Salle 108 The Le Moyne Brothers 113 VII. A Picture of Life in the Colonies. 1. General View of the Colonies 123 2. Story of a New England Boy . 127 3. The Story of a Southern Boy 137 VIII. The French War and the Downfall of New France. Colonel George Washington 149 IX. War of the Revolution. General George Washington 161 V vi CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE X. Benjamin Franklin 178 XI. From the Alleghanies to the Mississippi. 1. Daniel Boone, Hunter and Pioneer 184 2. General George Rogers Clark 189 3. John Sevier, the State Builder 193 XII. The New Government Started. President George Washington 197 XIII. Thomas Jefferson. 1. About Jefferson's Life 205 2. From the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains .... 210 3. We Teach the Pirates of Africa a Lesson 215 XIV. Andrew Jackson. The War of 1812. The Purchase of Florida .... 217 XV. Three Great Inventions. 1. The Steamboat 225 2. The Railroad 230 3. The Telegraph 233 XVI. A Period of Peaceful Development. Three Great Statesmen 2yj XVII. Sam Houston. 1. Early Life of Houston 248 2. Texas and the Pacific Slope 252 XVIII. The Story of Two Kentucky Boys. 1. Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis 260 2. Early Life of Lincoln 261 3. Early Life of Davis 264 4. Formation of the Confederate States ...... 268 XIX. The War Between the States. 1. The Beginning of the War 275 2. West of the Alleghanies 278 3. The Defense of Richmond 280 4. After the Surrender 282 XX. Our Country Reunited 287 XXI. War with Spain. Our First Island Territory 293 XXII. Oklahoma, the Indian State 299 United States and its Possessions 306 List of the Presidents 308 Index " 309 The Beginner's History of Our Country CHAPTER I • The Finding of America Christopher Columbus 4^, Our Country Long Ago — A long, long time ago, long- before our great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers were born, this country of ours looked quite different' from the way it appears to us to-day. True, the same great rivers flowed down to the sea as now, the same hills and moun- tains lifted their heads above the valleys and plains; but there were no railroads and telegraph lines in that long-ago time ; there were no schools, no churches no c 11 u 1 c 11 c s , uu INDIAN WIGWAMS AND CANOE. 2 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY houses, no farms. Not a single white man lived in all this land. , There were some queer-looking red-skinned people here, whose clothes were made of the hides of animals, and who lived in huts, or wigwams, and roamed from one part of the country to another, hunting deer in the forest, or hufifalo on the prairies. W'ould you like to learn how the first white man found INDIAN BUFFALO HUNTERS. his way to this country; how other white men came, after the first bold sailor had shown the way ; how homes were made in the woods, fierce enemies were driven away, schools, churches, and towns built? Would you like to learn how our country grew from a few scattered farms and settlements along the seacoast to the greatest na- tion in the world? In the pages of this book this story THE FINDING OF AMERICA 3 will 1)e told. To begin with, let us see how the first white men came to our country. The Old Town of Genoa. — In the far-away land of Italy is an old town named Genoa, built on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. The streets of this town are nar- row and crooked, the houses are tall, with steep, pointed roofs, small windows, and balconies hanging over -the sidewalks. The people speak a ditTerent language from ours, so you could not understand them if you should hear them talk. The part of the sea that touches Genoa is so shut in by the land THE HOME OF COLUMBUS. Among the that it makes a fine harbor, w^iere ships are safe from storms. Here, every day, for hundreds of years, ships have been coming and going, loaded with freight for the merchants of Genoa Genoese boys of long ago who loved to spend their holi- days at the water's edge w^ere three brothers, Chris- topher, Diego, and Bartholomew Columbus. These boys took great delight in watching the busy sailors un- loading their strange cargoes of silks, spices, and jewels, and in listening to their stories of the distant lands they had visited. Christopher, the oldest of the boys, often declared to his younger brothers that he would one day be a sailor, and the captain of the finest of the ships. A Genoese Schoolboy — The father of Christopher Co- lumbus was a wool-comber, that is, a man who earned his living by combing wool so as to smooth and straighten it for the cloth-makers. Noticing Christopher's fondness THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY for the sea, he sent the boy to school, where he could study those subjects that would be of use to him as a sailor. The schools of that day were quite different from our schools. The art of printing had been known only a short time, and it is probable that Christopher Columbus had never seen a printed book. A few printed books might have been found in the libraries of the learned men of Genoa, but most books of that time were rolls of paper, on which the words were written with pen and ink. In the schools the pupils had no books, but learned what the teacher told them, sometimes writ- ing down or committing to memory what he said. Geography, astronomy, and nav- igation were the studies to which Christopher devoted most of his time, for as a sailor he would have to know each of these subjects. Geographies of That Day — Most teachers of geogra- phy in those times taught that the earth was flat, though there were a few learned men who believed that it was round. While a schoolboy, Christopher probably heard both of these beliefs expressed, but which was correct no one knew. Europe, Asia, and the northern part of Africa w^ere the only countries then known. No one could sav how far Africa extended toward the south, CHRISTOPHER COLL'MBUS. THE FINDING OF AMERICA 5 or Asia toward the east. North America, South Amer- ica, Austraha, and the Pacific Ocean had never been heard of, and so were not found on any maps. The Atlantic Ocean was called the ''Sea of Darkness," be- cause so little was known about it. The maps of the world Columbus learned to make were like the one on this page. The Schoolboy Becomes a Sailor — When Christo])her was fourteen years old his father took him from school. The boy did not like his father's trade of wool-combing, however, and to his great delight he was allowed to be- MAP OF THE WORLD STUDIED BY COLUMBUS. come a sailor. He soon learned all about sailing a ship, and was so apt, diligent, and skillful that in a few years he became captain of a vessel. On trading voyages, or fighting with the enemies of his country, Columbus visited the most important ports on the coast of the Medi- terranean Sea. He Makes His Home in Portugal — If you will find the country of Portugal on the map, and observe that it is situated on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, and also at 6 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY the entrance of the Mediterranean Sea, you will not be surprised that the people of Portugal have always been skillful sailors. When Columbus was a boy, the Portu- guese had begun to explore the coast of Africa, trying to find how far south it extended. Prince Henry of Por- tugal encouraged these voyages of discovery, and estab- lished a college where everything relating to navigation was taught by the most learned teachers of Europe. Portuguese sailors soon became famous for their daring and successful voyages. Columbus was always glad when his duty took him to Portugal, where he could hear of the latest discoveries, and perhaps learn something new about the art of navigation. One day, when at- tending church in the city of Lisbon, he saw a young lady sitting near him who was so beautiful that, try as hard as he might, he could not listen to the service for looking at her or thinking about her. This young lady was the daughter of a famous Italian sailor who was employed by the king of Portugal. Columbus contrived to meet the lady, and persuaded her to be his wife. After his marriage he made his home in Portugal, and, when not away on the sea, earned his living by making maps and charts. Were you ever far in the woods or on the wild prairie, out of sight of all signs of human beings? If so, tell how you came to be there, and what you saw. What can you say of the appearance of all this country before the first white people came ? Tell all you can about Genoa. Who was Christopher Columbus? His father? How did Christopher and his brothers spend their spare time? Tell of Christopher's school. What different views about the earth's shape did Christopher hear? What parts of the world were then known? (What parts of the world are THE FINDING OF AMERICA 7 unknown to-day?) At what age did Columbus have to stop school? What did he then do? Why were the Portuguese skillful sailors? What had the Portuguese done to advance geographical knowledge? How did Columbus come to make his home in Portugal ? DISCOVERIES OF COLUMBUS A Great Voyage Planned — Not many years before this time, a venturesome Italian traveler had passed over the mountains, valleys, and plains of western Asia, and had visited India, China, and Japan. This traveler, Marco THE KNOWN WORLD IN THE TIME OF COLUMBUS. Polo by name, returned to Europe with wonderful reports of the wealth of these distant lands. Rich merchants at once sent out trading- expeditions to get some of the silks, spices, and gums of India. The trade in these things would have been highly profitable if it had not been that part of the journey to India had to be made by land. In those days land transportation was slow, expensive, and dangerous, because goods had to be carried on the backs 8 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY of horses or camels throiioh countries infested by robbers. Therefore wealth and fame awaited the sailor who should find an all-water route to India. Portuguese sailors were trying to reach the coveted land by sailing around the southern end of Africa. Columbus began studying the problem, and kept thinking al^out it while drawing his maps or making his voyages. "If the earth is round, as I believe it is," said he, "why cannot I reach Asia by going west?" He concluded that a voyage westward across the untried waters of the Atlantic Ocean would bring him to the eastern shores of Asia, and he decided to make the attempt as soon as he could get the necessary ships and men. What People Thought of the Plan To the people of his time this bold plan of Columbus seemed almost as foolish and dangerous as a proposal to cross the ocean on a bicycle would seem to us to-day. Some said he was crazy and pitied him. Others made fun of him. They told him that if the earth were round, as he claimed, men on the other side would be walking with their heads downward, and that his ships would have to sail up-hill to return to Europe; that in mid-ocean the waves were boiling hot, and were the home of terrible sea monsters ready to swallow any ship daring enough to venture among them. Disappointments — Years passed by. One hot summer day two travelers, foot-sore and dust-stained, stopped for food and rest at the gate of a convent a few miles from the town of Palos, Spain. One of the strangers was a man of tall figure and thoughtful face, the other a boy about eight years of age. The travelers were Christopher THE FINDING OF AMERICA Columbus and his son, Diego. They were welcomed to the convent, and in answer to the questions of the kind priest, Columbus told his story. His young wife had died soon after the birth of his son. Endeavoring to carry out his plan of sailing westward to India, and find- ing himself too poor to hire ships and men for the voy- age, he had applied to the king of Portuga' for help. COLUMBUS AT Tl[l-: COURT OF SPAIN. The king listened to his plan, but declared his ideas foolish fancies. Columbus had then visited Spain, and asked King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to aid him in his plan. But the people of Spain were in the midst of a great war, and no one would listen to poor Columbus. Disappointed and almost heartbroken, he and his little son were leaving the country; hunger and weariness forced them to stop at the convent. 10 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY Help at Last — The prior, or director of the convent, was dee])!}' interested in the story of Cokimbus and de- termined to do his best to help him. He introduced Cokim1)iis to the rich shipowners of Palos, and, best of all, secured for him a meeting with the queen. To Queen Isabella Columbus showed his maps and charts, and explained his plan of reaching India by sailing west- ward. He begged her to aid him. The good queen was so impressed with the story that she declared she would pledge her jewels if necessary to provide ships for the voyage. By the aid of the queen and of two rich sea captains of Palos, three small ships were secured. But the troubles of Cokmibus were not yet over. His next difficulty was in getting sailors to manage his ships. No one had ever before dared to sail straight out toward the mid- dle of the Atlantic, and the boldest sailors were afraid to attempt it. After nuich delay a few sailors were induced bv promises of reward to join the expedition. To fill out the necessary number, some men had to be ar- rested and forced into service by the king's order. The Voyage. — A crowd of weeping wives, mothers, sisters, and friends came down to the shore to say good- bye to the daring sailors, ^\■hom they feared they would THE MAYFLOWER. THE FINDING OF AMERICA II never, see again. Leaving the harbor of Palos, Spain, CoKimbus with his three ships sailed southwest, and touched at the Canary Islands (see map). These is- lands then, as now, belonged to Spain, and were the farthest lands to the west then known. On leaving the Canaries, Columbus steered straight toward the setting sun. As the men saw the shores fade from view a feeling of dread came over them at the thought of the unknown dangers ahead. Many a sailor would have given everything he possessed to be safe back in the harbor at Palos. Columbus had no fears. Firm in his belief in the roundness of the earth, he felt certain of success. His cheerfulness and hopefulness calmed the fears of his men. Land Discovered. — As weeks passed by and no land was seen, the fears of the sailors returned. They talked of refusing to obey Columbus, and of taking charge of MAI' Ul" LULUMBUS'S ROUTE ON HIS GREAT VOYAGE. the ships themselves and sailing back home. Two months passed by, and at last signs of land began to ap- pear. Flocks of land birds flew over the ships, the breeze had an odor of flowers, a branch with berries on it floated 1)y. The sailors now remained awake all night, each 12 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY eager to get the reward promised to the one who should be the first to see land. A little before daylight one morning the firing of a gun on one of the ships an- nounced the joyful tidings that land had been seen. At once the ships stopped, and awaited the dawn. The Landing. — The morning sunlight revealed a beau- tiful island. Beyond its white sandy beach Columbus saw luxuriant grass, and tall palm trees surrounding a COLUMBUS CLAIMING THE LAND i'UU l-LRDIX \\U AND ISABELLA. sparkling lake. Strange, red-skinned people, their naked bodies painted in bright colors, came crowding to the shore, jabbering excitedly to each other, as they pointed to the pale-faced strangers and their white- winged ships. Dressed in his finest clothes, Columbus THE FINDING OF AMERICA 1 3 landed, and as he stepped upon the shore he kneeled down and returned thanks to God. Rising from his knees, he raised the flag of Spain, thus claiming the land for King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. This was Friday, October 12, 1492. Was It India? — Columbus was sure the new land was one of the islands which he had read lay just east of the coast of India. He was confident that the mainland of India was close at hand. His heart thrilled with joy and pride as he thought that now his years of persevering efifort, weary waiting, and bitter disappointment were at last crowned with glorious success. No more would people laugh at him and say he was crazy. His belief in the roundness of the earth had been proven, for he had done what many of the wisest men of his time had declared impossible — by sailing west he had discovered (as he believed) a water route to India. Filled with thankfulness to God, he named the island San Salvador, which in our language means Holy Saviour. We know now that this island, San Salvador, is one of the Ba- hama group lying southeast of Florida, and that to reach India, had there been no land in his way, Columbus would have had to sail more than twice as far as he had already gone. Before returning home Columbus discovered a number of other islands, among them Cuba and Hayti. These large islands he supposed to be the mainland of India, and accordingly the Spaniards called the group the West Indies, a name they have ever since borne. For the same reason the people who inhabited them were called Indians. Home Again — One of the three ships in which Colum- 14 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY bus sailed was wrecked off the coast of Hayti, Imt for- timatel}' all on board were saved. After a stormy voy- age the two remaining ships reached the harbor of Palos, whence they had set out just seven months and twelve days before. The news that Co- ^^g^L lumbus had returned quickly ^ ^^^H spread from house to house, and we may be sure there was great rejoicing in the little town of Palos. An eager, joyous crowd now hurried to the shore to greet their friends whom they had given up for lost. Tears of joy were shed, and there were looks of wonder at the strange men and birds and plants that Columbus brought back from the Western world. Instead of a poor wander- er, Columbus was now the "Great Admiral," and people who once laughed at him and his plans were anxious to show him honor. The king and queen welcomed him as if he had been a prince. Preparations were made at once to send out a large expedition to build a city and firmly establish the power of Spain in her new posses- sions. Other Voyages. Columbus Arrested — Columbus found no trouble in getting sailors to accompany him on his second voyage to the West. This time he discovered the island of Jamaica and numerous smaller islands. He NORTH AAlliRICAN INDIAN. THE FINDING OF AMERICA 15 founded a city in Hayti, which he named Isaheha, after the queen. Two other voyages wTre made l)y him, dur- ing- which he discovered the northern coast of South America (1498). The Spaniards who accompanied Columhus, however, were jealous of him because he was a native of a different country from them- selves. No doubt he made some mistakes in his government. Some disliked him for this rea- son, others hated him because he forced them to obey his orders. So his enemies began to send word to the king that Columbus was guilty of unjust and wicked acts. He returned to Spain and proved his innocence of the charo-es agfainst him. But the . , 1 r 11 OUEEN ISABELLA. Stones were repeated, and hnally the great admiral was arrested and sent back in chains. As soon as Queen Isabella saw him, however, she was so moved with pity that she burst into tears, and ordered him to be released. Troubles in His Old Age — On his return from his fourth voyage Columbus found his good friend, Queen Isabella, dying. He himself was now a feeble old man of nearly seventy. King Ferdinand treated him with coldness. The people who had crowded around him to shout his praises on his return from his first voyage now hardly spoke to him as he passed. Homeless and friend- less, he wrote to his son, "Oftentimes I have not the 1 6 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY money to pay for a meal or a bed." A few months later death rehcvcd him of his troiil:)lcs. He died beheving that he had chscovercd the eastern shores of Asia. Burying Places of Columbus.— The body of Columbus was first buried in Spain. Afterward, according to a wish he expressed before his death, his remains were removed to Hayti. Many years later, when Hayti was given to France, Spanish officers took what they sup- posed were the bones of Columbus to Cuba, and buried them at Havana. (By mistake, it may have been the bones of Columbus's son, Diego, that were removed.) After our Spanish War, when Spain had to give up Cuba, the supposed remains of Columbus were again re- moved. This time they were taken back to Spain and placed in the cathedral of Seville. Success Through Failure — Wt know that he had failed in the great purpose of his life, yet Columbus did what was of far more benefit to mankind than the most com- plete success of his plan would have been. The discov- ery of the great con- tinent on which we LAND DISCOVERED BY COLUMLUS hyC WaS OUt of tllC most important events in the history of the world. Four hundred years have passed since his great deed was done, yet to-day the name of Columbus is known and honored all over the world. Tell about Marco Polo and his travels. What was the effect of the accounts he gave of India? What plan did Columbus form? What THE FINDING OF AMERICA 17 did people think of his plan? Tell about the two travelers who stopped at the convent gate. How did the prior of the convent help Columbus ? How were ships and sailors obtained ? Tell of the be- ginning of the voyage and the first stop ; the direction Columbus then took. What did the frightened sailors think of doing? Tell of the discovery of land. Describe the land and the people Columbus saw from his ship. Tell about his landing. What did Columbus believe the new land to be? What do we now know it to be? What other land did Columbus discover on this voyage ? Explain the names "San Salvador," "West Indies," and "Indians." Tell about the home- ward voyage of Columbus. How was he received by the people of Spain? By the king and queen? How many other voyages did he make? What lands did he discover? Why was he disliked? What harsh treatment did he suffer? How did Queen Isabella show her friendship? Tell about the troubles of his old age; his burying places. What purpose did he fail to accomplish ? What can you say of the importance of what he did accomplish? THE PEOPLE WHOM COLUMBUS FOUND America Not a New Land. — We niitst not forget that there were people hving in America long before Colum- bus touched these shores. The land was called "the new world" only because it was new to European eyes. To the people whom Columbus found here, the country was an old land — the home of their fathers and grandfathers through many generations past. The First Americans. — Thinking the newly discovered land to be India, Columbus called these first Americans Indians. In appearance they were different from any other people whom the white explorers had ever seen. Their skin was of a red or copper color, they had high cheek bones and long, straight hair. The men had no beard. The clothing of the Indians was scanty, and was made from the tanned skins of wild animals. Their feet were protected by soft shoes called moccasins. Their 1 8 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY bodies were straight, their movements active and grace- ful. Their Homes — Their houses were crude log buildings , or tents (called wigwams), made of skins or bark stretched over poles. They owned no land separately. Certain regions were claimed as the hunting grounds of the tribe. A family would cultivate a piece of land one year and might the next year abandon it for a more favorable location ; the land was so abundant that owner- ship was not necessary. They had no churches, schools or shops, no horses or cattle. They supported them- selves by hunting, fishing, and by a rude form of garden- ing or farming. Corn and potatoes, two of the most valuable food crops of the world to-day, were first cul- tivated by the Indians. Beans, peas, pumpkins and melons were also developed by them from wild plants, and tobacco is an Indian plant. The cultivation of the soil and most of the hard work of the home was (lone by the women. Indian Education Al- though the Indians had no INDIAN GIRL GRINDING CORN, s c h o o 1 s their children learned many things not found in books. The girls learned to crush grains of corn by pounding or rub- bing them with stones; then to make the meal into bread which was baked as "hoe-cakes" in the ashes THE FINDING OF AMERICA 19 or upon hot rocks; they learned to dress and cook the fish, and the buffalo, deer, birds and other game brought home by men and boys. The boys learned how to make canoes — light boats made of bark or hollowed logs — and paddle them skillfully through the dangerous rapids. They learned how to make bows and arrows and to shoot the arrows with unerring aim. They learned some lessons that every boy and girl who reads this book should learn: one was to bear pain without a murmur; another was to. make good use of their eyes and ears in observing the trees, plants, birds, animals and all other objects of nature around them. The poet Longfellow, writing of the Indian boy, Hiawatha, tells us : Then the little Hiawatha Learned of every bird its language, Learned their names and all their secrets, How they built their nests in summer, Where they hid themselves in winter. Of all the beasts he learned their language, Learned their names and all their secrets, How the beavers built their lodges, Where the squirrels hid their acorns. How the reindeer ran so swiftly, Why the rabbit was so timid. Talked with them whene'er he met them, Called them "Hiawatha's brothers." Indian Wars — The Indians greeted the first Euro- pean explorers with kindness. They thought the pale- faced strangers were messengers from the gods. But the white settlers were not always careful of the Indians' rights. Each explorer, following the example of Co- lumbus, proceeded to claim for his king the region which 20 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY he had discovered, forgetting that the land had been the home of the Indians for hundreds of years. Soon the Indians came to view the whites with suspicion and the whites learned to look upon the Indians with hatred. On both sides cruel deeds were done. In many parts of the country there were long and bloody wars. The Indians fought with bows and arrows, tomahawks (stone hatchets) and scalping knives. In later years they used guns which they bought from white traders. These Indian wars cost many precious lives, and re- tarded the growth of the white settlements. Some Famous Indians — Among the Indians of early American history were several whose names have be- come famous. Some of these were chiefs noted for their wise control of their tribes in time of peace or their skillful leadership in time of war. Other Indians are remembered for the great help they gave to the white settlers. Some of the famous Indians you will read about in this book are Powhatan and Pocahontas in Virginia, Tomochichi in Georgia, Massasoit and King Philip in Massachusetts, and Sequoyah in Tennessee and Oklahoma. You may turn to the pages that tell al)out these Indians (see index at the back of the book) and read the paragraphs referring to them. The Indians To-day. — The first white settlers who came to this country occupied the land along the At- lantic coast. They cut down trees, built fences, planted crops, made homes. As the Europeans came in in- creasing numbers, the Indians were gradually driven westward before the advancing line of white settlements. While the number of whites increased the number of THE FINDING OF AMERICA 21 red men grew smaller. Wars among themselves, as well as with the settlers, cut them down by hundreds. Diseases like smallpox were often more fatal than wars. There are now within the limits of the United States about two hundred and fifty thousand Indians — only half as many, it is thought, as were here in the days of Columbus. Most Indians are found scattered through states west of the Mississippi River. For years many tribes were supported by the United States Government ; but that is no longer the case ; indeed, many hundreds of them have become educated, patriotic, self- supporting citizens of our common country. In almost every department of our national government, from the United States Senate down, Indian brains are perform- ing their share of national duties. SOME RESULTS OF COLUMP.US'S DISCOVERIES The Mainland First Discovered The news of the dis- coveries of Columbus soon spread from Spain to other countries. Now that the brave Columbus had shown the way across the terrible ocean many other sailors were eager to sail toward the west in the hope of either finding the gold fields of India or of discovering some new land. While Columbus was preparing for his third voyage, John Cabot — an Italian sailor living in England — ^^was studying maps and tracing on them the route Co- lumbus was reported to have taken. He came to the conclusion that he could find a shorter route to India than Columbus had found. Accordingly he obtained permission from King Henry the Seventh, of England, to make the attempt. Some English merchants furnished 22 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY him with one smah ship and eighteen men, in return for which he agreed to share with them the gold and spices he expected to find. Taking a more northerly course than Columbus had taken, he reached the icy and bar- ren shores of what is now called Labrador (1497). This was a year before Columbus discovered the main- land of South America, so to Cabot belongs the honor of being the first to reach the continent. The next year, John Cabot's son, Sebastian, set sail with a larger expe- dition, and explored the coast of the continent from Labrador to the great bay since named Chesapeake. The Cabots claimed for England the land they had dis- covered. Like Columbus, they thought they had reached Asia. As they did not find the riches of In- dia, the English for a long time took no further interest in western voyages. The Coming of the French — \Mien the Cabots re- turned from their voyages they reported that the waters off the northern shores they had visited fairly swarmed with fish, so that at times their ships were delayed by them. To the hardy fishermen of northern France good fishing grounds were more attractive than gold mines or spice fields. So they at once steered their little fishing boats toward the wonderful fish-swarming waters. In a few years the banks of Newfoundland were frequented by French fishing vessels, and a profitable fur trade be- tween the fishermen and the Indians sprang up. In this way the claim of the French to this part of America began. The Naming of the Continent. — Columbus called the islands which he first discovered the West Indies, and for THE FINDING OF AMERICA 23 a long time the continent was known as Asia or India, When the people of Europe at last found out that the new land was a separate continent, and not a part of Asia, a new name had to be chosen for it. Americus Vespucius was an Italian sailor who accompanied Columbus on some of his voyages, and was afterward employed by the king of Portugal. Americus, while sailing in a Por- tuguese ship, explored the coast of what is now Brazil far enough southward to prove that this land was not a part of Asia. When he returned to Europe he pub- lished an account of the country he had visited, declar- ing it to be a new continent. This was the first printed description of the newly discovered lands. It was widely read and made Americus famous. A German profes- sor, after reading Americus's book, wrote a geography, in which he suggested that the new continent discovered by Americus be called America in his honor. Soon afterward, on the rude maps of that time, the name, America, appeared on what we now call South America, North America being still considered a part of Asia. When finally the northern continent was found to be joined to its southern neighbor, and equally as separate from Asia, the name America was given to both. The "Land of Flowers" Discovered The Indians who lived on the West India Islands believed that some- where in the lands west of them was a spring that pos- sessed the magic power of making forever young any one who should bathe in its waters. Among the Span- ish settlers who heard and believed this story was a rich old man named Ponce de Leon, who had once been governor of Porto Rico, and who still made his home on 24 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY that island. De Leon was unhappy because he was growing old and feeble, and he often longed for the strength of his youthful days. At his own expense he fitted out two ships to go in search of the wonderful DE LEON ON THE FLORIDA COAST. fountain the Indians talked about. After visiting several small islands, his ships one day arrived at the coast of the most beautiful land that De Leon had ever seen (1513). To the wondering Spaniards it looked like a great flower garden, with its blossoming THE FINDING OF AMERICA 25 trees and flowering plants, over which luxuriant vines gracefully twined themselves, while the air was filled with the music of song birds and the fragrance of flowers. A land of perpetual youth, indeed, it seemed to be! De Leon and his men disembarked, and began their search for the fabled fountain. Many lovely springs they found, into whose waters the old man eagerly plunged; but every bath left him still wrinkled and gray as before. In despair he at last returned to his ships and sailed away. De Leon named this beau- tiful land Florida, partly because he had discovered it on Easter Sunday — which is "Pascua Florida" in Span- ish — and partly because it was indeed a land of flowers. The king of Spain appointed him governor of Florida, and he returned with a number of ships to take posses- sion of the country. The Indians attacked his men, and De Leon was wounded by a poisoned arrow. Thus the old man received his death wound in the beautiful land of flowers where he had hoped to find immortal youth. His discovery of Florida, however, gave his country- men, the Spaniards, a claim to this part of the mainland of North America. De Soto's Search for Gold — About twenty years after the death of Ponce de Leon another company of Span- iards landed on the coast of Florida. Their leader was Ferdinand de Soto. His purpose was to search for and seize the great stores of gold which he believed were to be found in some great Indian city in the west. With his army of six hundred men De Soto left his ships and plunged into the forests toward the northwest. His fol- lowers treated the Indians most cruelly, binding their 26 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY necks with iron collars and their hands with chains. For months the Spaniards w^andered onward, passing many IncHan villages. But the rich city of which De Soto dreamed was as hard to find as De Leon's fountain of youth. The Great River. Death of De Soto. — At last (1541) they came to a mighty river, the largest stream their eyes had ever beheld. Mississippi, or Great River, the ^KK^'*'' WIKi-ff^ 4' B4 ^ ■Pr^ /' K i « Km "** "■ ^^2l ****-*" ^^^1 1 1 L^i 1 1 H 1 Dli SOTO REACHES THE MISSISSH'I'I RIVER. Indians called it. "Great River," indeed, it seemed to the Spaniards, for a mile of rushing water separated them from the opposite bank. They made some rafts and crossed the river. But now De Soto was taken with fever and died. His followers knew that the In- dians feared their fierce leader, and they determined not to let his death be known. So they carried his body by night in a boat to the middle of the river and buried THE FINDING OF AMERICA 27 it in the water. The death of De Soto completely dis- couraged his men. They beat the iron chains of their captives into nails and made some rafts. Then they floated down the Mississippi, and at last reached a Span- ish settlement on the Gulf of Mexico. Half of their brave company had perished in their five years' wander- ings. The First Voyage Around the World When Euro- pean sailors realized that the western land was not a part of Asia, they set to work to seek a passage for their ships through the midst of it or around it, hop- ing to carry out the plan of Columbus to find a western water route to India. Ferdinand ^Magellan, a native of Portugal, started from Spain, and crossing the Atlantic, passed around the southern extremity of South America. He called the great ocean upon which he then found himself the Pacific (peaceful), because its waters seemed so calm after the stormy Atlantic. He crossed this great ocean and reached the Philippine Islands. Land- ing here, Magellan was killed in a battle with the natives. His men continued the voyage, sailed through the In- dian Ocean, around the southern end of Africa, and northward to Spain. It took just three years and twenty-eight days to make this first voyage around the world. The shape of the earth was now settled beyond a doubt (1522). Three Nations of Europe Claim North America It was Columbus's successful voyage across the Atlantic that led to the discoveries of John Cabot and of others about whom we have been studying. If Columbus had lived fourteen years longer than he did, he would have 28 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY learned from the reports of Americus Vespucius that South America is not a part of Asia, and he would have heard with delight that Magellan's sailors had proved the truth of his belief in the roundness of the earth. By this time, too, he would have seen that three Euro- pean nations had begun to claim the northern continent. Spain claimed the southern part, including the West In- dia Islands and Florida; France, the region around the Gulf of St. Lawrence; England, the part of the con- tinent north of Florida, including France's claim. Tell about John Cabot and his plan. His voyage and discovery. Of the voyage of Sebastian Cabot. For what nation did the Cabots claim the land? How did the English regard it? Tell about the coming of the first Frenchman to America. Tell of Americus Ves- pucius and his voyages. How was his name given to the continent ? Tell the story of Ponce de Leon. Tell of De Soto's wanderings and death. What became of his men? Tell about the first voyage around the world. What two geographical questions that had puzzled Co- lumbus were settled soon after his death ? What European nations began to claim North America? What parts of the continent did they claim? CHAPTER II Making Homes in the New Land Walter Raleigh The Search for Gold — The first Europeans who came to America expected to find the gold of India, but Amer- ica was found to be a great continent blocking the way to India. Everybody then believed that this new land was full of gold, if he only knew where to look for it. So in a search for gold ad- venturers from Europe wan- dered through our pathless forests and over our great plains, climbed mountains and waded rivers. Some perished of hunger or died of fever, yet the survivors continued the mad, uncertain search. It seems strange to us that it took the men of that time so long to see that the New World offered surer ways of earning a living, and even of getting rich, than by hunt- ing for gold. There were the great trees of the forests, of which houses could be built; there was the rich soil, ready to reward the plowman's toil with bountiful crops ; there were the swift-running streams, ready to turn the 29 WALTER RALEIGH. 30 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY wheels of machinery for mills and factories. For a long" time, however, the idea that America was a great gold field completely filled people's minds. No rich man was willing to advance the money needed to transport farmers and mechanics to this country, and to furnish them with tools for the slow work of raising crops and btiilding homes. How the first English homes came to RALEIGH THROWING HIS CLOAK BEFORE THE QUEEN. be made in this country, and something of the troubles that befell them, our story will now tell. An Act of Politeness, and What Came of It — Queen Elizabeth of England was a granddaughter of the King Henry who had given permission to John Cabot to sail to the western lands. Queen Elizabeth came to the throne while a young woman, and during her long reign proved to be one of the wisest rulers England ever had. MAKING HOMES IN THE NEW LAND 3 1 One day when the queen and several line ladies of her court were out for a walk they came to a muddy place in the path. It happened that at this moment a young man wearing a handsome red velvet cloak was passing. He saw the queen looking anxiously around, uncer- tain where to step. Springing forward, he threw his beautiful cloak on the ground before her, thus enabling her majesty to continue her walk without danger of soil- ing her royal shoes. This act of politeness so pleased the queen that she invited Walter Raleigh (for this was the young man's name) to her court, and became his firm friend. Raleigh's Plan, and How the Queen Helped Him Walter Raleigh was not only a polite and handsome courtier, but he was one of the most learned and thought- ful men of his time. Nearly a hundred years had passed since the Cabots had discovered the mainland of North America and claimed it for England ; yet in all this time Englishmen had thought little about the new land, and had made no effort to occupy it. Raleigh believed that his countrymen should take possession of the region which they claimed. Accordingly he asked permission of the queen to establish a settlement, or colony, upon any land in America not already occupied by any Chris- tian nation. Queen Elizabeth readily favored the plan of her gallant friend, and gave him a charter, or written permit, to govern the colony he should establish. Searching for a Place for a Colony. — At his own ex- pense Raleigh fitted out two ships with which to visit America and find a suitable place for a colony. He wished to accompany the expedition himself, but the 32 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY queen was unwilling- for her- friend to risk his life in dangerous sea fights, so he remained at home. His ships reached what is now the eastern coast of North Carolina. The men were delighted with the new land. They found grapes in abundance, "sweet-smelling timber trees," beautiful song birds, and ''gentle, loving, and faithful" natives. They spent some time trading with the Indians, but did not try to make a settlement. They returned to England carrying with them a cargo of furs and wood (1584). Raleig-h's First Settlement. — Queen Elizabeth was much pleased with the accounts given by Raleigh's sailors of the land they had visited, which they de- clared to be the "most plentiful, sweet, fruitful, and wholesome of all the world." The country was called Virginia, in honor of Elizabeth, the virgin, or unmarried, queen. With the aid of the queen Raleigh fitted out a larger expedition consisting this time of seven ships and over one hundred colonists. They landed on an island now known as Roanoke Island, not far from the one visited by Raleigh's ships the year be- fore, and made a settlement there (1585). Instead of setting to work to supply themselves with food by culti- vating the soil, the colonists wandered over the country WHERE RALEIGH S SETTLEMENT WAS MADE. MAKING HOMES IN THE NEW LAND 33 searching for pearls and gold, which they never found. They treated the Indians harshly, and the red men, who at first had been friendly, refused to supply them with food, and even threatened to attack the settlement. Working but little, the colonists devoted their idle mo- ments to thinking and talking over their troubles. Of course they grew homesick. A fleet of ships stopped there on its way to England, and the colonists begged so earnestly to be taken aboard that the sailors could not re- fuse, and all of them were taken home. Raleigh's Last Attempt — But Raleigh was not dis- couraged. The year after the return of his colonists he sent out another company under Governor White. They occupied the deserted houses on Roanoke Island. In one of these log cabins was born a little baby girl, the first child born of English parents in America. She was the granddaughter of Governor White, and was named Virginia Dare. A short time after the baby was born her grandfather, the governor, had to go back to England for needed supplies. He found the people of England in the midst of a war with Spain, and he was unable to return to his colony for three years. When he returned to Roanoke he could find no trace of his little granddaughter nor her parents, nor any of the other colonists. What became of them? Had they all been killed by the Indians; or had they been taken prisoners by the savages and carried away to live among them; or had they wandered away from the settlement and been lost and starved to death in the dense woods; or had they been drowned while attempting, in rude boats of their own making, to return to England? To this SIR WALTER RALEIGH ORDERING THE STANDARD OF QUEEN ELIZA- BETH TO BE ERECTED ON THE COAST OF VIRGINIA. MAKING HOMES IN THE NEW LAND 35 day no one knows what became of little Virginia Dare and her parents, and probably no one will ever know. Raleigh would have been glad to send out another com- pany of colonists, but he had spent so much money in hiring ships and buying supplies for his settlers that he could not afford to make another attempt. Some Things Raleigh's Colonists Took Back to Eng- land. — The settlers on Roanoke Island had noticed the Indians rolling up the broad leaves of a weed and smok- ing them, and they were told by the red men that it would keep them from get- ting hungry and tired. The white men tried it and were so well pleased that they brought some of the leaves home and gave them to Ra- leigh. Raleigh distributed them among his friends. The queen smoked some of them, and soon tobacco smoking became popular in England. They also brought home a root called by the Indians "botah," which was good to eat when boiled or baked. Raleigh had some of these "botah roots" planted on his land in Ireland. His neighbors liked them so well that before long nearly every farm in Ireland raised a crop, and the root be- came known to the people of Europe as the Irish potato. Last Days of Raleigh.— At this time Spanish ships TOBACCO PLANT. 36 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY brought to Spain each year many cargoes of gold from Mexico and South America. Raleigh caught the "gold fever," and fitted out some ships that visited the north- ern coast of South America. Raleigh himself led the expedition, but he found no gold. Now troubles came thick upon him. His good friend, Queen Elizabeth, died; the new king, James I, did not like Raleigh, because he thought Raleigh had tried to prevent him from be- coming king. So he took away Sir Walter's offices, and finally put him in prison. He was tried for treason, or plotting against the king, and was sentenced to death. For twelve years, however, he was kept in prison, and he occupied his time during those dreary years writing a great book called The History of tJie World. The king released him from prison that he might make an- other voyage to South America in search of gold. Raleigh knew that if he should bring back a rich trea- sure for the king he would no doubt be freed from the unjust sentence of death that had been passed upon him, and that if he failed he would probably have to die. But the Spaniards seemed to be the only ones who were able to find gold. Raleigh's only son, young Walter, who accompanied him, was killed in a battle with the Span- iards in South America. Brokenhearted, the old man sailed back to England, where he was at once thrown into prison again, and soon afterward put to death. What We Owe to Raleigh — Raleigh's attempts to find gold in South America were miserable failures, and brousfht no o-ood to him or to his countrvmen. His at- tempts to establish a colony in his land of Virginia, though disappointments to him, were the beginning of MAKING HOMES IN THE NEW LAND 37 the English occupation of North America. He was the first Enghshman who tried to induce his people to make homes in the New World, where they should be allowed just laws and the same rights they had enjoyed at home. While he failed to carry out his great plan himself, yet he set the people to thinking and talking about it, so that before he died his idea was carried out by other Englishmen, and the fair land of Virginia was occupied by English settlers. So Walter Raleigh's efforts to establish a colony in Virginia, like Columbus's efforts to fintl a western route to Asia, resulted in great good to those who lived after him. In later years the people of North Carolina named the capital city of their State, Raleigh, in honor of the man who had started the idea of English colonies in America. Tell about the search for gold in America. How did this delay the settlement of the country? Who was Queen Elizabeth? Tell about Walter Raleigh's act of politeness. W^ho first claimed North America for England? What was Raleigh's plan? What did Queen Elizabeth think of it? For what purpose did Raleigh's ships first sail to Amer- ica? Tell about the land visited. What name was given to it? Tell of Raleigh's second expedition. What caused the failure of this settlement? Tell about Raleigh's last attempt to make a settlement. (What do you suppose became of the settlers?) How were tobacco and the potato introduced into England? What troubles befell Ra- leigh in his old age? (What two queens helped in the discovery and exploration of America ? Compare the last days of Columbus and Raleigh.) What good resulted from Raleigh's failures? What place is named for him? CHAPTER III Virginia and Her Neighbors John Smith — Virginia john smith helps to found a colony A Successor to Raleigh Appears. — \\'altcr Raleigh sent live expeditions to look for his lost colony. But ^_ they searched the Virginia woods in vain for traces of little \^irginia Dare and her people. Raleigh himself was now in prison, and it looked as if his hopeful saying that he ''would yet live to see Virginia an Eng- lish nation" W'Ould never come true. About this time, how- ever, there appeared in Eng- land, after a long absence on the continent of Europe, a young soldier who was destined a few years later to carry out Raleigh's plan. His Life of Adventure. — This young man. twenty-five years old, bore the name of John Smith. His mother died when he was an infant. As soon as he was old enough to leave home little John was sent to a boarding school. But he was too restless and mischievous to be 38 CAPTAIN JOIIN SMITH. VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 39 a good pnpil. He was planning to run away and be- come a sailor when the death of his father put an end to his school days. John w^as then set to work as a clerk in a store. But the life of a clerk was as distasteful to his restless spirit as the restraints of school had been. He left his native land, and became a soldier in wars against the Turks. We are told that once, while the opposing armies looked on, he overcame three Turks in single combat, and, like David, cut off their heads and carried them to his tent. He was taken prisoner and made to work as a slave with a great iron ring riveted about his neck; but he killed his cruel master and es- caped. He returned to England at a time when peopk were still talking about Raleigh's lost colony. America Attracts Him — At the taverns, or hotels, which Captain Smith visited he met many other travel- ers, some of whom had just returned from the shores of America, and had many stories to tell of what they had seen in the New World. One of these American voy- agers was a man named Gosnold, an experienced sea captain, who had visited the northern shores of Vir- ginia. Gosnold told Smith so much of the beauty and fertility of the western land that Smith was eager to visit it. So the two (Gosnold and Smith) decided to collect the vessels, men, and equipment necessary to cross the ocean, and establish a settlement. Some rich mer- chants of the cities of London and Plymouth were per- suaded to form trading companies. Two were formed ; one was called the London Company, the other the Ply- mouth Company, and these companies agreed to furnish the money for the undertaking in return for a share in 40 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY the profits that were expected from the trade of the pro- posed settlement. He Sails to Virginia. — One beautiful spring morning, not long after these events, three ships came in sight of the American coast, and entered the waters of a great bay that opens into the Atlantic, some distance north of the place where Raleigh's men had made their unlucky settlement twenty years before. These ships, as you may have guessed, bore Captain John Smith and Captain Gosnold. With them were a hundred men sent out by the London Company to establish a settlement in Raleigh's land of Vir- ginia. They coasted along the shores of this bay until they came to the mouth of a large river. (Find on map the name of this bay). Sailing up the stream, they finally anchored their ships close to a little peninsula on the north bank of the river. Here they landed, unloaded their stores of provisions, tools, and other supplies, and set to work. Some put up tents; other cut down trees with which to build a fort to protect them from the In- dians. They named this settlement Jamestown, in honor of King James I, at that time king of England. The river they called King's River, or James River. This was in the year 1607. The' Captain in Trouble — When the company landed, among their number was one man held as prisoner by his companions. Strange to say, this prisoner was none SETTLEMENTS IN VIRGINIA. VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 4I Other than Captain John Smith, despite the fact that the London Company had appointed him one of the five men who were to govern the colony. Soon after the voyage began he had been arrested on the charge of planning to make himself king of Virginia. No doubt the other leaders were jealous of him, and no doubt, too. Smith had increased their jealousy by talking too much and too boastfully of his past adventures. On reaching Virginia his enemies wanted to get rid of him by sending him back to England. Smith demanded a trial, and a jury of twelve of his fellow-colonists declared him innocent and set him free. Moreover, they sentenced his principal ac- cusers to pay the worthy captain a fine of $1,000 for their unjust treatment of him. Working- and Praying — A Good Beginning The log fort was soon completed, and then the men set to work on their own cabins, many of them sleeping meanwhile in the open air under the trees in the pleasant May weather. They next began to clear the land, and prepare the soil for a corn crop. Each morning and evening they as- sembled in a rude tent which served as a church, and here, with a board nailed between two trees as his pulpit, the minister read the service of the Episcopal Church. Twice every Sunday they had preaching. In a short time a church building of logs took the place of the tent. Hot Weather Brings Sickness.— But troubles soon came thick and fast. The river bank where the settlement was made was low and marshy, and during the hot sum- mer days the colonists were stricken with fever. Our fever medicine, quinine, which comes from the bark of a 42 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY South American tree, was not at that time known. One- half of the colonists died. Smith himself became ill, but he continued to nurse the sick, help bury the dead, and cheer the living. At last autumn came with its cool winds driving away the malaria and bringing back health and strength. Idleness Brings Hunger. — The supply of food brought by the colonists from England soon gave out. If all- the men had worked diligently cultivating the soil they would still have had an abundance to eat. But a large number of the settlers were not used to work at home, and they could not be induced to work here. Farming was too difficult and too slow to suit these idlers. They wanted to get rich quickly without work. So they spent most of their time wandering about looking for gold. Captain Smith and some of the others set an example of hard work, but in spite of their labor there was not food enough for all, and soon the colony was threatened with starvation. What efforts did Raleigh make to find his lost colony? What young- adventurer returned to England about this time? Tell about the boyhood of John Smith. What can you say of his life as a soldier? How did he become interested in America? What plan did Smith and Gosnold form? How were they enabled to carry out their plan? Tell about the voyage of the colonists and the beginning of their settlement. What trouble did Captain Smith get into while on his voyage to America? How did he get the best of his enemies? Tell about the daily occupations of the first colonists. What mis- fortune happened to them the first summer? Why were there so many idlers? What was the result of the idleness? MRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 43 JOHN SMITH SAVES VIRGINIA Captain Smith Makes a Corn Trade. — But John Smith was not wilhng- to starve. He led a force of men mto the Indian country to get a supply of corn from the savages. When the Indians refused to sell their grain Smith at- tacked them, and put them to flight. He captured their village, where he found plenty of corn. The Indians had all run awa}^ but by the ofl^er of beads and hatchets Smith induced six of them to return and load his boat They were so surprised by the boldness of the captain and so pleased with the beads and hatchets that they all came from their hiding places. Then they brought not only corn, but venison and turkey and whatever other food they had, singing and dancing in sign of friendship. The Captain Explores the Country, and Gets Stuck in the Mud. — A\'ith plenty of corn 'to supply their present needs, and w^ith an abundance of wild fowl brought by the cold weather, the spirits of the colonists rose, and for a time they forgot their troubles. Captain Smith now began to explore the Chesapeake Bay and the rivers flow- ing into it. One day he and several companions sailed up the Chickahominy River, looking for the Pacific Ocean. They thought America was a narrow strip of land, and never dreamed that it was as wide as the ocean w^hich separated them from England. Smith anchored his boat in the river, and with an Indian guide went into the woods to shoot some game for dinner. Suddenly he found himself surrounded by Indians whose dreadful yells were almost enough to make the stout-hearted cap- tain tremble. He determined to make a brave fight, 44 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY however, and, holding- his Indian guide as a shield be- tween him and his enemies, he began backing toward the river where he had left his companions. An arrow struck him in the leg. Smith then fired his gun into the crowd, and one of the Indians fell to the ground. The rest fled, but soon returned, fiercer than before. As the captain continued to step backward he suddenly slipped up to his waist into a boggy creek, dragging his Indian guide with him. As he could not get out of the mud, and as he was growing numb with cold, he made signs that he would surrender. Caught at Last. — The Indians pulled their captive out of the bog and warmed him by the fire. Then they would have killed him, but he was smart enough to pre- sent the chief with his pocket compass. The quivering needle protected by its glass case aroused the wonder of the Indians, as they tried in vain to touch it with their fingers. Smith increased their wonder by writing a let- ter to his friends at Jamestown, asking them to send him certain things which he named. This letter was carried to the settlement by an Indian messenger, who soon re- turned with the articles Smith had asked for. The poor Indians were now overcome with amazement. "The white chief can make the dry leaf speak," they said. They were proud of their prisoner, and fed him so boun- tifully that the captain said afterward, "This plan of cramming me did sorely grieve me, for I surely thought they were about to fat me, in order to eat me." Saved by an Indian Girl. — Smith was led in triumph from one Indian village to another, until at length he was brought before the king of all the Indians in this region, VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 45 Powhatan by name. Powhatan, dressed in a robe made of raccoon skins, and with feathers in his hair, was seated on a raised platform in a long, arbor-like house. By his order Smith was condemned to die. Tying his hands, d'^j/^ic^rloinaiioixi^iiey^xhslife his tha.nkfullne/s \ e nd how he J 'ubie-rled Z.9 of their kinfS r^f.^/iifhiy POCAHONTAS SAVING CAPTAIN SMITH, they laid the captain's head upon a great rock, and a powerful Indian, with uplifted club, stood ready to beat out his brains. At this moment Pocahontas, the chief's daughter, a maiden of twelve or thirteen years, ran for- 46 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY ward and, bending- over the prisoner, look his head in her arms. Out of love for his daughter the old chief ordered the captive's life to be spared, and directed that he be put to work making bells, beads, and toys for little Pocahontas. The Captain Returns to Jamestown After several months of captivity King- Powhatan told Captain Smith he could return to Jamestown, but he must send back two cannons and a grindstone. Smith readily agreed to this. So he joyfully set out through the woods, accompanied by several guides who were to bring back the presents. To show them the power of a cannon, Smith, on reach- ing the settlement, ordered a shot hred into the ice-laden trees. At the roar of the cannon and the sight of the falling ice and broken branches the frightened savages took to their heels. When they returned they declared the cannons and grindstone w^ere too hea-vy to carry, and they accepted instead some beads and trinkets. Captain Smith Becomes Governor, and Makes Some New Laws. — The first rulers of Jamestown were unfit to govern the settlement. Two of them in succession were put out of office by the disgusted colonists. At last the settlers saw that their only hope was Captain Smith, so they made him take control of the colony. The captain ruled with a strong hand. He made a law that "he who will not work shall not eat," and men then began to work who had. never worked before. When the labor of swinging the ax blistered their tender hands they cursed so long and loud that ''at every third blow the echo was drowned by an oath." Smith ordered their oaths to be counted, and at night, when work w^as over, the VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 47 swearers were placed in line, and each was made to hold up his arms, while one can of cold water was poured down his sleeve for every oath he uttered during the day. This "cold-water cure" worked like a charm. All day long- the chips flew, with few wicked oaths to disturb the peaceful echoes. Captain Smith Leaves Virginia — Thus, time and again the sturdy arm and bold heart of Captain Smith saved the colony. But, although he kept them from starving, his enemies did not cease to hate him. Afraid to oppose him in Virginia, they carried to England false charges against him. A ship from England brought the report that he had been removed from office by the Lon- don Company. Smith refused to believe the story, and threw into prison those who resisted his authority. One day, however, when in a boat on the James River, a bag of gunpowder near him exploded, burning his flesh in a fearful manner. He jumped into the water and came near being drowned. Tortured by the pain of his wound and expecting every day to receive notice of his removal, his stout heart failed him at last. So he decided to leave his enemies to their triumph, and to go to England and have his wound treated. Last Days of the Bold Captain. — Captain Smith sailed away from \"irginia never to return. His wound healed, and he afterward visited America, exploring the coast of what is now New England, but not attempting to make a settlement. Later he again started to America, but his ship was captured by a French vessel, and the captain was taken prisoner to France. Escaping from his cap- tors, he returned to England, and spent his last days in 48 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY London writing histories of the Jamestown settlement and of his own exploits. This "first American ruler and waiter" lies l)uried in a London church, with his shield and three Turks' heads carved on his tombstone, and the inscription beneath : ''Here lies one conquered, that hath conquered kings." Tell about Captain Smith's corn trade. Tell of Smith's exploration of the country and his capture by the Indians. How did he keep the Indians from killing him? Why was the captain uneasy when they fed him so well ? Who was Pocahontas, and how did she savfe Cap- tain Smith's life? Tell about Smith's release and return to James- town. What kind of rulers did Jamestown have at first? Tell about Captain Smith's rule. How did Smith's enemies try to injure him? Why did he return to England ? What exploration did he afterward make ? Tell of his last days. VIRGINIA AFTER CAPTAIN SMITIl's DEPARTURE. Virginia Abandoned. — It was not long after Captain Smith sailed away from Virginia before even his worst enemies wished him back. The Indians no sooner heard that the unconquerable captain had gone than they began to attack and murder the settlers. The leaders of the colony quarreled among themselves as to who should rule. The food gave out again, and the Indians could not be induced to furnish a mouthful. Forced to live on roots and acorns and the flesh of horses, very many died of hunger. In this terrible "starving time" the colony was reduced from five hundred to sixty. In despair these weak, half-starved survivors decided to leave Jamestown forever. They buried their cannons, and all got aboard two small ships and started down the river, leaving Jamestown with its rows of log houses, its VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 49 church, storehouse, and fort all silent and deserted. The Jamestown settlement was about to end in failure, as had the colonies of Sir Walter Raleigh on the Carolina coast. Virg-inia Saved — But a great surprise was in store for the departing colonists. They were hardly out of sight of the abandoned settlement when they met three English ships coming up the river bearing Lord Delaware, the new "Governor and Captain-general" of Virginia, with several hundred colonists and a year's provisions. Joy- fully all returned to Jamestown. As soon as the new governor touched the shore he knelt down and thanked God that he had come in time to save Virginia. The buried cannons were dug up and mounted in the fort. Lord Delaware put everybody to work, and once more the Virginians seemed happy and prosperous. A Virginia Wedding — Pocahontas, the Indian girl who had saved Captain John Smith's life, continued to be a good friend of the whites. She often visited James- town, bringing baskets of corn and acting as peacemaker when war between her people and the settlers was threat- ened. One of the Englishmen, John Rolfe by name, fell in love with the sweet-tempered, graceful maiden. She agreed to marry him, and the consent of old father Pow- hatan and of the governor of the colony was obtained. The old chief, however, would not come to his daughter's marriage, but he sent an uncle and two brothers of Poca- hontas in his place. A crowd of colonists, doubtless, thronged the flower-decked church at Jamestown to see the wedding ceremony. A short time before her mar- riage Pocahontas had been received into the Church, and VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 51 the name Rebecca had been given her. She and her hus- l)and afterward visited England, where as "Lady Re- becca" she was kindly received by the king and queen. Here she met her old friend, John Smith, whom she had thought to be dead. She died before her return to Vir- ginia, leaving a little son, Thomas, who became a gentle- man of "note and fortune" in Virginia and the ancestor of some prominent families in the State. Tobacco and Slaves — The year before his marriage with Pocahontas, John Rolfe had planted a field with to- bacco. He raised a large crop, which he shipped to Eng- land and sold for a fine price. The Virginians saw they could make more money raising tobacco than in any other way. Every colonist who had a piece of land planted some tobacco. Woods were cleared, and new ground cultivated for this profitable crop. When, a few years later, a Dutch ship offered for sale at Jamestown twenty negro slaves, the colonists bought them to work their tolmcco plantations. Finding the negroes well suited to this kind of labor, the Virginians were willing to pay a good price for them, and afterward English ships and ships from the colony of Massachusetts brought large numbers of the Africans to Virginia and to other English colonies that by that time had been established. No More Homesickness and Idleness. — The same year that the first shipload of African slaves arrived at James- town another ship touched at the same wharf, laden with a cargo that brought more of real happiness and pros- perity to the colony than any shipload that arrived before or since. The great need of the first Virginians was wives to make happy homes. The first settlers were men 52 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OE OUR COUNTRY ^Ma and boys, and during the first ten years hardly any women came over. With no merry, romping children, no sweet-faced girls, no gentle, thoughtful wives and mothers in all the colony, it is no wonder the men were idle and quarrelsome; and when the fever came, without woman's tender nursing, no wonder so many of them died. The wise heads of the London Company at last found out what was the matter with their colony, and they induced sixty rosy-cheeked Eng- lish maidens to take pity on the lonesome Virginia bachelors, and to cross the ocean to >'-*=-""' cheer them up. RUINS OF JAMESTOWN. At Jauicstowu a crowd of men met the maidens at the wharf, and the courting began at once. As soon as a Virginian per- suaded a girl to accept him he paid the ship captain her fare from England, and they hurried away and were married. These marriages proved to be so happy that more young English women agreed to come to Virginia, and there were more marriages on their arrival. New settlements were made on the banks of the James and other Virginia rivers, and the colony became firmly es- tablished. The King's Governor Resisted. — Alany of the Govern- ors of Virginia, like John Smith and Lord Delaware, ruled wisely and well. Governor Berkeley, however, was one who treated the people badly. When a youn^ VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 53 planter named Nathaniel Bacon raised a company of men to defend their homes against the Indians Governor Berkeley ordered him to be arrested. Bacon then made war on the governor and chased him out of Jamestown and set fire to the place. Thus, in that olden time, the Virginians showed that they were not afraid to resist the king's officers when those officers trampled on their rights. Bacon died of fever in the midst of his success, and Governor Berkeley returned; but Jamestown was never rebuilt. Williamsburg, a new town on a higher and more healthful situation, became the capital of the colony. The Knights of the Golden Horseshoe. — Governor Spottswood, a later governor, had the adventurous spirit of Governor John Smith. He led a company of ex- plorers and hunters beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains into the beautiful valley of the Shenandoah. The horses of the party were shod — something unusual in those days — as a protection against the rocky mountain roads. On his return Governor Spottswood sent to London, and had made for each of his companions a small golden horse- shoe, which became the badge of the "Knights of the Golden Horseshoe." Another act of Governor Spotts- wood, of more importance than his expedition beyond the mountains, was his directing the establishment of the first iron furnace in America, thus turning the atten- tion of the Virginians to the production of iron, with which their mountains are filled. Virginia Becomes a Large and Powerful Colony One hundred and fifty years after the death of Captain John Smith the struggling settlement at Jamestown, which he 54 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY had so often saved from ruin, had become the powerful colony of Virginia. Virginians gradually moving west- ward had passed beyond, first, the Blue Ridge, then the Alleghanies, and had taken possession of what is now the State of Kentucky. Extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River, Virginia also claimed the region northwest as far as the Great Lakes. Twelve other Eng- lish colonies by this time had been established in North America, but Virginia was the largest and richest of them all. What troubles befell the Virginians after the departure of Smith? Tell of the coming of Lord Delaware; of the wedding of Pocahontas; of her life after her marriage. Tell about the beginning of tobacco planting in Virginia ; about the introduction of negro slaves ; about the coming of English maidens. Who was Nathaniel Bacon ? Tell of Bacon's warfare with Governor Berkeley; of Governor Spotts- wood's journey into the valley of Virginia; of the progress of the Virginia colony. Virginia's northern neighbor — Maryland Why the Colony was Founded. — When Jamestown had been settled about twenty-five years, and the Virginians had gotten bravely over their early troubles from hunger, sickness, and the Indians, and were beginning to get rich from their great tobacco plantations, a new colony was formed on their northern border. The founder of this new colony was Lord Baltimore, a Roman Catholic noble- man, who had held high office in England and had at one time been a member of the Virginia Company. The law of England in those days placed many hardships upon members of the Roman Catholic Church, among other things imposing a heavy fine upon those who refused to VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 55 attend the services of the Church of England. Lord Baltmiore wished to estabhsh a colony in America where his Roman Catholic brethren would be free to practice their religion without interference. The Grant of Land and the Name of the Colony. — King Charles I, who was a good friend of Lord Baltimore, eave him a tract of land north of the Potomac River, includ- ing the present States of Mary- land and Delaware, and part of Pennsylvania and West Vir- ginia. Like Virginia the new colony was named in honor of a queen. The wife of King- Charles was Henrietta Maria, a French lady, and a member of the Roman Catholic Church. Maria is the same as Mary in English, and the king called the land he had given to Lord Bal- timore Mary's land, or Maryland, in honor of the queen. Lord Baltimore Dies. His Son Carries Out His Plan. —Just as his grant was obtained Lord Baltimore died, liis eldest son, who now became Lord Baltimore, re- ceived the grant, and proceeded to carry out his father's plan. This son intended to cross the ocean with his first colonists, but he afterward decided he had better stay at home to keep his enemies from persuading the king to take back his American territory. About three hundred colonists, with the younger brother of the second Lord Baltimore as governor, sailed into the Chesapeake Bay GEORGE CALVERT, FIRST LORD BALTIMORE. 56 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY and up the Potomac River. "Never," wrote one of the colonists, "have I seen a larger or more beautiful river. The Thames seems a mere brook in comparison with it. Fine groves of trees appear, not choked with bushes, but growing far apart, so that you might easily drive a four- horse carriage through the midst of the trees." A Settlement Formed — Many Indians appeared on the bank of the river. They were struck with wonder at the size of the ships. The Indians made their boats, or canoes, of a single log hollowed out, and they wondered where the trees grew big enough to make so monstrous a canoe as that in which the white men sailed. When Governor Calvert landed to look for a place for a settlement the chief received him very kindly, in- vited him to stay all night, gave him his own bed to sleep on, and spent the next day in showing him the country. On the north bank of the Potomac was an Indian town which the owners agreed to sell to the whites in return for axes, hoes, and cloth. The Indians gave up one-half of the town at once, and promised to give up the other half as soon as their crops were gathered. The colonists named their settlement St. Mary's, in honor of the Vir- gin Mary (1634). Maryland Gets a Good Start. — The colonists had their hardships, but these hardships did not come at first, as had been the case at Jamestown. St. Mary's was situ- ated in a healthful place. The colonists had the cleared fields, which they had bought from the Indians, and huts SETTLEMENTS IN MARYLAND. VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 57 already built to protect them from the weather until more substantial homes could be made. The Indian men taught the settlers how to hunt deer, while the women showed them how to cook in the ashes a corn-meal cake which they called ''pone," and also how to make "ominie" (our hominy) out of corn parched, broken, and boiled. The Indians also treated their new friends to boiled and roasted oysters from the famous oyster beds of the Chesapeake. Troubles Come. — Lord Baltimore allowed no one in his colony to be disturbed on account of his religion, pro- vided be believed in Christ. Hence Protestants as well as Roman Catholics were among the settlers. After a while the Protestants outnumbered the Roman Catholics, and, sad to say, when they got control of the colony they passed laws that Roman Catholic worship should be pro- hibited in Maryland, that no Roman Catholic should vote or hold office, and that Lord Baltimore had no rights in the colony. There was fighting between the Protestant and Roman Catholic settlers. Finally the English gov- ernment restored Lord Baltimore to the rule of Mary- land, and freedom of worship was again established. Boundary Disputes — The Marylanders had disputes over the boundary of their colony with both their north- ern and their southern neighbors. The Virginians claimed that Maryland was included in their grant. A Virginia colonist who had some land in the territory granted to Lord Baltimore refused to pay taxes to the government of Maryland, and raised some troops to re- sist Lord Baltimore's officers. After considerable dis- turbance he was finally driven out. There was also a 58 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY dispute over the boundary between Maryland and her northern neighbor, Pennsylvania. Both these colonies finally agreed that two surveyors, Mason and Dixon, should establish the correct boundary. The line they fixed was marked at the end of every fifth mile by a stone with the coat of arms of William Penn on the north side and of Lord Baltimore on the south. In later years it happened that the States north of this line all ceased to hold slaves, while those south of the line continued to be slaveholding. The line then became famous as "Mason and Dixon's line." Continuing westward along the Ohio River, it marked the boundary between the ''free" and the "slave" States. Growth of Maryland. — The soil of Maryland is very much like that of Virginia. As in Virginia, tobacco be- came the chief crop of the people of Maryland, and negro slaves were used to cultivate it. After a while wheat was raised also. The wheat was ground into flour, and .v.'s? thousands of barrels of it were shipped to the other colonies and to England. For a long time St. Mary's was the cap- ital of the colony. Then the capital was moved to the town of Annapolis (named for Queen Anne of England), and St. Mary's, like James- town, was deserted. Nearly a hundred years after the founding of St. Mary's the town of Baltimore was laid out on the shore of the Chesapeake. It grew rapidly, and for many years has been the largest city south of Mason and Dixon's line. INDIAN I'EACE PITE. VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 59 Who was Lord Baltimore? Why did he wish to estabHsh a colony in America? What land was given to Baltimore for his colony? Ex- plain the name of the colony. Tell about the death of The first Lord Baltimore and how his plan of a colony was carried out. Where was the settlement made? How were the colonists received by the Indians? What was the name of their first settlement? Tell about Maryland's good start. What troubles arose between Protestants and Catholics? Tell about the two boundary disputes and how they were settled. Tell of the growth of Maryland. VIRGINIA S TWIN SOUTHERN NEIGHBOR.S THE CAROLINAS The First White Settlers in Carolina The region first known as "Virginia" which Queen Elizabeth gave to Sir Walter Raleigh, and which King James II afterward gave to the London Company, stretched far south of the present State of Virginia. Yet for a long time after Jamestown was founded there were no white settlements in the southern half of the great territory of Virginia. True, even before Raleigh's ships landed here, some Frenchmen had built a fort on the coast not far north of the Savannah River, and had named this fort Carolina, after their King Charles, or Carolus. They expected to make a permanent settlement and hold the country for France, but when their food gave out and the Indians became unfriendly they built a little ship out of the logs of the forest and sailed away. It is probable that some of these returning French Carolinians landed in Eng- land, and were the first to tell Queen Elizabeth about this beautiful land, which her favorite, Raleigh, afterward tried to colonize. Raleigh's settlements were made in this same region, but some distance north of the deserted 60 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY French fort of Carolina. The story of how his settle- ments ended in failure has already been told. The English Colony of Carolina Formed Just one hundred years after the French fort of Carolina was de- serted King Charles II of Eno-land gave to six of his friends the entire region south of Virginia as far as Spanish Florida. The name of Carolina, first given in honor of the French King Charles, was retained, since the reigning king of England was also a Charles. A company of Virginians had already come through the woods and had made the first settlement (1653) not far from where Raleigh's colony stood. Two shiploads of French Protestants, or Fluguenots, landed further south and founded the city of Charleston (1670). Other set- tlers came from the West India Islands, from Europe, and from the older American colonies. Bad Government — The proprietors of Carolina soon showed that they knew little about governing a colony. A set of laws was prepared by them which gave all power in the colony to the noblemen and no rights at all to the common people. For twenty years the proprietors tried to force these absurd laws on their colonists, and at last had to give up the attempt. The governors appointed by the proprietors were sometimes so tyrannical and worth- less that the people refused to obey them, and even chased them from the colony. The Carolina Pine Trees — In spite of bad rulers the colony of Carolina grew in numbers and in wealth. In the northern half of the colony were great forests of pine trees. These pine trees not only afforded fine timber for making ships, Init from them great quantities VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 6i of pitch, tar, rosin, and turpentine were obtained. In those days, when ships were made altogether of wood, in- stead of with iron bottoms, as to-day, pitch and tar were needed to preserve the vessels from leaking-, and these articles brought a good price in Eu- rope. With their axes the colonists cut great notches in the trunks of the pine trees near the ground. Then large kettles were so placed as to catch the streams of sap. This sap was after- ward boiled and prepared for mar- ket. So many of the colonists of northern Carolina were engaged in this industry that the name "tar-heels" was jokingly given them by their neighbors. The Palmetto Tree and the Rice Plant In southern Carolina another kind of tree, the palmetto, was found which proved very useful to the colonists. From one sort of palmetto they obtained a food like cabbage, and from the leaves of a tougher sort were made hats, ropes, and fans. The palmetto logs made splendid material for building forts, since the wood was so spongy that cannon balls sank into it without splitting or weakening CARULIXA VINE FOREST. 62 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY it. \\'hcn southern Carolina l)ccanie a separate colony she placed a picture of a palmetto tree on her flag, and to-day the State is known as the "Palmetto State." But more valuable even than the palmetto tree was the rice plant. A ship captain returning from a voyage to is- lands near the African coast brought back a bag of rice RAISING AND IRRIGATING RICE. which he gave to the governor. At that time rice was something little known to the people of Europe, although for ages it had been the food of millions in China and Japan. The governor of Carolina had his rice planted, and found that the swampy lands exactly suited it. The rice grown in southern Carolina proved to be the best in the world, and it soon became the chief crop of the colony. To work the rice plantations many negro slaves were VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 63 brought from Africa. Southern Carohna soon had more slaves in proportion to its population than any other colony. Carolina Divided. — For sixty-six years the colony of Carolina was governed by proprietors. The proprietors then gave up their rights to the king, and Carolina was divided into two colonies, North Carolina and South Carolina. In North Carolina the town of Raleigh, named in honor of the great Sir Walter, who first tried to make a settlement on her shores, became the capital of the colony. In South Carolina Charleston was made the capital, and became one of the largest and richest towns in all the American colonies. Who first owned the country south of the present State of Virginia? Tell about the efforts of the French to make settlements in this region. \\'hat did these French failures probably lead to? What grant of land in this region did King Charles II make ? Explain the name of the colony. Tell of the first settlements. What bad government did the Carolinians endure? What use did the colonists make of their pine forests? of their palmetto trees? Tell about the beginning of rice culture in South Carolina. How did rice culture affect the num- ber of slaves? Tell of the division of Carolina into two colonies. Virginia's youngest neigiieor — Georgia A New Colony — When Virginia had grown to be a powerful colony one hundred and twenty-five years of age, and when her twin southern neighbors had become firmly established and had been separated into North and South Carolina, a new colony was founded on the south- ern border of South Carolina — a colony which was at once the youngest and the most southern of all the thir- teen sisters. 64 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY The Poor Debtors of England. — To understand how this youngest colony came to be founded we must remem- ber that at one time it was the law in England that a man who did not pay his debts should be put in jail. We know that it is dishonest for a man to fail to pay his just debts, if he is able to do so. But sometimes a man gets into debt through no fault of his own, as by sickness, or accident, or rascality of others, and is unable to pay what he owes. No matter how the debt was caused, by the English law the debtor could be thrown into prison, and kept there until the debt was paid. If the poor man had a family, his wife and children were thus left without support. Hundreds of men and women were kept in prison until their death, and were cruelly treated by their jailers, all on account of some small debt they were un- al)le to pay. The Cruel Treatment of a Poor Debtor Awakens the In- dignation of His Friend — Among the wretched prisoners wearing away their lives in the debtors' jail was a Mr. Robert Castell, a scholar and writer who had once lived in a comfortable home with his wife and little children, but who unfortunately made debts he was unable to pay. Because Castell failed to give the keeper of the jail the "present" of money which was demanded of all the pris- oners, the cruel jailer ordered him locked up in a house where smallpox raged. Poor Castell took the smallpox and died in a few days, charging the jailer with his death. It happened that Castell had a friend named James Ogle- thorpe, once a soldier, then a member of the English Parliament. When Oglethorpe heard of the cruel death of his friend he was filled with indignation. He began to VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 65 examine the debtors' prisons, and found cruelties even more horrible than those from which his friend had suf- fered. He induced Parliament to pass laws to lessen the sufferings of the poor debtors. He formed a plan to re- lease many of them from prison and to oft'er them homes in America. Oglethorpe's Plan to Help the Debtors An associa- tion was formed, with Oglethorpe as president, to found 'in trust for the poor Their THE COLONY OF GEORGIA. a colony in America motto was a Latin phrase meaning, "Not for them- selves, Ijut for others." The king (George 11) ap- proved the plan of the "trustees," as they were called, and gave them the region between the Savannah River and the Spanish possessions in Florida. The name Georgia was given to the new colony in honor of the king. Oglethorpe's Colony Founded.— Many kind-hearted persons in England subscribed money to secure the re- lease of debtors, and to start them in their new homes. General Oglethorpe himself accompanied the first ship- load of colonists. They stopped at Charleston for a few hours, and the governor of South Carolina made Ogle- thorpe a present of cattle, hogs, and rice. The Carolin- ians were well pleased to have a colony established as 66 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY Georgia Among" a barrier between them and the Spaniards of Florida. Entering the Savannah River in February, 1733, Ogle- thorpe selected a place for a settlement, which he named Savannah, from the Indian name of the river. Oglethorpe and Mary Musgrove — Like William Penn, Oglethorpe was just in his dealings with the Indians, and no colony had so little trouble with the savages as and Pennsylvania, the Indians who greeted Oglethorpe on his arrival was a woman named Mary Musgrove, whose mother was an Indian, and whose father was a white Canadian trader. Mary Musgrove spoke both the English and the Indian lan- guages, so Oglethorpe employed her as his inter- preter and paid her a good salary. The Indian Chiefs Called Together Soon after his settlement was made Oglethorpe invited all the neighbor- ing chiefs to a meeting, that he might make an agree- ment with them about land for his colonists. The In- dians took their seats in a circle and rose in turn to speak. When it came to the turn of Tomochichi, chief of the tribe living next to the white settlement, the old Indian bowed very low and said: "When your people came here I feared you would drive us away, for we were weak OGLETHORPE. VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 67 OGLETHORri: S COIXCIL WITH THE INDIANS. and wanted corn; but you let us keep our land, gave us food, and taught our children. The chief men of all our nation are here to tliank you for us. We all love your people so v^ell that with them we will live and die." Tomochichi's Present. — Then Tomochichi handed Oglethorpe a buffalo skin painted on the inside with the head and feathers of an eagle. "Here is a little present," he said. "The whites are swift as the eagle, flying to the farthest parts of the earth over great seas. They are strong as the buffalo, for nothing can withstand them. The feathers of the eagle are soft, and signify love; the 68 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY buffalo skin is warm, and signifies protection. There- fore we hope that you will love and protect our little families." Agreement with the Indians. — At this meeting the In- dians gave to the whites a large tract of land south of the Savannah River. Oglethorpe agreed not to let the white traders charge above a certain rate for their goods. The price of a white blanket, for example, should be one deerskin ; of a blue blanket, five deerskins ; of a gun, ten deerskins. General Oglethorpe then presented the chiefs with laced hats, coats, and shirts ; to the warriors he gave guns, tobacco, and other presents; and all went away happy. Tomochichi's Friendship for the Whites. — Like Pow- hatan in \Trginia, Tomochichi was the firm friend of the whites. Once an Indian chief who thought he had been wronged by a white man declared he was going to kill all the English. Tomochichi tried to dissuade him from his purpose, and finally laid bare his breast before the angry chief, crying out, "If 3'ou wish to kill any one, kill me; for I am an Englishman!" He then proved to the chief that the story of the wrong done him was all a mistake, and thus saved the whites from an attack. Tomochichi Visits England. — Tomochichi, with his wife, nephew, and several other Indians-, accompanied his friend Oglethorpe to England. They were received with great honors. Tomochichi and his wife were dressed in scarlet and gold. The whole party were "driven to the royal palace in the king's coaches, each coach drawn by six horses. Tomochichi was filled with wonder at the magnificent houses of London and the VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 69 wealth and splendor on every side. On his return to Georgia he said : "The Great Spirit has given the Eng- lish great wisdom, power, and riches so that they need nothing. To the Indians he has given great lands, but they need everything." He urged his people to allow the English to settle among them on such lands as they themselves did not need, so that the Indians might be supplied with plows, axes, and the many articles the Eng- lish possessed. Death of Tomochichi — When Tomochichi was an old man a fever attacked him, and he lay dying on a blanket in his wigwam. Beside him sat his wife fanning him with a fan of feathers. His good friend Oglethorpe was there, too, doing what he could to make the old man com- fortable. With his last words the old chief expressed his love for Oglethorpe, and advised his people to con- tinue in their friendship for the English. He asked that his body might be buried among the English in the town of Savannah. His wish was carried out. General Ogle- thorpe, the officers of the town, and a great crowd of whites and Indians attended the funeral. Guns were fired from the fort in honor of the good chief as his body was lowered into the grave. Last Days of Oglethorpe — Like his friend Tomochichi, General Oglethorpe lived to be nearly a hundred years old. Not only poor debtors, but persecuted Protestants, were invited to settle in his colony. Many came from Germany and from Scotland. The Spaniards of Florida claimed Georgia as part of their territory, and tried to drive out the English. But General Oglethorpe raised an army, drove back the Spaniards, and saved his colony. yo THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY \\'hen Georgia was twenty-one years old the "trustees" gave up the rule of the colony to the king, and Ogle- thorpe returned to England. He never ceased to be the friend of the people of America. When Georgia and her sister colonies in later years were at war with the mother country, England, the command of an English army was offered to General Oglethorpe. But he re- fused to fight against the American colonists. He lived to see the Americans successful in the war, and Georgfia and the other colonies independent States. General Oglethorpe spent a large part of his fortune bringing colonists from Europe and securing homes for them. Unlike \\'illiam Penn and Lord Baltimore, he obtained no rich estates in the colony which he founded. A splendid example of unselfish work in helping the poor and oppressed is left to us by James Oglethorpe. When was the youngest Enghsh colony founded? What was the old English law about debtors? Tell about the cruel treatment oi the debtor Robert Castell. What effect did the death of Castell have upon his friend James Oglethorpe ? What plan did Oglethorpe form to help the debtors? Tell about the founding of Oglethorpe's colony; about !Mary Musgjove ; about the meeting of Oglethorpe and the Indian chiefs; about Tomochichi's present What bargain did Ogle- thorpe make with the Indians? Tell how Tomochichi proved his friendship for the whites. Tell about Tomochichi's visit to England ; about the death of Tomochichi ; about the last days of Oglethorpe. CHAPTER IV Massachusetts and Her Neighbors ]^1yles Staxdish — Massachusetts THE COMIXG OF THE PILGRIMS Captain John Smith Explores and Names New Eng- land. — After Captain John Smith left A'irginia he was employed by the PMnouth Company of England to visit the northern coast of Amer- ica. He went to catch whales or to find gold, or, if he failed in these, to get fish and furs. In the matter of fish and furs he was success- ful, and while engaged in col- lecting his cargo he explored the coast from ]\Iaine to Cape J Cod. He made a map of the region, and named it Xew England. The Phinouth Company were so pleased with what the captain had done that they called him "Admiral of Xew England." The Coming of the First New England Home Builders. — A few years after Admiral Smith's explorations of this region an English ship loaded with home seekers 71 WHERE THE PILGRIMS LANDED. ^2 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY came in sight of that part of the New England coast that thrusts out into the Atlantic the narrow, hook-shaped tongue of land now known as Cape Cod. No flower- decked fields, no balmy breezes of springtime welcomed these newcomers. The bleak November winds that swept through the leafless trees and scattered the snow over barren sands sounded a cheerless greeting to the good ship Mayilozvcr, and to the shivering, people who thronged her deck. Unlike the first Virginia colonists, this company included women and children. After their long and stormy voyage the boys and girls must have been heartily tired of the ship, and no doubt they begged their parents to disembark at once. The leaders of the colony, however, wished to sail farther south, but the sail- ors who controlled the ship declared the weather was too stormy to proceed farther. So it w^as decided to select a place here for a settlement (1620). The Pilgrims of England, and Why Some of Them Went to Holland. — To understand who these colonists were, and why they came to America, you must know that they belonged to a class of people living in Eng- land three hundred years ago who did not believe in worshiping God in the same way that most of the Eng- lish people did. They thought certain customs of the English churchmen were wrong, and that some of their beliefs were not according to the Bible. So these peo- ple — afterward called "Pilgrims" because of their wan- derings — refused to attend the regular churches, and in- stead had meetings at their homes or at the homes of their ministers. They were fined and imprisoned for not attending church, but this only made them more de- MASSACHUSETTS AND HER NEIGHBORS 73 termined than ever. The officers of the law broke up their pubHc meetings, and they had to assemble secretly. So much trouble did these Pilgrims have that at last some of them decided to leave their country and go across the North Sea to Holland, where people were al- lowed to worship God as they pleased. They are Dissatisfied with Their Home in Holland When the king's officers learned of the intended de- parture of the Pilgrims they arrested those preparing to set out. Most of them managed to escape from Eng- land, however, and in the free land of Holland made new homes, and worshiped God in their own way. But there were several things that prevented them from be- ing happy in Holland. They dearly loved their Eng- lish language and their English customs, and it made them sad to see their children learning to use the lan- guage of their Dutch playmates more readily than their mother tongue, and when their girls grew up and mar- ried the young Hollanders, and when their boys joined the Dutch armies or became officers in the Dutch govern- ment, it seemed that even the memory of old England would be lost. The news of the success of the James- town settlement turned their thoughts to America. They determined to move once more, and to build a new England beyond the sea. They Sail to America — Rut, like Christopher Colum- bus, the Pilgrims were too poor to hire the ships that were necessary to carry them across the ocean. They wrote to their friends in England, and at last some rich English merchants were persuaded to lend them money for the voyage. With all the help they could get, how- 74 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY ever, they were able to hire only one ship, and that a small, leaky one. As this little ship could not carry all the Pilgrims who wanted to go, they chose the young- est and strongest of their number, thinking that these could best endure the dangers and privations that lay before them. There was one soldier in the company. Captain Myles Standish, who had left his home in Eng- land years before to fight in the wars of Holland. He was not himself a member of the Pil- grim congregation, but the Pil- grims were his warm friends, and with something of John Smith's love of adventure he joined the little company bound for America. Sailing from Holland, the Pilgrims touched on the English coast, where a larger and stronger vessel, the Mayflower, was obtained, and the first ship was left be- hind. After a stormy voyage of several months they came in sight of the shores of Cape Cod. Captain Standish is Warmly Received by the Indians. — Captain Standish with a small party of men landed and began looking for a place to settle. They found paths in the forest, evidently made by the Indians, some baskets of corn buried in the ground, and a number of deserted huts, or wigwams. One day while Captain Standish's exploring party w^ere preparing breakfast around their camp fire they were startled by a wild yell different from any sound they had ever heard before, and MYLES STANDISH. MASSACHUSETTS AND HER NEIGHBORS 75 at the same time a shower of arrows flew past them. The noise was the "war whoop" of a band of Indians, who with their bows and arrows were advancing from the woods to attack the EngHshmen. Captain Standish and his men rushed to their boats, and seizing their guns, hastily fired. When the bullets from the white men's guns went whistling past their ears the Indians took to their heels. Tell about Captain John Smith's exploration of New England. What part of the New England coast was seen by the first home seekers from Europe? Compare their landing to the landing of the first Jamestown colonists, noting the different season of the year, the different appearance of the country, and the difference in the colonists themselves. What decided them in selecting a place for landing? Who were the Pilgrims? Why did they go to Holland? Why were they dissatisfied with their Holland homes ? What did they determine to do? How did they carry out their plan? Who was Myles Standish? Tell of the voyage of the Pilgrims from Hol- land to America ; of Captain Standish's first encounter with the In- dians. FOUNDING OF THE PILGRIM-PURITAN COLONIES The First Homes Built. — After a month spent in ex- ploring the coast the Pilgrims selected for their home a spot which Captain John Smith had called Plymouth, on the map which he had made of this region. Here were deserted grain fields, which saved them the trouble of clearing land for their crops. Here, too, was a stream of pure w^ater and a harbor for ships. So they landed and began building their log cabins. Everybody worked. The boys helped by shoveling away the snow, and carrying the lighter timbers as their fathers cut them in the woods ; while the girls helped their mothers y^ THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY cook and wash and mend the clothes. They had no glass to put in their windows, so they pasted oiled paper upon the window sashes. Although they could not see through these queer window panes, yet the oiled paper let in some light and kept out the bitter cold air. The First Winter — You rememl)er that in the James- town colony the hot summer brought fevers and deaths. To the people of the more northern colony of Plymouth the bitter cold of winter caused much suffering. The long voyage across the ocean in a crowded ship had weakened their health, to begin with. And their poor food and exposure to the cold brought on a kind of quick consumption, that caused the death of nearly half the settlers before the winter was over. Among the first to die was Rose Standish, wife of the brave captain. On a hill overlooking the sea Captain Standish and his friends buried their dead. Then the graves were leveled and the hill sown with w^ieat. This was done that the Indians might not know how many had died, and how few were left to guard the settlement. But in spite of their trials the brave Pilgrims did not give up. A\'hen the May-flower sailed for England in the spring no one asked to be taken back. Why there Was No Trouble with the Indians at First. — While Captain Standish and his men found many traces of the Indians in old paths, deserted wigwams, and fields, yet they were surprised to find that the In- dians themselves had removed their homes from this region. A deadly plague, or disease, had broken out among them some years before, and had killed so many that the survivors fled in terror from the scene of so MASSACHUSETTS AND HER NEIGHBORS 77 great sufferings. This was a fortunate thing for the settlers, as they were thus saved from conflicts with the Indians during the early years of their colony. Some Friendly Indians — Samoset and Squanto One day an Indian appeared at Plymouth, and, walking down the streets, called out, "Welcome, Englishmen!" None of the Pilgrims had ever heard an Indian talk before, and they were astonished to hear this man speak in the English language. They found that his name was Samoset, and that he had learned a few words from a. party of Englishmen who had spent a short time fishing on the coast near by. Samoset took dinner with the settlers, and told them about the terrible sickness that had driven the Indians away from the Plymouth region. Other Indians then visited Plymouth, among them one named Squanto, who had once been taken a captive to Europe, and there had learned to speak English readily. Squanto taught the settlers many useful things. As they had never seen corn before, he showed them how to plant it in hills, placing" a fish in each hill to enrich the soil, which was sandy and poor. He also taught them a way to catch fish and eels without hook or net. Chief Massasoit — The chief of the Indians of eastern Massachusetts was Massasoit. At the suggestion of Samoset the governor of the colony sent an invitation to this chief to visit the settlers. He came accompanied by his principal braves, and was met by Governor Brad- ford and Myles Standish with two soldiers playing upon the drum and fife. They all marched to the council chamber at Plymouth, where a great feast had been pre- pared for the Indians. A treaty was made in which the 78 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY Indians agreed not to disturb the Plymouth people in the possession of the lands they occupied. As long as ]Massasoit lived this treaty was kept. Like Powhatan in Virginia, he was the friend of the whites. When news came to Plymouth that Massasoit was ill Edward Winslow set out through the woods to visit and nurse him. The weather was hot, but he found the sick chief tossing on a dirty pallet in a close cabin crowded with Indians who had come to help their ''medicine men" con- jure away the evil spirits that had caused the sickness. Winslow put the crowd out of the room and opened the doors to let in fresh air. Then he gave the sick man a much-needed bath, and administered some simple medi- cines. For three days he nursed his patient, and at the end of that time the sick man was able to walk about. Massasoit and his whole tribe were grateful for this act of kindness, and in many ways showed their friendship for the Plymouth colonists. Thanksg^iving Day. — In the autumn, when the crops were gathered, the Pilgrims determined to show their thankfulness to God for his goodness to them by having a time of special thanksgiving. Some young men who had been sent hunting by Governor Bradford brought in a large number of wild turkeys, and their Indian friends furnished an abundance of venison. Other good things to eat were supplied by the wives and maidens of the colony. For several days the service of praise at the meetinghouse, or church, were followed by feast- ing and by trials of skill in shooting at a mark, in which both Indians and whites joined. - This was the beginning of our custom of a yearly Thanksgiving Day. MASSACHUSETTS AND HER NEIGHBORS 79 Captain Standish Sends a Message and Gets Angry with His Friend — Among those who came to Plymouth in the good ship MayUozver was a young woman named Priscilla Mulhns. During the first dreadful winter no- body worked harder nursing the sick and comforting the sorrowing than did this sweet Pilgrim maiden. Skillful with spinning wheel, needle, and thread, she was always busy trying to make others happy. To Captain Standish in his sadness and loneliness Priscilla seemed the loveliest maiden in Plymouth. He decided she was the one woman in the world who could take Rose Stan- dish's place in his heart. But with all his bravery in war the captain was a coward when it came to facing the ladies. He was not afraid of a rifle ball, but he was afraid of a woman's laugh. So instead of propos- ing to Miss Priscilla himself he asked his young friend John Alden to go to the young lady and tell her that Captain Standish wished her to become his wife. Now, John Alden himself was in love with Priscilla. Yet he felt that he must be true to his friend. So he sorrow- fully obeyed the captain's request. In the midst of his praises of the captain, however, the laughing Priscilla stopped her lover with the question, "Why don't you speak for yourself, John?" When the fiery captain learned how his messenger had failed he blazed up with anger. But afterward he found a wife to comfort his heart, and when John Alden and Priscilla were married he freely forgave them both. The Coming of the Puritans — Not long after the Pil- grims had founded Plymouth another settlement was made on the coast a few miles farther north. The new 9>0 TTTR P.FXilNNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY settlement was formed by some Englishmen who came to America for the same reason that brought the Pil- grims — they wanted to worship God in their own way, undisturbed. In their religion they were much like the Pilgrims, except that they did not at first try to form a separate Church from the Church of England, as the Pilgrims did. They wished to remain members of the Church of England, but they wanted some of its beliefs and practices changed — "purified," as they said. Hence the name ''Puritans" was given them. When they found they could not get the changes they wished in the Church they began to think of coming to America, as the Pilgrims had done. The Puritan Settlements. — The first settlement made by the Puritans was called Salem (a Bible word, mean- ing Peace) . Soon afterward about a thousand Puritans, most of them from the town of Boston, England, came over under Governor Winthrop, and established another settlement, which they named Boston, after their old home. Boston grew rapidly, and soon became the capi- tal of the Puritan colony. The colony itself was known as the ''Massachusetts Bay Colony," the word "Mas- sachusetts" being the Indian name for the "Blue Hills," near Boston. The Plymoutji colony and the Massachu- setts Bay colony were afterward joined in one, and called the colony of Massachusetts. Where did the Pilgrims make their settlement? How did the boys and girls help? What kind of windows did their houses have? Tell of the sufferings of the settlers the first winter. What sorrow came to Captain Standish? How did the colonists conceal from the Indians the number of deaths? Why were there so few Indians in this MASSACHUSETTS AND HER NEIGHBORS region? Tell about Sanioset; about Squanto ; about the treaty with Massasoit ; about Massasoit's sickness and cure. Tell about the first Thanksgiving Day. Who was Priscilla Mullins ? Tell about Captain Standish's message to Priscilla. Who made a settlement near Ply- mouth? What was the difference between the Puritans and the Pilgrims? What settlements were made by the Puritans? Tell about the growth of Boston ; about the union of the Pilgrim-Puritan col- onies. THE LITTLE NEIGHBOR OF MASSACHUSETTS RHODE ISLAND Strictness of the Puritans. Roger Williams. — The Puritans were so determined that their religion should not be interfered with in their new home that they made the mistake of trying to make everybody who came to their colony think exactly as they did in religious mat- ters. No churches ex- cept Puritan churches, or "meetinghouses," were permitted. Peo- ple who stayed from pubhc worship were fined, or sometimes put in a wooden cage. When Roger Williams, a Sepa- ratist minister, came to the colony, and began to preach that the rulers should not interfere with any man's re- hgion, he was arrested and ordered to go back to Eng- land. ROGER WILLIAMS CHURCH. 82 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY Roger Williams Establishes a New Colony Instead of getting' on board the ship that was to take him back to England, Roger Williams ran off into the woods, and lived a while with some friendly Indians. Then he started a settlement (1636), which he called "Provi- dence," because of God's merciful providence toward him. He invited all people who thought themselves badly treated on account of their religion to come to his set- tlement, promising to let them believe whatever they pre- ferred, and belong to any church they wished, or not to join any church if they thought best. Many set- tlers from Massachusetts accepted his invitation, and came through the woods to join him. Roger Williams's colony was afterward known as Rhode Island, from the Dutch words for Red Island, an island with red soil not far from Providence. TWO OTHER NEIGHBORS OF MASSACHUSETTS CONNECTICUT AND NEW HAMPSHIRE Other New England Colonies. — The Massachusetts col- ony and the Rhode Island colony were next-door neigh- bors, with a strip of woods separating them. Adjoin- ing them two other colonies were formed, known as Connecticut and New Hampshire. This group of four colonies occupied the region named ''New England" on Captain John Smith's map. The four colonies were known as the New England colonies.' MASSACHUSETTS AND HER NEIGHBORS 83 KING Philip's war Massasoit's Sons. Alexander's Death — The Indian chief Massasoit, the friend of the whites, had two sons, to whom the settlers had given the EngHsh names Alex- ander and Philip. Alexander was the elder, and he be- came chief on the death of his father. The young- chief was not as good a friend of the settlers as his old father had been. The governor of Plymouth colony, hearing that he was stirring up the Indians to make war upon the whites, had him arrested and brought to Plymouth. He was taken sick during his stay at Plymouth, and died soon after he reached home. His wife declared he had been poisoned by the whites. Many Indians believed the story, and it increased their dislike for the English. Philip Becomes Chief — On the death of his older brother, Alexander, Philip became chief. Philip was a shrewd and also a very proud man. He called himself King Philip, and often wore a bright red blanket over his shoulders and a sort of crown of wampum on his head. He hated the whites because he believed they had killed his brother, and because he saw that they were tak- ing all the lands which had once belonged to his peo- ple. He decided that if all the English could be killed or driven away it would be better for the Indians. He began to lay his plans to do this. Messengers were sent to all the Indian tribes of New England begging them to join in driving the whites away. Nearly all the chiefs agreed to join him, and soon a terrible war began. A Bloody War. — The Indians did not fight openly in the fields, but stealthily and under cover of the trees. 84 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OE OUR COUNTRY They surrounded villa^q"es at night while the whites were asleep, and often killed men, women, and children. One Sunday while the people of Hadley, Massachusetts, were in church the w^ords of the preacher were suddenly drowned hy wild yells of savages on the outside. Seiz- ing their guns, which were stacked near the door, the INDIAN MODE OF ATTACK. men of the congregation rushed out to meet the foe. Such a large numher of Indians were swarming on every side, however, that the whites w^ere ahout to be beaten. Suddenly an old man of tall form and with a long gray beard appeared among them, and in a loud ringing voice ordered them to hold their ground and then to charge upon the redskins. Taking fresh courage they obeyed MASSACHUSETTS AND HER NEIGHBORS 85 the stranger's command, and soon pnt the Indians to flight, chasing them far into the woods. After the pur- suit was over the gray-haired leader was nowhere to he found. Some declared he was an angel sent to save the people. But in truth it was Colonel Goffe, one of the judges who had sentenced King Charles I of England to death, and who was hiding in America, fearing to show himself even to his townspeople, lest some one should report his whereahouts to the English officers. The War Ended. — Other towns were not so fortunate as Hadley. In many places the Indians overpowered the settlers, burned all the houses, and killed or made pris- oners the men, women, and children. There was hardly a white family in all New England that did not lose some member. But the Indians suffered most. All the New England colonies joined in sending soldiers to fight the cruel savages. King Philip's warriors were beaten; nearly all the fighting men were killed, and he himself was chased fj'om one hiding-place to another like a wild beast. His wife and little son were taken captive. Still he would not give up. One of his followers advised him to surrender. The suggestion so angered Philip that he killed the man with one blow of his tomahawk. A brother of the slain Indian, in revenge, led the whites to Philip's hiding-place. When his enemies burst in upon him Philip, seeing there were too many for him to fight, started to flee. A bullet pierced his heart. ITis death ended the war. His wife and little boy were sold as slaves and sent to work in the far-away Bermuda Is- lands. 86 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY What mistake did the Puritan colonists make? Who was Roger Wilhams? Tell about his treatment by the rulers of the colony; about the founding of the colony of Rhode Island. What two other colonies were founded in the region of New England ? Name the New England colonies. What were the names of the sons of Massa- soit? What happened to the eldest? What charge was brought against the white settlers? What kind of man was Philip? How did he feel toward the settlers? What plan did he form? What was the Indian method of fighting? Tell about the fight at Hadley. What disasters happened to many white settlements? Tell of the defeat and death of Philip. CHAPTER V Pennsylvania and Her Neighbors William Penn — Pennsylvania A College Student Joins the Quakers and Gets Into Trouble — Not long after Roger Williams founded the Rhode Island colony a boy was born in England who was destined, when he grew up, to be the founder of one of the largest and most important of the English colonies in America. The boy's mother was a Dutch lady, and his father was Ad- miral Penn, a noted sea-fighter. Young- William Penn was sent to the best schools of England. When a young man at col- lege he and other students used to attend the preaching of a denomination of Chris- tians known as "Friends," or "Quakers." The Quakers believed in following the exact words of Christ's teachings. They would not say "I swear" even when the judge wished them to take an oath ^ Quaker. in court. They believed that a person should not strike back when struck, but should "turn the other cheek." In talking they said "thou" and "thee" instead of "you," and called every one by his plain name, with- out Sir or Mr, or Mrs. They kept on their hats in church, and would not take them off before any one, even 87 88 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY the king himself. Although Quakers were at that time often whipped and imprisoned, and some of them even put to death, Penn liked their teachings so well that he became a Quaker himself. Believing that the morning prayers at college were not conducted in the right way, he refused to attend them. He refused also to wear the gown in which students were required to dress, and with his friends he tore the gowns from some who wore them. Of course this was wrong, and he was expelled from school. William Penn's Conduct Angers His Father. — Old Ad- miral Penn was very angry because of his son's conduct. He sent young William to France, hoping that travel would make him give up his newfangled notions. But the young man climg to his Quaker beliefs, and even wrote books to prove that the Quakers should not be dis- turbed because of their customs. He was thrown into prison; but he spent his time in jail writing more books in defense of the Quakers. Released from prison, he traveled in Holland, his mother's homeland, and in other countries of Europe, preaching Quaker doctrines. His father had become so angry with him because he would not promise to take off his hat to the king, the Duke of York, and himself that he ordered him to leave home and never to come back. But his mother wrote to her son and kept him supplied with money. After a while the old admiral, overcome by his wife's pleadings, and seeing it was no use to oppose his son's beliefs, permitted him to return home. Penn's Woods — On the death of Admiral Penn his son William inherited his fortune. King Charles H had bor- PENNSYLVANIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 89 rowed a large sum of money from Admiral Perm, which he had never repaid. Finding it impossible to protect his Quaker friends from persecution in England, Wil- liam Penn now asked the king for a grant of land in America, in payment of his father's claim. He thus hoped to establish a home in the New World for the per- secuted Quakers. The king agreed to pay the debt in this way, and a large tract of land west of the Delaware River was given to Penn (1681). On account of the great forests in this region Penn suggested the name Sylvania, the Latin for "woods"; but the king insisted on naming the grant Pennsylvania, or Penn's Woods, in honor of Admiral Penn. Pennsylvania lay about half- way between the Plymouth and the Jamestown settle- ments, and was larger than all of England. The City of Brotherly Love — Penn determined to es- tablish what he called a "godly commonwealth," where people should be as free in matters of religion as they were in Holland. He crossed the ocean himself with his colonists, and laid out a city on the west bank of the Delaware (1683). He named the place Philadelphia, which means brotherly love. He had drawn a map of his proposed city before leaving England. The streets were to run north and south, and east and west. Those running north and south were named Eirst Street, Sec- ond Street, and so on, while those running east and west were called after trees and fruits, as Pine, Walnut, Mul- berry, The town grew very rapidly, and soon became the largest city in all the colonies. After the colonies became States Philadelphia was, for a time, the capital of the United States. 90 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY How Penn Obtained His Land. — We know that the king- of Engkmd ckiinied all the land from Newfound- land to Florida, because John Cabot had sailed in an English ship along this coast before any other white man had seen it. The king granted portions of his American land to trading companies, and some he gave to favorite friends, or, as in the case of William Penn, he used it to pay debts. The white settlers who came to America obtained their titles to the land on which they built their homes from the trading companies, or from the proprietors to whom the king had given it. In most of the colonies the Indians were not supposed to have any rights to the land, although their fathers and grandfathers before them had hunted upon it and they had always looked upon it as their own. Wlien the In- dians objected to the seizure of their land the colonists often took up arms and drove them far away to the west. William Penn, however, believed that the Indians had a right to the land upon which they lived, even if they did not fence it in and cultivate it. Although he had obtained his land from the king, yet he would not oc- cupy it or allow his colonists to do so until they had bought it again from the Indians. Penn's Treaty — Soon after he reached his colony Penn sent word to the chiefs of all the neighboring In- dian tribes to meet him. The meeting took place under a great elm tree near the banks of the Delaware River. Penn had no soldiers with him, and his few companions carried no guns or weapons of any kind. He told the red men he wanted to make a bargain with them for the purchase of their land, and to establish peace and friend- PENNSYLVANIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 91 ship between his people and their people. "All between us," said Penn, ''shall be openness and love. The friend- ship between you and me I will not compare to a chain, for that the rain might rust or a falling- tree might break. We are the same as if one man's body were divided into two parts ; we are all one flesh and blood !" Then Penn PliNN S TREATY WITH THE INDIANS. gave the chiefs presents, and they presented him with a belt of "wampum," consisting of long strings of white shells with three slanting bands of black, and with two figures worked in the center — one a bareheaded Indian, the other a white man with a hat on, who are clasping hands in token of friendship. The Indians were so pleased with Penn's fairness and kindness that they said, 92 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY ''We will live in love with William Penn and his children as long as the sun and moon shall shine." As a sign of friendship they brought out the "pipe of peace," a tobacco pipe with a long stem, ornamented with feathers, and, lighting it, solemnly passed it around the circle, white man and red man each taking a few whififs. The Indians kept their promise of peace, and it is said that no Quaker was ever killed by an Indian. The great elm under which the treaty was made stood for more than a hundred years, and was finally blown down. In one of the streets of the city of Philadelphia a monument now stands marking the spot wdiere the old tree once stood. Growth of the Colony — William Penn was a wise ruler. lie declared that every citizen should worship God as he thought right. Plis laws gave ecjual pro- tection to Indians and white men. He believed that even bad men should not be imprisoned in cold, dark, dirty jails, like most of the jails in England at that time. He established in Pennsylvania W'Orkhouses where crim- inals were put to work, because he believed idleness made bad men worse. His kind and just government at- tracted many people to his colony. Besides English Quakers, large numbers of immigrants came from Ger- many, Holland, Sweden, and Switzerland. German- town, near Philadelphia, was settled by Germans, as the name shows. In later years many came from Scotland and Ireland. No other colony was settled by people from so many dillerent nations, but in no colony were the citizens more peaceable, contented, and prosperous. Last Days of Penn. — After remaining two years in his PENNSYLVANIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 93 colony Penn returned to England. James II, who be- came king about this time, was a warm friend of Penn, and this friendship enabled Penn to secure protection for the suffering Quakers in England. But most of the English people did not like King James, and they drove him from the throne. Afterward Penn was several times arrested on the charge of trying to bring back the banished king. Nothing could be proved against him, however, and he was released. With his wife and daughters he again visited his American colony, but hastened back to England when he heard the govern- ment was planning to take away his rights as proprietor of Pennsylvania. In the last years of his life he was stricken with paralysis, and was scarcely able to move. After his death his children became proprietors of his colony. On the tower of the great city hall of Phila- delphia to-day is an immense statue of William Penn, reminding all who see it of one of the noblest men in the early history of our country. When and where was WilHam Penn born? Who were his parents? Who were the Quakers? Tell about William Penn's life at school. For what was he expelled? How did his father try to cure him of his Quaker beliefs? What was done to Penn by the king's officers? What efTect did this have upon him ? What promise did young Penn refuse to make? Tell about his father's anger; about his mother's course toward him. For what purpose did he wish to obtain a grant of land in America? How did he obtain this grant? Where was his land situated? What can you say of the size of his grant? of the name given? What sort of government did Penn wish to establish? .Tell about the city that Penn founded. From whom did the white settlers generally get their land? What about the Indians' rights to the land? How did Penn act in the matter of getting land for his colonists? Tell about Penn's treaty with the Indians. What can 94 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY you say about Penn's rule of his colony? of the growth of Pennsyl- vania? Tell about the friendship of King James for Penn ; about Penn's last days ; about the monument to his memory. What can you admire about Penn? Pennsylvania's little neighbor — Delaware Delaware. — When Penn first came to America he found a settlement of Swedes on the Delaware River at what is now Wilmington, in the State of Delaware. These set- tlers readily agreed to become a part of his colony, Penn having obtained a grant to this region in addition to the land the king had first given him. For about twenty years this part of Pennsylvania was called the "Three Lower Counties on the Delaware." When Delaware became an independent State she adopted a blue flag with white stars. Some one said that the flag looked like "a speckled blue hen." To-day the people of Dela- ware are sometimes called the "Blue Hen's Chickens." Delaware and Rhode Island were the smallest colonies, and they are to-day our smallest States. Pennsylvania's twin neighbors — the jerseys East of the Delaware — The same King Charles who granted the land west of the Delaware River to William Penn had some years before given the region east of the Delaware to his own brother, the Duke of York. The duke gave it to two of his friends, one of whom was governor of an island in the English Channel called Jer- sey Island, the home of Jersey cows. In compliment to his governor friend the duke named the territory New Jersey. The two proprietors divided their colony into PENNSYLVANIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 95 two parts, one called East Jersey and one W^est Jersey. Among the settlers were many Swedes and Dutchmen, besides many English Quakers. William Penn and some wealthy friends bought West Jersey, and afterward East Jersey, from the proprietors. But the governor of the adjoining colony of New York claimed the Jerseys as part of his colony, and there was so much con- troversy that finally Penn and his friends gave up their Jersey colonies to the king. The twin Jerseys were then united into one colony, called New Jersey. COLONIES ON THE DELAWARE RIVER. PENNSYLVANIA S DUTCH NEIGHBOR NEW YORK Some Things We Owe to the Dutch. — We should not forget how much the people of the little country of Hol- land did for our forefathers. The first settlers of New England found a refuge in Holland when driven from their own land, and from Holland they sailed to America. The mother of the owner of Pennsylvania was a Dutch lady, whose careful training of her son strengthened those noble traits that made him the successful founder of a great colony. In the wars which the Dutch fought to save their land from foreign oppressors many soldiers from England helped them. Among these English sol- diers were W^alter Raleigh, John Smith, Myles Stan- dish, and others who in Holland learned much that was 96 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY useful to them in establishini^^ American colonies. In Pennsylvania and the two adjoining colonies of Dela- ware and New Jersey many of the first settlers were Dutch. There was one colony, however, which was truly a Dutch colony, for it was discovered, settled, and for many years ruled by the Dutch. This was Pennsyl- vania's northern neighbor, now known as the State of New York. THE HALF-MOON ON THE HUDSON, The First Dutch Ship Visits America. — Henry Hudson was an English captain, and a friend of John Smith. In the same year that John Smith sailed to Virginia, Cap- tain Hudson was sent by an English trading company in a small ship to find a way to India by sailing northeast — that is, north of Europe and Asia. He was stopped by PENNSYLVANIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 97 the ice and had to return. The "East India Company" of Holland was also anxious to find a short water route to India, and they employed Captain Hudson to sail for them in the same di- rection as he had sailed before. Again he was stopped by the ice. Now, Cap- tain John Smith had written from Vir- ginia to his friend Hudson that he had heard of a strait somewhere north of \^irginia by which a ship might sail through to India. Remembering this letter, Captain Hudson turned his ship westward and sailed for America. In the month of September, two years after Jamestown had been founded, Hudson's Dutch ship, the Half-Moon, entered what is now New York Bay. Sailing onward, the captain came to what seemed a great arm of the sea stretching up into the land. He now hoped he had at last discovered the way to India. But, continuing his course, he found that the supposed "strait" was a great river, which became narrower and shal- lower until his ship could go no farther. Seeing no prospect of reaching India, he turned back toward Holland. The ma- jectic river he had discovered was called the Hudson River in his honor. The Dutch Colony Founded. — The Dutch at once claimed the country on 98 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY both banks of the Hudson Ri\'er, and sent out men to estabhsh trading- posts. These trading" posts were combinations of forts for holding- the country and stores at which hatchets, blankets, beads, and trinkets were sold to the Indians in trade for skins of animals. Later, settlements were made, the most important of which was on an island at the mouth of the Hudson, where the city of New York now stands. This settlement (1623) was called New Amsterdam, after one of the NEW AMSTERDAM (nEW YORK) IN 1 623. chief cities of Holland. One name for Holland is "the Netherlands" (which means "low lands"). So the Dutch named their American colony New Nether- lands, in memory of their old home. Like the Quakers of Pennsylvania, they bought their lands from the In- dians and lived peaceably with them. The entire island of Manhattan, on which New York now stands, was purchased for trinkets worth about twenty-four dollars, PENNSYLVANIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 99 or at the rate of about a thousand acres for a dollar. Now it would take many thousand dollars to buy one acre of this same land. New Netherlands Becomes New York. — The English claimed New Netherlands because of Cabot's discovery. At first they paid no attention to the Dutch settlements, but fifty years after New Amsterdam founded an fleet ap- peared in the har- bor and sent a message to Peter Stuyvesant, the Dutch governor, demanding the sur- render of the city and colon}^ The governor became very angry. He stamped around on was English his wooden leg and iglit Undcrwc.Kl & UiuiiM-wo..d. SCENE IN NEW YORK CITY, I912. swore he would ne\er surrender. But his Dutch subjects were not very fond of his rule. They thought they would like a change to the English, so they made the old governor surrender. The English changed both names. New Netherlands and New Amsterdam, to New York, in honor of the king's brother, the Duke of York, to whom 100 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY the king had given all the Dutch possessions in America. Growth of the Colony. — For a long time the growth of the colony was slow. It was after the colonies had be- come States before the city of New York had as many people as Philadelphia, or the State of New York had as many people as Virginia. Now New York State is ahead of all the other States in population, and New York city is the largest city in our country. Whom did Penn find already settled on part of his land when he first came to America? Where? What was this part of Pennsyl- vania called? Tell about the "Blue Hen's Chickens." To whom was the land east of the Delaware granted? Explain the name "New Jersey." Why were there two Jerseys? By whom were the Jerseys bought ? To whom were they finally given ? What change was then made? Tell some things we owe to the people of Holland. What colony was founded by the Dutch ? Tell about the voyages Captain Henry Hudson made toward the northeast ; about Hudson's discovery of a great river. What did the Dutch claim? Tell about the Dutch trading posts. Where was the most important Dutch settlement? What name was given it? Explain the name the Dutch gave their colony. Tell about their purchase of Manhattan Island. What na- tion disputed the claim of the Dutch to New Netherlands ? What was the basis of the English claim? Tell about the conquest of the Dutch colony by Englishmen; of the change in names; of the growth of New York. CHAPTER VI The Rise of New France Cartier, the Explorer French Explorers in the North and West. — While Eng- Hshmen were busy clearing the forests and building homes along the Atlantic coast of North America bold pioneers of France were following the waterways and exploring the wilderness north and west of the English colonies. The Frenchmen established trading posts and settlements in the region they explored, named it New France, and claimed it for their king. The men fore- most in acquiring this great domain for France were Jacques Cartier, Samuel Champlain, Robert Cavalier de la Salle, and the Le Moyne brothers, Iberville and Bien- ville. Cartier Discovers the St. Lawrence River. — Nearly fifty years after Columbus's discovery, and fifty years before Raleigh sent his first ship to America, Jacques Cartier, sailing from France, reached the coast of New- foundland. Passing through the Gulf of St. Lawrence, he ascended the St. Lawrence River a short distance. To his disappointment he found no green fields and fertile valleys, but only a rocky, dismal land. Never- theless, his men disembarked from their ship, made a huge cross of cedar, and left it standing in the ground as a sign that they claimed the whole region for France, 102 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OE OUR COUNTRY Cartier Carries off Two Indian Boys Indians gath- ered around the white-skinned stranirers, casrerlv watch- ing every movement, and Hstening intently to their queer- sounding speech. Cartier gave them presents of strings of glass beads and strips of bright calico. Two Indian boys were induced to visit the ships, and when they were EXPLORATIONS OF LA SALLE AND MARQUETTE. safe on board the cruel Frenchmen sailed away, taking the lads with them to France. The young Indians had never before seen a larger vessel than their bark canoes, and pro1)ably had never before sailed out of sight of land. Now as the land faded from sight behind them, and as dav after day nothing could be seen but the bound- less ocean, we mav be sure they l)ecame homesick for the THE RISE OF NEW FRANCE IO3 woods and rocky streams of their wild western home. They were treated with all kindness, however, by their captors. On reaching France they were taken to the city of Paris and were presented to the king. The splen- did palaces and churches of the city, the silk and velvet robes of the king- and his attendants, the miles of grain fields and vineyards, all filled the boys with wonder. Cartier's Second Visit to America As soon as winter was over Cartier started on a second voyage to explore the waters of the St. Lawrence and to establish a settle- ment. The two Indian boys — the happiest people on his ship — accompanied him, eager to see their friends again and to tell of the wonderful things they had seen. Again ascending the river, Cartier reached the towering cliffs where now stands the city of Quebec. Here he found a cluster of wigwams, the capital city of the Indian chief Donnacona. The chief received the Frenchmen kindly, thanking them for their kindness to his young country- men. After a short stay with Chief Donnacona, Cartier and his men pushed up the river to visit the Indian village of Hochelaga, of which they had heard. Visit to the Village of Hochelaga — As Cartier's ships approached the village of Hochelaga troops of Indians thronged the river's bank, dancing and singing with de- light, and throwing gifts of fish and grain into the white men's boats. The Frenchmen landed, and were con- ducted to the village. Here they received a formal wel- come, after which they presented gifts of hatchets and knives to the men and beads to the women. To the Indian children they threw handfuls of pewter rings and images, causing a wild scramble and shouts of laughter. I04 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY Cartier named the mountain overlooking the village Mount Royal, or Montreal. To-day the great cities of Montreal and Quebec stand where once stood the two Indian villages visited by Cartier. Cartier 's Settlements Failures — Cartier 's party spent the winter near the present site of Quebec. But what with cold weather and disease they were glad enough to set sail for France as soon as spring released their ships from the ice. Cartier, undaunted, made a third voyage to Amercia. His attempted settlement again proved a failure, and he bade farewell to New France forever. Wars broke out in France between the Prot- estants and the Roman Catholics, and it was more than fifty years before another attempt was made by Cartier's countrymen to occupy New France. What were French pioneers doing while EngHshmen were mak- ing settlements along the Atlantic coast? Name the leading French pioneers. When did Cartier sail to America? Tell about his explorations ; about his landing. Tell about Cartier's first meeting with the Indians; about the visit of the Indian boys to France; about Cartier's second voyage. Where did he disembark? Tell about his visit to Hochelaga. What cities have since been built at places visited by Cartier? How long did Cartier's settlers remain in America? What caused the failure of his settlement? What delayed further attempts at settlement by the French? CHAMPLAIN, THE FATHER OF NEW FRANCE Slow Progress of Sixty Years — Sixty years have passed since Jacques Cartier, sailing homeward, looked for the last time at the rocky shores of Newfoundland. Meantime Sir Walter Raleigh has been spending a for- THE RISE OF NEW FRANCE 105 tune in vain efforts to establish his EngHsh colony of Virginia, yet, however, neither Englishmen nor French- men have succeeded in making a lasting settlement. From the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean the only white men are a little group of Spaniards who had made a settlement at St. Augustine, Florida. The French Make Another Effort to Form a Settle- ment. — One spring day in the year 1604 two French ships approached the eastern coast of Nova Scotia. The leader of the expedition was Sieur de Monts, a French nobleman; closely associated with him was Samuel Champlain, a bold ex- plorer, who had visited Amer- ica several times before, and who during the rest of his life was to be the foremost man in the history of New France. The purpose of the expedition was to establish a settlement somewhere in the region Cartier had claimed for France. Champlain's Previous Voyages — As Champlain knew the country better than his companions he was a very important member of the company. During his first voyage to America, while in the service of Spain, he had visited the \Ytst India Islands, Alexico, and the Isthmus of Panama. On this voyage the idea of a ship canal across the isthmus suggested itself to his mind, as a means "by which the voyage to the South Sea (Pacific Ocean) would be shortened more than fifteen hundred CHAMPLAIN. Io6 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY leagues." (Three hundred years later, in our own day, Champlain's idea is ahout to he carried out hy the United States government.) In a second voyage to America, Champlain ascended the St. Lawrence River heyond the highest point reached hy Cartier, turning hack when the rapids stopped the progress of his hoat. De Monts's proposed expedition to found a colony attracted the ad- venturous Champlain to a third voyage to the Western world. The Settlement in Nova Scotia — After sailing around the southern extremity of Nova Scotia and along the coast of Maine in search of a good place for a settle- ment, the Frenchmen finally chose a heautiful harhor on the peninsula of Nova Scotia. Here they landed and made a settlement, which they named Port Royal. This was the first permanent French settlement in America, and was made in 1605 — just two years before the first English settlement at Jamestown. Quebec Founded. — Champlain went back to France, then returned to America. He hoped to establish a set- tlement on the St. Lawrence River, and to explore the great river to its source, believing that he would in this way find a western route to China. At the foot of a towering clifT where Jacques Cartier seventy years be- fore had found a flourishing Indian village Champlain landed and built a fort — the beginning of the city of Quebec (1608), a city which for more than a hundred years was to be the capital of New France. Champlain Joins an Indian War Party While at his fort on the St. Lawrence, Champlain was begged by some of the Indian tribes of Canada to join them in an THE RISE OF NEW FRANCE 107 expedition against the Iroquois, who hved in what is now known as New York State. Desiring to explore the country of the Iroquois, Champlain joined the war party, and all embarked in their canoes on the River Sorel, and began their journey southward. At last they reached the beautiful lake now known as Lake Cham- plain, named from its discoverer. The dreaded Iroquois were encountered on the shores of the lake. A fight took place in which Champlain's gun so frightened the enemy that they ran at his second fire. The victorious Indians returned to their northern homes in triumph, and on parting with Champlain invited him to visit their towns, and aid them again in their wars. Other Explorations of Champlain — Several times afterward Champlain joined expeditions of his Indian friends against the hated Iroquois. On one of these expeditions he discovered Lake Huron and Lake On- tario. Again visiting France, he brought back to Que- bec his beautiful young wife. Madame Champlain re- mained four years in Canada, spending most of her time in trying to Christianize the Indian women, and in teach- ing the catechism of the Church to the Indian children. At last, after thirty years spent in the toilsome and dangerous work of exploring the forests and waters of New France, Champlain, now an old man of sixty-eight, lay on his deathbed in the fort at Quebec. On Christ- mas Day, 1635, the father of New France breathed his last. But as long as the mountains look down upon the beautiful lake that he discovered the name of Samuel Champlain will be remembered. Io8 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY What was done toward founding settlements in America in the sixty years that followed Cartier's last voyage? Who were the leaders of the next attempt to form a French settlement? Tell about Cham- plain's previous voyages. When and where did De Monts and Cham- plain make their settlement? Why is the Port Royal settlement important to remember? Tell about the founding of Quebec; the discovery of Lake Champlain. What other lakes did Champlain dis- cover? Tell about the visit of Champlain's wife to America; about the death of Champlain. THE FOUNDERS OF THE LOUISIANA TERRITORY LA SALLE Young La Salle Arrives in Canada. — Thirty years after the body of Champlain was buried in the frozen soil at Quebec, Robert Cavalier de la Salle, a young French- came to Canada and estab- lished a trading post a few miles above Montreal. Sev- eral years later he moved to the northern shore of Lake Ontario, where he built a fort called Fort Frontenac, from the French governor of Can- ada. As commander of Fort Frontenac, La Salle ruled with iron firmness his little empire, including soldiers, man twenty-three years old, traders, missionaries, adventurers, and Lidians. Al- though fast growing rich from the profits of his fui trade, he was not contented. He longed to explore the western watercourses, to find a passage to India, and to LA SALLE. THE RISE OF NEW FRANCE 109 plant the banner of France still farther out in the un- known wilderness. La Salle Hears of Father Marquette's Discoveries. — While La Salle was still at Fort Frontenac news of the- discoveries of Father Marquette came to his ears. Father Marquette was a French missionary, who with a few companions pushed his way along- the Great Lakes in search of a great river of which the Indians had told him. From Green Bay, in the western part of Lake Michigan, Father Marquette's party ascended the Fox River to its source. Then, following an Lidian guide and carrying their canoes, they traveled through the woods to the Wisconsin River. Floating down the Wis- consin, to their joy they at last came to the great river they so much wished to see. They traveled hundreds of miles down the broad Mississippi, passing the mouths of the Missouri and the Ohio. When they had gone as far as the mouth of the Arkansas, fearing hostile In- dians, they turned back and reached Lake Michigan by the way of the Illinois River. Worn out by hardships of his long journey. Father Marquette died on the shores of Lake Superior, where the town of Marquette now stands. (See map, page 102.) La Salle Sails Down the Mississippi to Its Mouth La Salle now resolved to complete the work of Father Mar- quette, and to follow the unknown Mississippi to its mouth. With a party of Frenchmen and Indians he sailed through Lakes Ontario and Huron, and arrived at the southern shore of Lake Michigan. In his efforts to pass from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi he met with disasters that would have conquered a less heroic no THE BEr.TXNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY spirit. His ship of supplies from Canada failed to ar- rive, and he traveled back on foot a thousand miles through the icy woods to learn the cause of the delay. He returned to his task of finding a way to the Mis- sissippi. At one time his little company was almost starved when they came upon a buffalo stuck fast in the mud. They killed him and soon had plenty of buffalo meat to eat. At last La Salle ascended the Chicago River, and traversed the few miles of wilderness between that stream and the Illinois. Then he embarked on the Illinois, and floated down to the Mississippi. He contin- ued his journey down the great Father of Waters till he reached its mouth (in April, 1682). The Mississippi Valley Claimed for France. — La Salle named all the country drained by the JMississippi, Lou- isiana, in honor of King Louis of France. A short dis- tance above the mouth of the river he set up a column and a cross. Hymns were sung by the joyous Frenchmen, guns were fired, and La Salle in a loud voice proclaimed, *Tn the name of Louis the Great, King of France, I do take possession of this country of Louisiana, the seas, harbors, forts, bays, straits, and all the natives, peoples, cities, towns, mines, fisheries, streams, and rivers along the Mississippi and the rivers which discharge into it." La Salle Attempts to Plant a Colony at the Mouth of the Mississippi — La Salle and his party were the first white men to travel from the upper part of the great river to its mouth. Turning their boats up the stream, they made their way back to Canada. La Salle then returned to France and reported his discoveries to the king. King Louis was so well pleased that he gave the bold explorer THE RISE OF NEW FRANCE III four ships and plentiful supplies to found a colony at the mouth of the Mississippi. The expedition sailed by the way of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. They missed the mouth of the Mississippi, however, and, going- too far west, landed on the shores of Texas at Matagorda Bay (1685). ~-^}^,f/'^P' LA SALLE CLAIMING LOUISIANA FOR FRANCE. Death of La Salle. — La Salle built a fort on the Texas coast. Leaving part of his company at the fort, he set out with a few companions on the long overland journey to Canada to get help. La Salle was hated by some of 112 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY his followers on account of his stern rule. When the party had passed the Trinity River these discontented men quarreled with the nephew of La Salle and killed him. Then, to save themselves, they resolved to kill their leader. A shot from a traitor hiding in the tall y^' ^k- .; /i3|f^ ^/>^ ^ m w^ •* -r ' '**»» ' • \ J m% *W'^ ^ ;: y-^'-^ 4'^-^-'^^ V > • ~ ^ ^J^^O w^3r < tki '^J "^ ^^^, ^ X- ' fc>^. 1 m^ ^^gi^ •f .^ » fW> ^ fu WM ■^^ n i ■i Ik '^Hh ■tf ^^^ ^^ LA SALLE LANDING ON THE TEXAS COAST. grass pierced the heart of the heroic La Salle. Li the forests of eastern Texas a faithful priest buried the body of the iron-hearted Frenchman who had done more than any other to extend the limits of French dominion in the West. Results of La Salle's Work. — La Salle had explored THE RISE OF NEW FRANCE II3 the unknown Mississippi to its mouth ; he had claimed for France the immense region drained by the stream and its branches ; and he had given to this magnificent territory the name (Louisiana) which part of it still bears — a name that wiU always remind us of La Salle. But the effort of the great French explorer to hold the country for his king by making a settlement at the southern gate- way of Louisiana had failed. Who was La Salle? What did he do on his arrival in America? Where did he afterward build a fort? Tell about his rule of Fort Frontenac. What did La Salle hope to do ? Tell about Father Mar- quette's explorations ; the effect of the news upon La Salle. Tell about La Salle"s great exploration ; about the claim he made for France ; the name he gave the country. Where did La Salle then go? Tell about his expedition; about his death. What did La Salle accom- plish? What part of his plan failed? THE FOUNDERS OF THE LOUISIANA TERRITORY THE LE MOYNE BROTHERS The Family of Le Moyne — During the first years of young La Salle's stay in Canada he made frequent trips from his trading post on the St. Lawrence River to the near-by town of Montreal to buy ammunition and sup- plies and to dispose of the furs which he obtained from the Indians. On these visits La Salle may have seen, play- ing in the streets of Montreal or setting their traps in the woods outside the settlement, a group of Canadian boys, brothers, members of the Le Moyne family. There were twelve sons in this family of Le Moyne. Two of the boys were destined when they grew to manhood to carry out La Salle's plan of settlement in Louisiana, and to have their names associated in history with his as found- 114 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY LE MOYNE D IBERVILLE. ers of the o-reat French ]-)rovince in the Southwest. These two hrothers are hest known not by the family name of Le J\Ioyne but by the surnames their father gave them — Iber- ville and Bienville. The ex- plorations and settlements about which we have been studying- heretofore were made by natives of Spain, England, or France. Iber- ville and Bienville were born on American soil, and are among our first native Ameri- can explorers and colonizers. Iberville and His Expedition to Louisiana — The boy Iberville was fond of adventure. \\'hen fourteen years of age he joined the French navy. He was rai)idly pro- moted until, while yet a young man, he became captain of a war vessel. In his ship, the Pelican, he struck terror into the hearts of the enemies of France, sinking British ships on Hudson Bay and the neighboring waters, and capturing British forts in the St. Lawrence Valley. His successes made him the leading naval officer of France and the "idol of his countrymen." \\'hen the French king decided that La Salle's attempt to colonize Loui- siana should be renewed, Iberville was placed in com- mand of the expedition. Accompanied by his brother, Bienville, Iberville sailed from France with four ships and two hundred colonists. THE RISE OE NEW^ERANCE II5 Iberville Explores the Gulf Coast. — As Iberville's ships, leaving- the French harbor of Rochelle, disappeared in the west the older citizens of the town doubtless remembered that jtist fourteen years before Iberville's departure La Salle had sailed on his last voyage from this same harbor and with the same purpose in view. No doubt the recol- lection of the former disastrous expedition caused many gloomy shakings of the head and whispered prophecies of misfortune from the crowd of idlers who watched the sailing of Iberville's ships. But the little fleet crossed the ocean in safety. Entering the Gulf of Mexico, Iber- ville examined the coast carefully as he proceeded, de- termined to avoid La Salle's mistake. Lie steered into the bay of Pensacola, Florida, but at the mouth of the harbor he unexpectedly encountered two Spanish war- ships, protected by a Spanish fort on the mainland. The Spaniards pointed their guns at the approaching fleet and politely insisted that the Frenchmen "move on." As Iberville was not ready for a fight he followed the sug- gestion. Coasting westward, his ships passed the en- trance to Mobile Bay (Alabama), and came to a small harbor in the present State of Mississippi. The harbor was explored and named Biloxi Bay, from the Biloxi Indians, a neighboring friendly tribe. Iberville Enters the Mouth of the Mississippi River. — Continuing their westward course Iberville's men reached the mouth of the 3^Iississippi and began to ascend the stream, uncertain, however, whether the river was actually the Mississippi or not. The Indian tribes on the banks of the river were friendly. The^^ gave the French- Il6 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY men some chickens, which they said they had obtained from tribes in the west (probably originally from the Spanish settlers in Mexico). In the possession of these Indians Iberville found a suit of Spanish armor which probably had belonged to one of De Soto's men. But what gave greatest joy to the Frenchmen was a letter which an Indian chief showed to Iberville. This letter was addressed to La Salle, and was written by Tonty, a former companion of La Salle. Tonty had descended the Mississippi from Illinois in search of his friend, and when unable to find him had left the letter with an Indian chief, to be delivered to La Salle if he should ever come that way. The letter proved to Iberville that he was sail- ing on the Mississippi River. The Frenchmen Encounter an English Ship — ^Vhile a few of Iberville's men, under his brother, Bienville, were returning to the mouth of the Mississippi in a rowboat they encountered an English ship entering the river. The English vessel was commanded by a Captain Barr, and bore a colony of French Huguenots who had been ex- pelled from France on account of their religion, and who were now sent by an English company to found a set- tlement under the English flag on the banks of the Mississippi River. Captain Barr stopped Bienville and questioned him about the river which he had entered. Bienville assured him that this stream was already occu- pied by the French, and advised him to search farther west for the Mississippi River. Accordingly the English captain turned his ship and, to the great joy of Bienville, sailed out into the^Gulf. The place where Captain Barr turned his .ship is still known as the "English Turn." THE RISE OF NEW FRANCE 117 FIRST SETTLEMENTS IN LOUISIANA. First Settlements in Mississippi and Alabama. — After several months' exploration of the river, Iberville re- turned to Biloxi Bay, where he established a settlement (1699). The French claimed, as part of Louisiana, the Gulf coast country as far east as Florida. Their settlements at Bil- oxi was the first capital of Louis- iana. On one of his exploring expeditions Iberville reached a high blufif on the east bank of the Mississippi in the coun- try of the Natchez Indians. The place seemed so beau- tiful that he declared the capital of Louisiana ought to be placed here. On this bluff Bienville afterward built a fort which was the beginning of the city of Natchez, Mississippi. The capital of Louisiana remained at Biloxi a few years. It was afterward removed to a place near where the city of Mobile now stands. Mobile was the first white settlement in the present State of Alabama. Death of Iberville. — Iberville explored the lower Mis- sissippi, built a fort near the mouth of the river, and es- tablished settlements on the Gulf coast. Meanwhile he made several voyages to France, returning each time with colonists and supplies. On one of these voyages he was taken ill with yellow fever contracted during a short stay in the West Indies, and died on board his ship. His Il8 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY body was taken to Havana, Cuba. There in the Church of St. Christopher, where the remains of Coktmbus rested for a time, the great French-American explorer was buried. The Founding of New Orleans. — After I])cr\illc's death his l)rother Bienville was ap- pointed governor of Louisiana. Governor Bienville determined to remove his capital to the banks of the Mississippi. The ]ilace he selected was about one hundred miles from the mouth of the river, where the stream makes a great bend shaped like the new moon.. Here, in 1718, Bienville laid the foundations of a city which was named New Orleans, in honor of the French prince, the Duke of Orleans. The city is also known as the "Crescent City," from the shape of the bend in the river. The "Cassette" Girls — It was discovered that in Louisiana, as in the colony of Virginia before, there were too many roving, discontented bachelors. AA^ives were needed to make happy homes for the settlers. Accord- ingly, several shiploads of girls were brought from France, and the Louisiana priests were kept busy for a time performing marriage ceremonies. The maidens in one of these companies are known as the "cassette girls," because on their departure from France, each girl was presented with a trousseau in a trunk, or cassette. It is LE MOYNE DE BIENVILLE. THE RISE OF NEW FRANCE 119 said that all the "cassette girls" were married in less than a month save one. The hand of this coy maiden was sought in vain. Her Louisiana suitors did not please her, and she would have no man in the colony. The Louisiana Mosquitoes. — Hostile Indians were not the only foes that caused trou1)le to the colonists. One of the settlers, writing about the hardships of the new country, says: ''The greatest torment — in comparison with which all the rest would be but sport, which passes all belief and has never been even imagined in France, still less actually experienced — is that of mosquitoes, the cruel persecution of mosquitoes. The plagues of Egypt, I think, were not more cruel. This little insect has caused more swearing since the French have been in Louisiana than had previously taken place in the rest of the world." NEW ORLEANS IN I73O. Growth of New Orleans. — The new capital was favor- ably located for trade, but at first its growth was slow. At the time that Louisiana became a part of the United States — nearly one hundred years after the foundation of New Orleans — the city contained eight thousand in- habitants. The invention of the cotton gin and the 120 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY steamboat gave a wonderful increase to the trade and population of the place. It is now the largest city in the Southern States and one of the greatest cotton markets in the world. A large number of the citizens of New Orleans are descendants of the. old French families of Bienville's time, while the names of many of her streets and many customs of her people are inherited from France. Death of Bienville. — Bienville lived forty-three l)usy years in Louisiana, and was three times governor of the province. . His last days were spent in France, but he never ceased to look upon Louisiana as his child. A short while before his death the news reached America that the King of France had given to Spain what was left to him of Louisiana (the English had taken in war the eastern half of the province — see page 158). The Louisianans held a great meeting in New Orleans and sent one of their number to France to beg the king not to give up his loyal subjects, but to take back his prov- ince. Bienville, an old man of eighty-seven, was then living in Paris. He accompanied the representative of Louisiana to the French court, and with tears joined in the prayer that Louisiana be not given up. But the re- quest was refused. When the old man realized that his beloved Louisiana had passed from the ownership of France his heart seemed to break and he died a few months later. Louisiana remained a Spanish possession for thirty-five years. Then it was given back to France (1800), and three years later became a part of the United States — see page 211. THE RISE OF NEW FRANCE 121 Through the work of French Territory in America. Cartier, Champlain, La Salle, Iberville, and Bienville France came into the possession of the heart of the North FRENCH TERRITORY IN AMERICA, 1750. American continent — a great wedge-shaped region ex- tending between the Rocky Mountains and the Allegha- nies from the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes on the north to the Gulf of Mexico on the south. At one end of this territory were the French towns of Port Royal, Quebec, and Montreal; at the other were New Orleans, Biloxi, and Mobile. A long line of widely sepa- rated forts connected these distant settlements. Where was La Salle stationed when he first came to Canada ? Tell about his visits to Montreal; the Le Moyne family; the two most famous members of this family. Tell of Iberville's early life; his success as a naval officer; the expedition to America under his com- mand. From what harbor did this expedition sail ? Compare Iber- ville's expedition with La Salle's. What occurred when Iberville reached Pensacola, Fla. ? What bay did he enter and name ? Tell of his entrance upon the Mississippi and his experiences with the 122 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY Indians. Give an account of the meeting of Bienville and Captain Barr. Where did Iberville establish the first capital of Louisiana? When? Tell of the beginning of Natchez, Miss.; of the removal of the capital from Biloxi ; the death of Iberville ; his burial place. What had he accomplished in Louisiana? Who was the founder of New Orleans? What can you say of the location of the city? origin of its name? Tell of the bringing of young women from France; of the suffering of the colonists from mosquitoes ; the growth of New Orleans. Can you mention any French names or French customs in New Orleans to-day? To what nations did France give up Louisi- ana? Describe Bienville's attempt to prevent the last transfer. Give the extent of American territory acquired for France; the names of her great explorers. CHAPTER VII Pictures of Life in the Colonies General \^iew of the Colonies Three Hundred Years Ago. — If some fairy b}- waving a magic wand conld show us our country as it appeared about three hundred years ago, what changes would she have to make ! All of our towns and cities, railroads, telegraphs, wagon roads, bridges, churches, schools, farmhouses, fields of cotton and of grain would disap- pear. In their stead would be one great stretch of forest and prairie, inhabited by wandering Indians and wild animals. For, you must remember, it was about three hundred years ago that Jamestown was founded. The only white settlers then in all of North America besides the little group of Englishmen on the banks of the James River, in Virginia, were a few^ Spaniards at the town of St. Augustine, in Florida, other Spaniards at scattered settlements in ]Mexico, and some Frenchmen just arrived at the mouth of the St. Lawrence. No one knew how far westward from the Atlantic coast the North American continent extended. Many believed that some strait or water passage could be found connecting the Atlantic with the Pacific. One Hundred and Fifty Years Ago. — Let us suppose our fairy by another wave of her magic wand could carry 123 124 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY US forward to a time halfway between the founding of Jamestown and the present day. One hundred and fifty years have passed since our first picture. During this time many changes have taken place. Of the three na- tions who first sent colonists to this country, one, the Spanish, has not extended its settlements, but is still confined to Florida and Mexico. The French have pushed up the St. Lawrence River, through the Great Lakes, and down the Mississippi to its mouth, founding few settlements, but establishing many forts and trading posts, making friends w^ith the Indians, and claiming the country for their king. But the people who have in- creased most in numbers and have taken the firmest hold upon America are the English. Instead of one strug- gling' settlement on the banks of the James, there are now thirteen English colonies, bordering the Atlantic coast from New Hampshire to Georgia. These thirteen English colonies were the beginning of our great and powerful country, the United States. We shall now study something of the manners and customs of the set- tlers and try to find out what sort of people our colonial forefathers were in their everyday life. The English Colonies — The thirteen English colonies have been studied by you in three groups: (i) The Southern colonies, including Virginia and her neighbors, Maryland, North and South Carolina, and Georgia; (2) the Northern, or New England, colonies, including Mas- sachusetts and her neighbors, Connecticut, Rhode Is- land, and New Hampshire; (3) the Middle colonies, in- cluding Pennsylvania and her ^neighbors, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware, PICTURES OF LIFE IN THE COLONIES 125 These colonies lay along the Atlantic coast from Mas- sachusetts (which then included the present State of Maine) on the north to Geor- gia on the south. The Alleghany Mountains marked the western limit of the white settle- ments, although the whole re- gion as far west as the Missis- sippi River was claimed by sev- eral colonies. The oldest col- ony, and also the largest, was Virginia. Next in age to Virginia came the New England colony of Massachusetts, then the Middle colony of New York ; Georgia was the youngest colony. The baby sisters in size then, as now, were Rhode Island and Delaware. Differences in Language and Customs While the peo- ple of the thirteen colonies were chiefly English, yet there were among them many settlers from other nations. In New York the Dutch were numerous ; in New Jersey and Delaware, Swedes; in Pennsylvania and Georgia, Ger- mans ; in South Carolina, French. These people gradu- ally learned the English language, and in time all be- MAP c:)F THE COLUXIES. 126 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY came Americans. Yet for a long- while they kept up many of the customs of their old homes, and thus caused differences hetween the colonies. Difference in Religion — In those days religious helief made a much greater difference hetween people than it does now. We have seen that the English colonists were not all of the same religion. In New England most of the people were Puritans, or Separatists ; in the Southern colonies memhers of the Church of England, or Epis- copal Church, were numerous. Pennsylvania was the home of Quakers, and jNIaryland of Roman Catholics. While Roger ^^'illiams in Rhode Island, Lord Baltimore in Maryland, and William Penn in Pennsylvania tried to provide fair treatment for those of dift'erent religious views, yet in most of the colonies those denominations not in power were oppressed hy harsh laws. Thus the re- ligious beliefs of the settlers caused the colonies to differ. Difference in Occupation — The people of the Southern colonies were chiefly farmers. Most of the farms covered hundreds of acres, and these large farms were called plantations. The chief crops were tobacco (in Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina) and rice and indigo (in South Carolina and Georgia). \'ery little cotton was then raised. There were few towns in the Southern colonies. The homes of the planters were on the banks of deep rivers, so that wdien cloth, tools, and such things as the colonists themselves could not make were needed, these goods could be bought from English there were scarcely any stores in the South. In the New ships that landed almost at their doors. For this reason England colonies the soil was not rich as in the South, PICTURES OF LIFE IN THE COLONIES 127 and farming did not pay. Small patches of ground were cultivated, hut the people made their living chiefly hy fishing and trading. So there were many towns and vil- lages and no large plantations. In the Middle colonies, as in the South, farming was a favorite occupation. Wheat, oats and rye were the usual crops. Tell something about the appearance of our country when James- town was founded, three hundred years ago. What changes had taken place one hundred and fifty years later — halfway between the founding of Jamestown and to-day? What can you say of the progress of English settlements? Name the colonies included in each of the three groups we have studied. What were the boundaries of the colonies, taken as a whole ? Which was the oldest colony ? the youngest ? the largest? the smallest? Tell about the different languages and cus- toms among the colonists ; the difference in religion ; in occupations. STORY OF A NEW ENGLAND BOY Let US picture in our minds the home life o.f a New England hoy of colonial times. The Early Morning-. — It was hardly daylight one cold December morning when tv/elve-year-old Josiah Quincy was awakened by his mother calling to him and to his brother Ezekiel that it was time to get up. The boys hurried into their clothes, their teeth chattering in the cold, and hastened downstairs to do their share of the morn- ing's work. There were no stoves in those days, cooking was done in the great kitchen fireplace, which was high enough for a man to stand in without stooping, and big enough to hold nearly a wagonload of wood. FLINT AND STEEL. The 128 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY NEW ENGLAND KITCHEN OF 1:aRLY TIMES, The father had already scraped away the ashes which he had placed over the burning logs the night before. As matches were unknown the fire was not allowed to die out, but at night the coals were carefully covered with ashes. If by mischance there were no coals, fire was kindled by striking a piece of steel against a flint rock until the sparks came and were caught in dry shavings or scorched linen cloth. Occupation before Breakfast — As the boys stood be- fore the fire rubbing their cold hands the mother busied herself preparing to cook mush in one of the pots that hung from an iron hook over the fire, and to roast in the hot ashes the potatoes and dried herring-fish which the PICTURES OF LIFE IN THE COLONIES 129 father had just brought up from the cellar. The cellar was a large, dark room dug under the house, in which were stored heaps of potatoes, turnips, and apples, and other articles of food for winter use. Ezekiel, happen- ing to glance toward the window, suddenly called out, "Look, it is snowing again." Both boys ran toward the window and climbed into a chair (for the window sill was higher than their heads). They peered through the lit- tle panes of coarse green glass at the snowflakes that fell noiselessly against the window. Their older sister. Com- fort, called them to come with her to help milk the cows; and buttoning up their coats tight under their chins, and pulling their hats down over their ears, the boys, each with a bucket un- der his arm, scampered through the snow ahead of their sister. After the milking Josiah drew some water from the well with a bucket hung from a long pole called a well sweep, while Ezekiel carried a bucketful into the house for his mother. Queer Names. — You must have noticed what queer names the New England boys and girls of that time had. The father and mother of Josiah and Ezekiel were known as Goodman and Goodwife Quincy. Besides their older sister, Comfort, there were the eight-year-old sister, Deliverance, and little Thankful, the baby. Their mother's given name was Seaborn, because she was born on the ship that brought her parents from England. Duties of the Household. — Breakfast over, the boys OLD WELL SWEEP. I30 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY drove the cows to the "common," a large open field used by all the townspeople as a pasture. Then they got ready for school. Meanwhile the mother and sisters were not idle. Goodwife Quincy prepared to make soap in one of the huge kettles in the fireplace, while Comfort with the big spinning wheel spun into thread for cloth some wool which her father had sheared from the sheep. When the cloth was made, or woven, it was cut out and stitched into warm clothes. The sewing was done with the fingers, for there were no sewing-machines in those days. Lit- tle Deliverance, after sweeping the room, seated herself by the baby's cradle, with her knitting in her lap; for although only eight years old, she was a good knitter and had already made a pair of big stockings for each of her brothers. His School. — The school which Josiah and Ezekiel at- tended was taught by a man two months in the winter. Only boys attended the winter school. In the summer came the girl's time. Then a lady teacher was employed, and .a school for girls and little boys was held for two months. The sal- ary of the teachers was small, yet they did not have to pay anything for board. The teacher lived in turn at the homes of his pupils, staying longest with those families that had most children in school. Good- man and Goodwife Quincy always welcomed the teacher, and gave him the best food on the table and the warmest COLONIAL FURNITURE. PICTURES OF LIFE IN THE COLONIES 131 place by the fire. On the long winter evenings he helped the boys with their lessons and sometimes held the yarn for Comfort as she spun, or sometimes he es- corted her to spinning matches or to quilting parties. Dancing parties and theaters were strictly forbidden. When Josiah and Ezekiel are older they will be sent to Harvard College, which was situated three miles from Boston and was the oldest college in all the colonies. Girls were not admitted to any college. The Schoolhouse and Schoolbooks. — The schoolhouse was made of rough boards, and contained one room with a great fireplace in He that ne.er learns his A, B.C. one. end. The seats ^^^ ever wili a Blockhead be ; were benches with no backs, and so high that the feet of the smaller boys could not touch the floor. For a desk a wide plank, or shelf, projecting from the wall was used. Blackboards and maps were unknown. The books studied were the Horn Book, the New England Primer, the Catechism, and the Bible. The Horn book was a sheet of paste- , 1 ... PAGE FROAI NEW ENGLAND PRIMER. board on which were written the letters of the alphabet and as many easy 132 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY words as could be crowded upon it. This pasteboard was set in a frame like a slate, and both sides covered with thin sheets of horn, through which tlie letters could be seen, and which kept them from being soiled by the pupils' fingers. There were no copy-books and arith- metics, but the teacher taught his pupils to write and "cipher" without a book. Saturday's Work and Play — Saturday then, as now, was holiday. Sometimes Josiah and Ezekiel were kept busy all day Saturday helping to churn or to dig pota- toes or to make candles ( for there were no lamps in those days, and gas and electric lights had not been dreamed of). "Dip" candles were made by dipping a wick into melted tallow, then cooling it and dipping it again until enough tallow stuck to the wick. "Mold" can- dles were made by pour- ing the melted tallow into hollow tin tubes the size of candles. But the boys often had most of Satur- day to themselves. Then they were off to the woods to set traps for rabbits or foxes, or with other boys they slid down the snowy hill- sides on their homemade sleds, or skated on the ice of the brook. A favorite game was playing soldier. One of the boys was chosen captain ; then arming themselves with sticks for guns, they marched or halted at the cap- tain's order, or charged upon make-believe Indians, con- cealed behind piles of brush. CANDLE MOLDS, CANDLE, AND CANDLESTICK. PICTURES OF LIFE IN THE COLONIES 1 33 The Books in His Home. — Books for children's reading were not made in those days. Indeed, books of any kind were scarce and costly. On the bookshelf in Josiah's home, however, were eight or ten books. Here are the names of some of them : The Lives of the Mar- tyrs, The Dreadful Effects of Popery, The Law of Na- tions, The Improvement of the Mind. Not very interest- ing to a boy do these sound. But there were two other books which Josiah and Ezekiel had read so often that the covers were getting worn and the binding loose. On the long winter evenings when there were no lessons to be studied the boys loved to stretch themselves on the floor in front of the fire, and by the light of the blazing logs bury themselves in the delightful pages of Pilgrim's Progress and Robinson Crusoe. And then on one end of the bookshelf was a pile of "almanacs," one for each year for the last twenty years. These "almanacs" con- tained scraps of history, poetry, anecdotes, and jokes, and they were full of interest to every member of the family able to read. His Sabbath — On Saturday evening the family began to get ready for Sunday. After sunset on Saturday no games were allowed, nor could Robinson Crusoe or the almanacs be read. Before the evening prayer was of- fered the father called all the larger children around him and had them repeat the catechism and some of the hymns or psalms they had already committed to memory. Sunday morning found our two boys at church dressed in brand new suits made by their mother and older sister. There was a large congregation, for the law was that any one staying away from church save for sickness or 134 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY some equally good excuse might be arrested and made to pay a fine or be put in the stocks. As Goodman Quincy was a church officer he took his seat near the pulpit. His wife sat on the side of the church reserved for women. Josiah and Ezekiel took their places with the children be- hind the grown people. There was no organ and no choir. A man, called the clerk, stood up in front of the STOCKS. pulpit and read out one line of the hymn at a time ; then all the people sang it. On the pulpit beside the Bible was an hourglass, which looked like two little glass funnels joined together at the small ends and with the large ends closed. One-half of the hourglass was filled with sand, and in just one hour all the sand ran down from the PICTURES OF LIFE IN THE COLONIES 1 35 Upper half into the lower half of the glass. Then the preacher turned the hourglass over, and in another hour the sand ran back. As there were no watches in those days hourglasses were often used to measure time. As the minister began his sermon the boys listened carefully for the text and repeated it over and over to themselves, for they knew their father would expect them to say it when they reached home. After the text it was hard to keep awake, for much of the sermon could not be under- stood by children. The minister had turned the hour- glass the second time, and Ezekiel's eyes were half- closed, when the words ''roaring lion," uttered by the preacher as he brought his fist down on the pulpit with a bang, caused the boy to start. He leaned over to Josiah and proposed to him in a whisper that they go into the woods the first thing next day and look at their new fox trap. Before Josiah could answer both boys felt a sharp tap on the back of their heads. The "tithing man," whose duty it was to keep the children quiet and the grown people awake, had with his long rod,. tipped with a rabbit's foot, rapped the heads of the whisperers. You may be sure they sat up straight during the rest of the sermon. His Day in Boston — Sometimes Goodman Quincy had to go to Boston on business, and usually one of the boys was allowed to accompany him. As it was a fifteen-mile ride old Sol was saddled and bridled early in the morning. Josiah climbed up behind his father. Ezekiel stayed at home this time, as he went with his father last month. When they reached town the horse was hitched to one of the racks on the common, and Josiah's father hurried 136 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY off to transact his business. Meanwhile Josiah wan- dered down to the wharves to see the ships. There were whahng vessels from the northern seas, with cargoes of whale oil and whalebone. Hundreds of small fishing vessels from the coasts near by were unloading great quantities of fresh fish. A schooner from the West In- dies was bringing in barrels of molasses, which was made by the New Englanders into a cheap liquor, called rum. A ship from England was unloading a cargo of cloth, knives, tableware, and other things the colonists were not allowed to make themselves. There was a ship just get- ting ready to leave for England. She was loaded with great pine logs which were to be made into masts for ships. Barrels of salted fish were being loaded on other vessels soon to sail to the West Indies. There was a large new ship which Josiah examined with great curi- osity, for some one had told him it was a "slaver," and was to sail to Africa in a few days. Just then it was be- ing loaded with casks of rum. This rum would be given to African chiefs in exchange for negro men, women, and children captured by them. The captive negroes would be stowed away on the "slaver" and taken to the South- ern colonies, where they would be sold as slaves to work the tobacco, rice, and indigo plantations. While Josiah was looking at the ship the governor's carriage hurried by, driven by a negro slave. But there were not many slaves in New England. The climate was too cold for them, and they were best suited for farm work on large plantations. Thus working, playing, going to school, and attending church, the New England boys and girls grew up to be PICTURES OF LIFE IN THE COLONIES 1 37 industrious, intelligent, churchgoing men and women, who did their share in making our country the powerful nation it is to-day. How old was the New England boy in our story? Tell what took place before breakfast in Josiah's home. What queer names were found ? After breakfast what wer-e the boys' duties ? the mother's ? the older sister's? the younger sister's? Tell about the school the boys attended ; the teacher ; the schoolhouse ; the books studied. What work did the boys sometimes do on Saturday ? How did they spend their holidays? What books were found in their home? Tell about the preparation for Sunday. What was the law about churchgoing? How were the members of Josiah's family seated in church ? Tell about the singing; the hourglass. What were the children required to remember? Tell about the tap on the head Josiah received in church ; about his visit to Boston, and what he saw. THE STORY OF A SOUTHERN BOY Let us now take a look at the home life of a Southern boy and girl in the old colonial times. Saturday Morning — In our minds we can picture a white boy, accompanied by a negro companion, wander- ing through the woods near the banks of the Rappahan- nock River, in the colony of Virginia. The white boy carried a gun upon his shoulder, and his hunting suit of coarse, strong cloth was discolored from frequent use. The negro boy who addressed his companion as "Mars' George," carried a game bag well stocked with squirrels and partridges. He was barefooted, and his trousers and shirt showed several patches of different colors. His kinky hair could be seen through the holes in the crown of the old hat that came down over his ears. A fine set- ter dog ran through the woods to right and left, just ahead of the young hunters. 138 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY His Father's Tobacco Field — Coming to the edge of the woods, George and black Jasper made their way through a great tobacco field in which twenty or thirty negro men and women were at work cutting the long- leaved plants and placing them in the wagons which were to carry them to the great tobacco barns in the distance. A white man, called an ''overseer," rode about among the negroes, directing them in their work. They did not seem to mind the hard work nor the hot sun, but were laughing and singing at the top of their voices. Their songs had strange tunes. Sometimes there were no words, only musical sounds, and sometimes they made up the words as they sang. Here is one verse of a song the negroes often sang : "O, whar shall we go w'en de great day comes Wid de blowin' er de trumpits en de bangin' er de drums? How many po' sinners'U be kotched out late, En fin' no latch ter de golden gate? No use fer ter wait till ter-morrer ! De sun mustn't set on yo' sorrer ! Sin's ez sharp ez a bamboo brier, O Lord, fotch de mo'ners up higher !'* His Home. — As the boys neared the house a negro man came out to the end of the long porch toward the to- bacco field, and blew a blast from a great tin horn. This meant twelve o'clock, and was a signal for the field hands to stop work for dinner. George handed his gun to Jasper, and, bidding him take the game around the house to the kitchen and prepare it to be cooked for supper, ran up to his room to change his soiled hunting suit and bathe his face and hands before coming down to dinner. PICTURES OF LIFE IN THE COLONIES 139 While George is getting ready for dinner let us take a look at his home, A grassy lawn dotted with stately trees stretched away in front of the house toward the riv'er, which sparkled in the sunlight just beyond the "big road." The house was two stories high with a broad front porch extending the width of the house, supported by massive columns. Behind the house, in the distance, were the stables and barns, and long rows of cabins. SOUTHERN COLONIAL HOME — THE HERMITAGE. called the "quarters," the homes of the negro slaves. To the right of the house was the garden, laid out in prim style with perfectly clean walks between well-kept beds shaped in triangles, sc^uares, and circles. In the part of the garden next the house were the flowers, the special care of Elizabeth, or "Betty," George's sister. Here were hedges of lilacs, beds of sunflowers, roses, tiilips, pinks, peonies, poppies, and hollyhocks. Geraniums, I40 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY verbenas, chrysanthemums, and many other of our fa- vorite flowers were then unknown. Among the veg- etables of which George's people had never heard were the tomato, the eggplant, and okra. Years afterward the seed of the tomato was brought to this country from France, and the plant was cultivated in flower gardens for ornament. The fruit was thought for a long time to be poisonous, and was called the love apple. His Dinner. — A negro boy somewhat smaller than Jasper came to the dining-room door and rang the bell for dinner. George's mother, Mrs. Washington, in a simple black gown, took her seat at the head of the table. George sat opposite his mother and asked God's blessing before beginning to eat, for his father had died three years before, and he, as the eldest of his mother's chil- dren, must take his father's place. On both sides of the table were seated the other children — Elizabeth, a girl of thirteen, and the three younger boys, Samuel, Augustine, and Charles. A negro man, with long white apron reaching from his chin to his knees, waited upon the table. Dinner over, the younger boys got their mother's per- mission to accompany Uncle Chess, an old negro slave, to the river near by to catch fish. George and his mother and Elizabeth took their seats on the front porch. Elizabeth busied herself with a handkerchief she was embroidering, while George and his mother talked ear- nestly over the afi:'airs of the plantation. Entertainment of Visitors — Late in the afternoon, while George, with Jasper's help, was busy in the -back yard cleaning his gun, two horsemen rode up to the gate PICTURES OF LIFE IN THE COLONIES 141 in front of the house. Mrs. Washington, who had seen them approaching, called to Jasper to run and take charge of the gentlemen's horses. George came through the house and met the strangers at the front porch with a hearty welcome. They proved to be two planters on their way to Williamsburg, the capital of the colony. You must remember that there were no rail- STAGECOACH AND INN. roads in those days. On a few of the most-traveled wagon roads a stagecoach passed about once a week, drawn by four or six horses and carrying passengers in- side with their baggage strapped on behind. The roads were so rough that most of the traveling was done on horses. The horseback traveler carried his baggage in great leather "saddlebags." The Plantation Parlor — The strangers had hardly taken their seats on the porch when Mrs. Washington 142 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY appeared and gave them a cordial g-reeting, inviting them to pass the night at her home. One of the negroes car- ried their saddlebags to the guest room upstairs, which was always kept ready for visitors. After supper the family, with the two visitors, assembled in the parlor, a large room furnished with a shiny black sofa and stifif- backed chairs, its small-paned windows hung with dimity cm'tains. From the great fireplace, adorned with a huge bouquet of brilliant-colored autumn leaves, brass and- irons shone forth like gold. Over the mantel hung a por- trait of George's father as |^^^^^^;~-lij[$|i|^ a young man. On the walls were' several other portraits, among them one of George's mother in her There was any sideboard which held a handsome silver bowl, pitcher, and goblets that once be- longed to George's great-grandfather. In one corner of the room was a harpsichord, a musical instrument re- sembling a small three-cornered piano. The parlor was lighted by several candles fixed in tall silver candlesticks. After some time spent in conversation one of the guests asked Betty to give them some music. At once, with- out waiting to be "begged," she stepped to the harpsi- chord, and played one of the pieces her mother had taught her. The Guest Chamber. — Bedtime always came early in George's home, and it was the custom to hold family HARPSICHORD. girlhood, a tall mahog- PICTURES OF LIFE IN THE COLONIES 143 prayers before retiring. Since her husband's death Mrs. Washington had trained George to take his father's place and read from the prayer book the form of family wor- ship. To-night, however, at her request, one of her guests led the prayer, after which the good-nights were said, and a servant with lighted candle led the strangers upstairs to their room. The bed in this room would seem queer to a boy or girl of to-day. In the first place, it was so high that you would think one would have to climb into it with the help of a chair, and if the sleeper should chance to roll out of bed he would get a severe bump. Then the tall bedposts at the four corners of the bed almost touched the low ceiling, and from them curtains of spotless white were draped. The bedspread, home- made and woven in fancy patterns, reached down to the floor. The pillows, arrayed in their starched pillow shams, rested stiffly upon the bolster. The sheets were spotlessly clean and the mat- tress comfortable, so there is no doubt the visitors slept soundly. His Sabbath — Sunday morning the household pre- pared for church. The guests accepted Mrs. Wash- ington's invitation and took seats in the family carriage with Betty and her mother, while George on one horse and the two younger boys on another accompanied them. On the driver's seat of the carriage sat black Caesar, feel- ing his importance as, arrayed in his Sunday best and CHURCH WASHINGTON ATTElsfDED. 144 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY flourishing his whip, he held a tight rein on the spirited horses. By his side was the black boy Tom, ready to jump down and open the carriage door when a stop was made. As they neared the church a number of horses and carriages were seen in the shade of the great trees that surrounded the building, while others were ap- proaching from different directions. The church was a small brick building with square doors and arched win- dows. Inside were tall straight-backed pews, each en- tered by a door, which the occupant always closed be- hind him. There was a gallery on one side, in which the negroes were seated. The minister wore a robe, or sur- plice, and he reached his high pulpit by climbing a wind- ing stairway. The service was that of the Episcopal Church. George and his sister and brothers each had a prayer book and joined heartily and reverently in all the responses. His School — On Monday morning the young folks were up bright and early to get ready for school. The schoolhouse was five miles distant. A negro manservant usually accompanied the children to and from school. They rode horseback and carried their dinners with them. It was not a free school, but parents paid for the tuition of their children. The attendance of pupils was small, chiefly because the planters lived so far apart that it was almost impossible for children to attend regularly. The schoolhouse of that day had uncomfortable "homemade" desks and seats, and was not supplied with maps or black- boards. It was known as an "old-field school," because it stood in an old field that from long use had become un- fit for cultivation. The teacher was sometimes the PICTURES OF LIFE IN THE COLONIES I45 church sexton, sometimes the minister. The girls were usually taught privately at home by a governess or tutor. The older boys were sent to William and Mary College at Williamsburg. Outdoor Life and Sports. — The Southern people were fond of horses and of horseback riding. Every white family kept a horse, and the rich planters had stables full of the finest animals. The planter never walked except about the house. Every morning his horse, all saddled and bridled, groomed and curried until he shone like silk, was brought to his door by a negro slave. The poor farmer who owned no slave would often spend hours tramping through the woods to find and catch his horse in order to ride two or three miles to church or to the courthouse or to visit a neighbor. Horse racing, fox hunting, and deer hunting were favorite sports for men and boys. Open air barbecues were frequent, at which plenty of fun was provided for everybody. A Virginia newspaper of colonial times gives notice that "On St. Andrew's Day there are to be Horse Races and several other Diversions for the entertainment of the Gentle- men and Ladies at the Old Field near Capt. John Bicker- ton's." The program provided, among other things, "That a violin be played for by twenty Fiddlers, no per- son to have the liberty of playing unless he bring a fiddle with him. After the prize is won they are all to play together, and each one a different tune, and to be treated by the company." "That twelve boys of twelve years of age do run a hundred and twelve yards for a Hat of the cost of twelve shillings." "That a handsome entertain- ment be provided for the subscribers and their wives; 146 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY and such of them as are not so happy as to have wives may treat any other body." A Visit to Williamsburg, the Capital To Southern boys and girls af colonial times there was no more joyous event than a visit to the capital of the colony. A favorite time for the trip was while the lawmakers of the colony were holding their yearly meeting. Then we may pic- ture a Virginia planter and his wife with their two old- est children taking their places in the family coach, and amid the good-byes of children and serv- ants left behind they are whirled away to \\ illiamsburg. They find the little town aroused from its usual sleepiness. Its streets are filled with visitors who exchange hearty L^reetings when they meet, or who stand in groups eagerly discus- sing the price of tobacco, or the speed of a favorite horse, or the conduct of the royal governor. The hall of the "burgesses," or lawmakers, is one of the places they visit in order to listen to the speeches. Perhaps Virginia's great orator, Patrick Henry, makes their ears tingle and their blood beat faster by one of his fiery speeches de- nouncing the king for his mistreatment of his loving sub- jects. Then our visitors attend the horse races, and the boys hurrah when their favorite wins. But the girls will OLD CAPITOL AT WILLIAMSBURG. PICTURES OF LIFE IN THE COLONIES 147 not be happy until they have been invited to a ball at the governor's palace. On the night of the dance the guests assemble early. They find the heavy furniture moved out of the hall and the floor waxed until it is shining and slippery as glass. A multitude of candles in polished silver candlesticks light the house as brilliantly as candles can light it. Negro servants hurry to and fro, each one feeling as important as the governor himself. Several negroes seated in a corner diligently tune their violins. The favorite dances are the slow and graceful minuet and the more lively reel. Waltzes are unknown. The figures of the dance are usually called out in a loud voice, and each gentleman, bowing low to his lady partner and catching the tips of her fingers, moves through the stately measure. The Boy Grown to Manhood. — You have seen that the owner of a Southern plantation had a great many people to care for and to direct. The children of the planter were early trained, like George Washington, to assist their parents in managing the plantation. This training in the control of important business and in governing many servants helped to make of the Southern boys, as they grew to manhood, successful army officers, law- makers, leaders of men, who played important parts in laying the foundation of their country's future greatness. The girls, too, grew to be women who ruled within their homes with gentle yet queenly grace, and who in "times of sorrow and danger set splendid examples of courage and self-sacrifice. In what colony is the home of the boy in the second story? Tell about his return from a hunt; about the negroes in his father's to- 148 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY bacco field. Describe George's home; the garden; the dinner; the arrival of visitors. How did people travel in those days ? Tell about the welcome to the guests. Describe the parlor. Tell about Betty's music ; family prayers ; the guest room. How did George's household go to church? Describe the church. Tell about George's school. How were the girls taught? Tell about the fondness of the Southern colonists for horses; the sports advertised for St. Andrew's Day; the visit to the capital; the places visited at Williamsburg. Describe the ball. Of what value to Southern boys and girls was their home training? CHAPTER VIII The French War and the Downfall of New France Colonel George Washington A New Enemy Faces the English Colonists. — We have seen how the sturdy English settlers along the Atlantic coast overcame every difficulty that beset them. The freezing cold of New England winters, the scorching fevers of Southern summers, perils of starvation, attacks by savage In- dians — all these dan- gers and others be- sides often threatened the settlements with destruction. But brave, persever- ing, industrious, our fathers conquered each enemy that opposed them until thirteen EngHsh colonies were firmly established, with settlements dotting the Atlantic coast from New Hampshire to Georgia. Now, as the English settlers began to push westward beyond the Alleghany Mountains, they were brought face to face with another enemy. The French occupants of the Mississippi Valley built forts on the western slopes of the Alleghanies and 149 NEW FRANCE AT BEGINNING OF THE WAR. 150 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY disputed the progress of the Enghsh. A great conflict now arose to settle the question whether Frenchmen or Enghshmen were to be masters of North America. The Beginning of the Quarrel. — On a cold, rainy De- cember day the soldiers of one of the new French forts in the Western wilderness were startled to see, coming out of the woods, a tall young man leading a small party consisting of four or five white men and several Indians. The visitors, weary and mud-stained from a long jour- ney of nearly five hundred miles, were kindly received into the fort. The young leader at once asked to see the French commander, and delivered to him a letter from the governor of Virginia. In this letter the governor said he was surprised that the French should build a fort on land which everybody knew belonged to the English ; he demanded that the Frenchmen should at once march themselves back to their own territory. He added that he hoped his messenger, Major Washington,' would l)e kindly received, and that a favorable answer would be returned. Major George Washington. — Major Washington, the governor's messenger, was the same George Washington whose boyhood home has been described. George had left school at fifteen, with a fair knowledge of arithmetic, geometry, and surveying, a good penman, and skilled in keeping accounts. He was tall, strong, and active, fond of running, leaping, and wrestling, and able to ride the wildest horse. It is said that he could throw a stone across the Rappahannock River at a place where nobody else has ever been able to do it. His half-brother, Law- rence, many years older than George, had been, a soldier THE FRENCH WAR 151 in the West Indies. George greatly loved this half- brother, and when visiting his home at Mount Vernon, on the Potomac River, listened with delight to the young soldier's stories of the wars. Returning to his own home after one . of these visits, he would make soldiers of his playmates and have them parade and engage in make- believe battles. When only sixteen years of age he was employed by Lord Fairfax to survey that nobleman's lands lying between the Blue Ridge and the Alleghany Mountains. This work was so well done that at eighteen he was ap- pointed public surveyor, and shortly afterward was made major of militia, or home troops. He was, twenty-one years old when chosen by the governor of Virginia for the difficult and dangerous task of visiting the French forts in the West. Washington's Return from the French Fort. — The French conmiander had no idea of giving up his fort. He wrote a polite answer declining Governor Dinwid- dle's request, and with this letter Washington set out on his long homeward journey. It was now in the middle of winter. Forests, rivers', and mountains had to be crossed, and there were neither roads nor bridges. The horses of the little party seemed about to give out, so Washington and one companion pushed forward on foot. An Indian shot at Washington, but missed him. The WASHINGTON. 152 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY would-lDe murderer was caui^ht, and Washington's com- panion wanted to kill him, but Washington set him free. While crossing a river a large piece of floating ice struck the pole with which Washington was guiding the raft, and he was thrown into the freezing water. He man- aged to get hold of the raft and scramble upon it, but the floating ice compelled him and his companion to spend the night on an island in the river. The next morning the river was frozen over, and they walked to the bank on the ice. At last they reached the capital of Virginia, and delivered to the governor the French com- mander's letter, Washington Gains a Victory and Suffers a Defeat. The War Begins — The successful performance of his dangerous task made young Washington famous throughout Virginia. When, soon afterward. Governor Dinwiddle sent troops to drive the French from a fort at the head of the Ohio River, Washington, now known as "Colonel" Washington, was one of the officers in com- mand. On his way to the fort, while leading a small ad- vance party, Washington defeated a French force at Great Meadows, in southwestern Pennsylvania. With this fight the great French War began. By the death of his superior officer Washington became commander of the expedition. On July 4, his little army was at- tacked at Fort Necessity (not far from Great Meadows) by a French force twice as large as his own. His men were tired, hungry, and drenched by the incessant rain. They fought bravely nearly all day; then their powder began to give out. At eight o'clock in the evening the fighting stopped. Washington agreed to surrender on THE FRENCH WAR 153 the condition that his men be allowed to march back to their homes, carrying their arms with them. If young Colonel Washington could have known what a glorious day the 4th of July would afterward become for his countrymen he might have felt less gloomy and discour- aged as he signed the papers of surrender by the light of a flickering candle on the night of that rainy 4th. But no wonder he felt discouraged ; not an English flag now waved west of the Alleghanies. Braddock's Defeat. Washington Saves Part of the Army. — England now took a hand in the war. General Braddock was sent over with an army of train- ed soldiers. Washing- ton and several compa- nies of Virginia troops joined Braddock's forces. They set out across the mountains to take Fort Duquesne, at the head of the Ohio River — the same French fort that Wash- ington had tried to capture the year be- fore. General Brad- dock was a brave offi- general braddock's route. cer who had been in many battles in European wars. But all his previous battles were against soldiers who fought like his own men, in regular ranks and in the open field. He knew nothing of battles in the woods, THE FRENCH WAR 1 55 against an enemy who hid behind trees. His army marched to the strains of music, and with flags flying, as if they were on parade. They had ahnost reached Fort Duquesne when they were attacked by a force of French and Indians concealed in thick woods. The Eng- hsh troops bravely formed in line and fired in the direc- tion of their enemies, whom they could not see. Their shots did much damage to the trees, but little to their hidden foes, while they themselves, in plain view and unprotected, were shot down like sheep. The woods re- echoed with the noise of rifle shots and Indian yells. Washington and the Virginians sprang behind trees and fallen logs ready to fire whenever an Indian or a French- man showed himself. Washington had two horses shot under him, and his coat was pierced by four bullets. At last Braddock gave the order to retreat. Then he fell with a bullet in his breast, and his men fled in terror and confusion. That any of them escaped was due to W^ashington and the Virginia troops. Washington Captures a Prize. — Washington was now made commander-in-chief of the Virginia forces. While on his way to Williamsburg, the capital, he was invited to take dinner at the home of a hospitable planter. He declared he had not time to stop, but finally consented to do so. At dinner he met several other guests, among them Mrs. Martha Custis, a young widow with dark brown hair and eyes and pleasing manners. Washing- ton found the company so agreeable that when his serv- ant brought his horse to the door for him to depart he ordered the animal to be taken back to the stable. It was after breakfast next morning before he could tear 156 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY himself away. In a short time he was back again, and before he left to join his troops Mrs. Martha Custis had promised to become Mrs. George Washington. The War Spreads. Washington's Third March Against Fort Duquesne. — All the English colonies now joined in the war. Most of the Indian tribes helped the French. The powerful Iroquois, of New York, how- ever, had hated the French ever since Champlain sided with their enemies, and they would not agree now to help them. There was fighting in the North, in the South, and on the Western frontiers. Once more an army of Eng- lish and colonial troops march- ed against Fort Duquesne. The defenders of the place, beins" nearly out of provisions, MARTHA WASHINGTON. ^ . . 1 n 1 set nre to the fort and fled. Washington, leading the advance guard of the attacking army, planted an English flag on the smoking ruins. The name of the fort was changed to Fort Pitt in honor of William Pitt, the great English statesman and friend of America. In later years Fort Pitt became the city of Pittsburg. Washington Receives the Thanks of the Virginians. — The capture of Fort Duquesne put an end to French at- tacks in the South. Washington gave up his ofifice in the army, went home, and was married to Mrs. Custis. His neighbors at once chose him one of the burgesses to THE FRENCH WAR 157 make the laws for the Virginia colony. When he took his seat in the House of Burgesses at Williamsburg the Speaker, or President, arose and in the name of the peo- BKITISH ARMY AT QUEEEC pie of Virginia thanked Colonel Washington for his brave deeds in the war. When he finished, Washington stood up to answer. But he was not used to making speeches, and he could only blush and stammer without 158 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY saying a word. At last the Speaker helped him by saying, "Sit down, Mr. Washington. Your modesty is equal to your bravery, and that is greater than my words can describe." The Battle of Quebec. — The last great battle of the war was at Quebec, in Canada. A French army under Gen- eral Montcalm held the city. General Wolfe, with an English army, sailed up the St. Lawrence to take the place. For weeks the English officer tried in vain to find some way by which their men could be led up the steep cliffs upon which Quebec is situated. At last General Wolfe discovered with his spyglass a narrow winding path leading from the water's edge to the heights above. In the darkness of night an English force landed and climbed in single file the steep ascent. All reached the top before they were discovered. A fierce bat- tle followed. The gallant Wolfe was wounded in the wrist. He wrapped a handkerchief around the wound and continued to lead the charge. Another ball struck him in the breast. As he was carried from the field he heard the cry, "They run, they run !" "Who run ?" asked the dying general. "The French !" was the reply. "Then God be praised; I die happy!" he ex- claimed, and breathed his last. The French general, NORTH AMERICA AT CLOSE OF FRENCH WAR. THE FRENCH WAR 1 59 Montcalm, was also mortally wounded. When told he could live only a few hours he replied, "So much the bet- ter; for I shall not live to see the surrender of Quebec." The fall of the capital of New France closed the war. Peace was made in 1763. Some Results of the French War At the beginning of the war the French claimed Canada, the Great Lake region, and the Mississippi Valley. At the close of the war the victorious English took possession of all French territory east of the Mississippi River. France hastily presented to Spain (1765) her territory west of the Mis- sissippi, to keep it from falhng into the hands of her hated enemies, the English. Thus at one blow poor France lost every foot of the vast region won for her by the heroism of Cartier, Champlain, Marquette, La Salle, and others of her brave sons. The sturdy English colonists, with the help of the mother country, had con- quered one more enemy that opposed their progress. Thirty-five years later (1800) Spain gave back to France all the great Louisiana region. France held it three years,, then sold it all to the United States (1803). — ■ See pages 120 and 210. Name some of the difficulties overcome by the English colonists. What great conflict finally faced them ? Tell about the beginning of the quarrel between the French and the English settlers ; about George Washington's life after leaving school. What answer did the com- mander of the French fort give to Major Washington? Describe Washington's return. Tell about the fight at Great Meadows; at Fort Necessity. Who was General Braddock? Tell about Brad- dock's expedition; about Colonel Washington's conduct and his pro- motion; about his meeting with Mrs. Martha Custis. What can you say of the spread of the war? Tell about the capture of Fort Du- l6o THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY quesne ; about Washington's attempt to make a speech before the Virginia Assembly; about the last great battle of the war. What changes of territory resulted from the French War? CHAPTER IX War of the Revolution General George Washington causes of the war The Quarrel with England — The EngHsh colonists had not long been free from danger from their French enemies before they found themselves getting into an- other quarrel. This time it was a family trouble — a quarrel with their mother country, England. The set- tlers loved old England, the land of their fathers, and they were proud of their kinship with her. But the mother country had not always dealt fairly with her children across the sea. As the colonists grew stronger and better able to take care of themselves they became more and more impatient of the unjust treatment of Eng- land. At last, when they could endure it no longer, they openly resisted the mother country, cut loose from her control, and set up housekeeping for themselves. Let us see how the quarrel began. Some Complaints of the Colonists. — The kings of Eng- land did not seem to care what sort of men they sent to America to govern the colonies. Instead of pick- ing out wise and good men who would feel a real in- terest in the welfare of the Americans, they often ap- pointed worthless men, who were anxious to get the i6i l62 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY governor's salary, but who despised the people they ruled, and were constantly quarreling with them. Then there were some English laws that were aimed to make English merchants and traders richer, but which, at the same time, kept the Americans poor. For example, the colonists were not allowed to cut down a pine tree over two feet in diameter, except to make a mast for an Eng- lish ship. All furs of animals taken in our woods must be sent to England, and all our goods must be carried in English ships. We were not allowed to make our own hats, but must buy them in England. Taxation without Representation. The Stamp Tax. — England had spent a great deal of money to carry on the French War, and she owed a large debt in consequence. As the war had been partly for the benefit of the colonists she decided to make them help pay this debt. So a tax called the Stamp Tax was ordered to be collected from them. All written bargains, marriage licenses, and many other papers had to have stamps on them, and these stamps cost all the way from one cent to sixty dollars. The Americans did not mind paying a tax which they themselves had decided was right. But no Americans were allowed to be members of the English Parliament, by which the stamp law and all other tax laws of England were passed. To the colonists this taxing them without their consent — without their being represented in Parliament — was the last straw that broke the camel's back. From one end of the colonies to the other the people repeated the words of an Ameri- can speaker, "Taxation without representation is tyr- anny." They declared they would never pay the tax. WAR OF THE REVOLUTION 1 63 The Tax on Tea — So much objection was raised against the stamp tax that England finally decided not to try to make the colonists pay it. But she was bent on getting money from them in some way, so she placed a tax on the tea that they used. The tax was made so small, and the Americans were so fond of tea, that it was thought this tax would be readily paid. But the English rulers did not understand the feelings of the Americans. It was not the amount of tax that they objected to, but the whole plan of taxing them without their consent. So they became angrier than ever with England. They stopped drinking tea. Merchants re- fused to handle it. In Boston a crowd of men dressed as Indians one night went on board a ship that was waiting in the harbor to unload its cargo of tea, broke open the tea boxes, and threw the tea into the water. England Gets Angry and the Quarrel More Bitter — When the news of the "Boston Tea Party," as it was called, reached England there was great indignation, and it was decided that the obstinate Bostonians should be punished. A law was passed forbidding any ship to en- ter or leave the harbor of Boston. As there were no railroads in those days this law had much the same effect as if all the railroad trains to-day entering one of our cities should cease running. Business was ruined. But all the colonists stood by Boston in her trouble. Mary- land sent her barrels of flour, and Georgia sent her bags of rice. *T am willing," said George Washington, of Virginia, "to raise a thousand men, pay their expenses myself, and lead them to the relief of Boston." Repre- sentatives from nearly every colony met at Philadelphia 164 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY to consider what was best to be done. In this meeting, known as the "Continental Congress," it was decided to resist the unjust laws of England in every way possible. Thus the quarrel between England and her colonies be- came more bitter. After the French War what new quarrel did the English colonists soon have ? What did that quarrel lead to ? Mention some things the colonists complained of. Why did England wish to tax her col- onists? What was the stamp tax? Why did the Americans object to this tax? What was the result of their objections? Tell about the tea tax, and what the colonists thought of it. How did England punish Boston for the "tea party" ? Tell about the sympathy for Boston in other colonies. THE FREEING OF MASSACHUSETTS Paul Revere 's Midnight Ride — In the beginning of the quarrel an army of British soldiers had been sent to Boston. The commander of these soldiers now heard that the Americans were collecting guns and ammuni- tion at the village of Concord, twenty miles away. He ordered part of his troops to slip out of Boston secretly at night, hurry to Concord, and capture or destroy the American supplies before the colonists could know any- thing about his plan. A young farmer named Paul Revere found out what the British troops were prepar- ing to do, and on the night that they started he learned what road they expected to take. Jumping on his horse, he dashed at full speed down the road between Boston and Concord, stopping a moment at every village and farmhouse to rouse the people from their beds with the cry that the British soldiers were coming. When the British reached the village of Lexington, halfway be- WAR OF THE REVOLUTION 1 65 tween Boston and Concord, they found a small crowd of farmers gathered to oppose them. The fight that followed was the first battle of the War of the Revolu- tion. Lexington and Concord. — The brave farmers could not withstand trained forces. Several Americans were killed; the rest withdrew from the field. The British pushed on to Concord, where another fight took place. They burned the houses in which the Amer- ican guns were stored, then started back to Bos- ton. By this time all the country around had been aroused, and the Ameri- x:ans swarmed like angry bees around the line of march of the British. Concealed behind trees and fences along the road, they poured a steady stream of bullets into the ranks of the weary red- coats, who now longed to be safe in their Boston camp once more. If the British general had not sent out a thousand fresh troops to help them they would never have gotten back to Boston. As it was, the num- ber of British killed on that bloody day was more than ten times as great as that of the Americans, PAUL REVERE'S ride. l66 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY The Mecklenburg Declaration — In the town of Char- lotte, North Carohna, citizens of Mecklenburg County met by appointment for a patriotic purpose. They pro- posed to take steps toward resisting the unjust demand of the "Stamp Act" and the. tax laws of Great Britain. In the midst of their discussion a horseman brought startling news. He told of the fight at Lexington and of the death of some of the Massachusetts patriots. A new thought sprang into the minds of the patriots of Mecklenburg County. If they were to be shot down for asserting their rights as subjects there was but one step left for them. This body of patriots far away at the foot of the Alleghanies bravely took this last step. The con- vention remained in session throughout most of the night of May 19, 1775. Dr. Ephraim Brevard became the voice of the convention. His resolution referred to the innocent blood shed at Lexington and boldly announced "That we do hereby declare ourselves a free and in- dependent people." This is the first formal declaration of American Independence of which we have any knowl- edge. ' Battle of Bunker Hill — From all parts of Massachu- setts and from the adjoining New England colonies troops hurried to Boston eager to drive out the British army. A hill, afterward known as Bunker Hill, over- looking the city, was occupied by part of the American forces. The British determined to drive the colonists from this position. As the British line approached the breastworks on top of the hill the American commander gave the order to his men not to fire till they could see the whites of their enemies' eyes. Nearer and nearer the WAR OF THE REVOLUTION 1 67 redcoats approached. Suddenly a sheet of flame burst from the American earthworks, there was a loud report, and when the smoke cleared away the British had fled to the bottom of the hill. Again their officers led them up the hill; again they fled before the deadly fire. Bravely they made a third attempt. This time the am- munition of the Americans gave out, and the patriots were obliged to retreat, leaving the British at last in pos- session of the hill. The Whole Country Aroused. General Washington. — Although there were no telegraphs and railroads and few newspapers in those days, yet the news of the fighting between the king's soldiers and the farmers of Mas- sachusetts soon reached all the colonies. The Ameri- cans believed that if Massachusetts should be beaten a British army would be sent to other colonies to enforce the hateful tax laws of England; and as they had be- fore sent cheering messages and supplies of food to Boston, now they prepared to shoulder their guns and march to her defense. Another meeting of the Con- tinental Congress was held at Philadelphia, and it was decided that an American army should be raised and that Colonel George Washington, of Virginia, should be chosen commander in chief. General Washington Drives the British from Boston. — George Washington was forty-three years old when he became "General" Washington, commander of the American forces. A short time after the battle of Bun- ker Hill he took charge of the army before Boston. He at once set to work drilling the inexperienced soldiers, at the same time doing all he could to get muskets, am- 1 68 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY munition, and cannons. Then his Hnes of earthworks were thrown up nearer and nearer the city. At last a hill overlooking Boston on the opposite side from Bun- ker Hill was occupied one night by Washington's troops. When the British awoke and saw the cannons of the Americans pointing down at them from the top of the hill they at first determined to capture the heights. Then remembering how many men they had lost at Bunker Hill, they decided they didn't want to climb any more hills in the face of American guns. So the only thing left to do was to get on board their ships and sail away. This they quickly did, while Washington and his army marched in triumph into the city. You may be sure they were given a hearty welcome by the happy Bos- tonians. Tell about the plan of the British commander in Boston to destroy the American supplies; Paul Revere's ride; the battle of Lexington. Where is Bunker Hill? Describe the battle. What was the effect of the news of the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill ? What did Congress do? Where did Washington take command of the army? Tell how he drove the British from Boston. IN THE SOUTHERN AND MIDDLE STATES The British Attack Charleston, South Carolina While these exciting events were happening in Massa- chusetts the South was also getting a taste of war. The British governor of Virginia, at the head of a small force, seized a quantity of powder, and tried to get the slaves to take up arms against their masters. His force was beaten, and the governor himself was chased by the angry Virginians on board a British ship in Chesa- peake Bay. WAR OF THE REVOLUTION 169 A large British fleet sailed against Charleston, South Carolina, the largest city in the South. Fort Moultrie, on an island, guarded the entrance to the harbor. The fort was built of palmetto logs, and the British balls sank into the spongy wood without injuring the walls. The Americans did not fire so often, but every shot told on the British ships. In the midst of the fight a cannon ball broke the staff supporting the American flag that floated over the fort. The flag fell to the ground out- side the walls in plain view of the enemy. Sergeant Jasper, a brave young South Carolinian, leaped down outside the fort, seized the flag, tied it to the sponge staff of a cannon, stuck it up in the sand, and climbed back into the fort unhurt. When nine of their ten ships were bad- ly crippled by American shots the British con- cluded they had enough. The fleet sailed away, and Charleston was saved. The Colonies Declare Themselves Independent States. — The Americans now saw that their re- sistance to England only made her more deter- mined to enforce her hated tax laws. So they decided to separate from the mother country. On the 4th of July, 1776, the Congress at Philadelphia adopted a THE LIBERTY BELL. WAR OF THE REVOLUTION 17I Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jeffer- son, of Virginia. The Declaration proclaimed that we were no longer English colonies, but independent States. As soon as the Declaration was adopted the bell in the tower of the house in which Congress met was rung to announce the glad tidings to the citizens of Philadelphia. From Massachusetts to Georgia the news of the Decla- ration was joyfully received, and since then the 4th of July has been celebrated as the birthday of the United States. Discouragements for Washington. — After his great success in driving the British out of Boston, things for a while went badly with General Washington. He led his army to New York to defend that city from an ex- pected British attack. But here the British turned the tables on him and drove his army from the city. He retreated across New Jersey, pursued by a British army. It was winter time; his men were poorly supplied with shoes, and their feet, cut by the sharp rocks, left bloody tracks in the snow. Reaching the Delaware River, he crossed to the western side, taking with him every boat he could findj so his pursuing enemies could not follow him. The Americans were deeply discouraged, and many harsh words were spoken against Washington by his own people. A Victory on Christmas Night — But George Wash- ington never lost hope. He had learned that the time of discouragement is the time for greatest effort. On Christmas night his little army again embarked on the Delaware River. Though their hands were so stiff with cold that they could hardly hold their guns, and though 172 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY the floating ice in the river threatened to upset their boats, they reached the New Jersey bank in safety. Then marching swiftly and silently to the town of Tren- ton, they burst upon the British force stationed there, surprising them in the midst of the dancing and drink- ing of their Christmas festivities. The British quickly surrendered. A few days later Washington gained an- other great victory at Princeton, New Jersey, and the British were forced back toward New York. These splendid successes showed how great a general was our Washington. Philadelphia Taken.— But more discouragements were in store for the Americans. A large British army sailed around to the head of Chesapeake Bay, defeated Washington's army in two battles, and occupied Phila- delphia. Things now looked gloomier than ever. There was great suffering among Washington's men. They spent the winter at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, in huts that poorly protected them from the cold. They had few blankets, many had no shirts, and hundreds were barefooted. Again unkind things were said of Wash- ington, and an attempt was even made to. have him re- moved from command. Good News from France. — In the midst of these trying times there came glad news from across the water. France had decided to help us in our fight against her old enemy, England. For some time she had been con- sidering this step, when the news of a great victory won General Gates over the British general, Burgoyne, has- tened the decision. Hearing that French troops were at Saratoga, New York, by an American army under WAR OF THE REVOLUTION 1 73 coming to our aid, the British left Philadelphia and hastened back to New York. Among the French sol- diers who fought for American liberty was General Lafayette. Washington had no braver officer, our coun- try no truer friend, than this young Frenchman. Tell about the fighting between the Virginians and the troops of the king's governor; the British attack upon Charleston, South Caro- lina. Why did the colonists decide to separate from England ? Tell about the Declaration of Independence. Where did General Wash- ington go after driving the British from Boston? What discourage- ments now befell him? What effect did discouragements have upon Washington? Tell about his victory at Trenton; the capture of Philadelphia by the British ; the winter at Valley Forge. What good news came from France ? What hastened the decision of France to help us ? What effect did the news have upon the British army at Philadelphia? CLOSING EVENTS OF THE WAR General Greene Sent to Defend the South After the splendid victory at Fort Moultrie, in the beginning of the war, the American cause had been faring badly in the South. One British victory followed another until Geor- gia and South Carolina were overrun by the British. Finally, by the advice of Washington, General Greene was placed in command of our Southern army. Greene soon proved himself a great general. Rarely risking a battle with his small army, and often retreating, he yet caused such heavy loss to his enemies that in little more than a year he had the British forces cooped up on the coast, and Georgia and the Carolinas freed from British control. Battle of King's Mountain — General Greene's success had been made possible by a great victory won just be- • 174 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY fore he arrived in the CaroHnas by American back- woodsmen from beyond the mountains. Many hardy frontiersmen from Virginia and from the Carohnas had made homes for themselves on the western slopes of the Alleghany Mountains in what is now Kentucky and Ten- » ^ ^fP^j *»"". V- v^-. ^^K Kx^ ^..^^P^^^^JH / ^ S ^ ^Ijra^T^^^p: ' ..-•«'- ■-: •>? ^^^te» --^-^^ ^•^^^''"'^^^PWpi^PI^^^- y^ , J ^'^'jk'^^v ■SlV^^H^HI^^^^^^^^I^HnQ^^^^^^^^V^^^^^^jtf^^^ f 0- ^ m THE BATTLE OF KINGS MOUNTAIN. nessee. They kept the Western Indians from joining the British, and more than once left their homes and crossed the mountains to help the hard-pressed American forces. When Georgia and the Carolinas were overrun by the British the wilderness homes of these brave pioneers were still free. A British commander led his WAR OF THE REVOLUTION 175 army to the eastern base of the mountains, and sent a message to these "overmountain rebels" that unless they desisted from their opposition to British arms he would march into their country, hang their leaders, and lay waste their country with fire and sword. But alas for the proud British leader, this threatening message cost him his army and his life. It was quickly carried from settlement to settlement, and roused the frontiers- men like the blast of a trumpet. Trained in many an Indian fight to act always with lightning swiftness, an army under John Sevier and other pioneer leaders was soon on its way across the mountains to punish the in- solent British. Queer-looking soldiers they were. Clad in buckskin trousers and homespun shirts, with bucktails in their hats, and armed with long knives and unerring rifles, a British officer in beautiful uniform would have laughed to see them. They came upon the British at King's Mountain, near the western Carolina border. The British were posted on top of the ridge. Sevier divided his force, and they rushed up the hill on three sides at once. The British leader was killed, and his army surrendered. This great victory raised the hopes of the discouraged Southerners, as the battle of Trenton had their Northern neighbors. Washington's Bold Plan and the Victory that Closed the War — After Greene's success in the Carolinas, Gen- eral Cornwallis, his British opponent, marched his army into Virginia. After doing as much damage as he could to the Virginians, Cornwallis took his position at Yorktown, near Chesapeake Bay. Washington, who had been watching the British in New York, now sent 176 THF: BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY word to our friends, the French, to sail their fleet into Chesapeake Bay, while he slipped away southward before the British army in New York could stop him. Then his plan was to join his French allies in an attack upon Cornwallis at Yorktown. This fine plan succeeded per- fectly. Poor Cornwallis was entrapped with the French ships on one side aqd an army of Americans and French- men on the other. His men resisted bravely, but were compelled to surrender, October 19, 1781. England Consents to Our Independence Washing- ton's victory at Yorktown closed the war, England saw it was no use to try any longer to subdue her rebellious colonies. Besides, there were many Englishmen who believed from the first that the Americans were right in their resistance. A treaty of peace was signed (1783) in which England acknowledged the thirteen colonies to be "free and independent States." The Mis- sissippi River was agreed upon as our boundary on the* west, the Great Lakes on the north, and Florida on the south. Our First Independent Government. — At the beginning of the Revolution the governors of most of the colonies were appointed by the king of England. When the col- onies declared their independence they at once estab- lished State governments, with governor, legislature, judges, and other officers chosen by the people, as we have them now. But some kind of government over the colonies as a whole was also necessary. So during the Revolution we adopted a constitution, or form of gov- ernment, for the United States. This first constitution was called the "Articles of Confederation." Under it WAR OF THE REVOLUTION 1 77 we had no President, no United States judges. There was a Congress composed of only one house, which met at Philadelphia, then the capital. The Congress could declare war and make treaties with foreign nations, but could not levy taxes, and had scarcely any power over the people or the States. We lived under this constitu- tion for seven years after the close of the Revolution before we changed it. What can you say of the success of the British in the Southern colonies during the first part of the war? Tell what General Greene accomplished. How did the settlers west of the Alleghanies help the American cause? What message was sent to them by a British general? What was the result? Describe the battle of King's Moun- tain. Where did the British general, Cornwallis, go after leaving the Carolinas? Tell how Washington outgeneraled Cornwallis. Where did Cornwallis's surrender take place? What was the effect of the victory at Yorktown? What change in the government of the colonies took place when independence was declared ? Tell about the "Articles of Confederation." CHAPTER X Benjamin Franklin How France Came to Help Us in the Revolution While General Washington in this country was fight- ing for the independence of the United States another American, with the same purpose in view, was working and talking for us at the capital of France. And had not his peaceful work beyond the ocean been so well done it is probable that all the bravery of Wash- ington and his soldiers woulcl not have gained our independ- ence. Benjamin Franklin was the name of this fellow-worker with Washington. At the out- break of the Revolution Frank- lin was the most famous man in the colonies. Congress sent him to Paris to try to get the French to help us. By his good sense, pleasing manners, great learning, and ready wit he became one of the best-known and best-liked men at the French capital. He not only persuaded the French to send soldiers and ships to our aid, but he got them to lend us great sums of money with which to buy supplies for our needy troops. When the war was over, Frank- 178 ^i /xt^ V ;^^i BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 1 79 lin, then in feeble health, started to depart for America. The king- ordered his own servants to take his American friend to the ship which was to carry him home. The king also presented him with his picture surrounded with diamonds. Boyhood of Franklin — This famous American and friend of king's was once a poor boy. He was born in Boston, and was the youngest but two in a family of ten boys and seven girls. His father earned his living by making soap and candles. It was little Benjamin's work to help boil the soap and to put the wicks in the candle molds, and to trim them. As soon as his older brothers were big enough to work they were hired out by their father. Ben learned to read so easily, how- ever, that his father thought he would send him to school and make a minister of him. At school the boy was soon at the head of all his classes. But when his father found out how much it was going to cost to send his son to school and college, he took him from school and put him to work in his shop. Benjamin did not like to make soap and candles. He sometimes thought of run- ning away to sea, as an older brother had done. Franklin Becomes a Printer — Noticing Benjamin's fondness for books, his father then determined to make him a printer. So Benjamin at twelve years of age was apprenticed to his older brother James, who had a print- ing office in Boston. He liked his new work because it enabled him to read books he could not afiford to buy. Often he sat up nearly all night reading a borrowed book which he had promised to return in the morning. Hav- ing heard some friends of his brother discussing the l8o THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY pieces they had written for his brother's newspaper, Benjamin determined to try his hand at writing. So, changing his handwriting as much as possible, he wrote a piece and shpped it under the office door one night. Next morning his brother found it, and liked it so well that he printed it, never dreaming it was written by a boy. Benjamin was so well pleased with his success that he sent in several other articles in the same way. When his brother found out who had written the pieces he was very angry. This brother was a high-tem- pered man, and sometimes he whipped Ben severely. When Benjamin was seventeen years old he determined to run away. Franklin in Philadelphia. — By selling some of his books young Franklin got a little money. Then he took passage on a sailing vessel to New York. There was only one printing office in New York, and finding no work for him there, he decided to go on to Philadelphia. He walked fifty miles across New Jersey to a town on the Delaware River. Then he got on board a boat to sail down to Philadelphia. When he reached the city he found he had just one dollar left. He was hungry, and the first thing he did was to buy three-pence worth of bread. The baker handed him three large rolls. As he had no valise, and as his pockets were stuffed full of clothes, he put one roll under each arm, and walked up the street eating the third. At the door of one of the houses a young woman stood and smiled at the queer- looking boy with the rolls under his arms. This same young woman afterward became Franklin's wife. Franklin Visits England — The next dav Franklin BENJAMIN FRANKLIN I8l FRANKLIN S PRINTING PRESS. found work. His skill as a printer soon attracted notice. The governor of Pennsylvania suggested to him that he go to London to buy a printing press and type, and offered to fur- nish the money. The governor, however, was a man who did not keep his promises. Franklin sailed to England, but the prom- ised letter from the governor never came. Reaching London, he had to go to work to earn his bread. The London printers were great beer-drinkers. As Franklin would drink nothing but w^ater they laughed at him and called him "the water Ameri- can." They told him that water would make him weak, but they found him the best swimmer and the strongest man of them all. Franklin Starts a Printing Office of His Own Two years in England were enough for Franklin. He re- turned to Philadelphia, and soon opened a printing office of his own. His newspaper, TJic Pennsylvania Gazette, was said to be the best paper in the comitry. About this time he printed the first copy of Poor Ricli- ard's Ahnanae, which he continued to publish every year for twent3^-five years. This Almanac was sold for five pence, and it found its way into almost every house in the colonies. Many of its wise and witty sayings have become proverbs, and have taught our people useful lessons. Some of these sayings are: "Honesty l82 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY A MODERN PRINTING TRESS. is the best policy" ; "Keep your eyes open before marriag-e and half-shut afterward" ; " God helps them that help them- selves" ; "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." Some Public Improvements Made by Frank- lin. — Franklin now began to grow rich. But he did not forget the welfare of others. He induced the people of Phila- delphia to pave and sweep their muddy streets. He improved the smoky street lamps. He started the first public library in America. He established the first fire company in Philadelphia, as well as the first in- surance company. He invented the open "Franklin stove" to take the place of the immense fireplaces then common. By means of a kite which he flew in a thun- derstorm he drew a spark of electricity from the clouds, thus proving that lightning and electricity are the same. His essays on electricity were translated into other lan- guages, and Franklin became the best-know^n American of his time. Franklin's Services to His Country For more than forty years Franklin served his country in difi^erent public offices. He w'as postmaster of Philadelphia, postmaster- general of the colonies, member of the Pennsylvania ■BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 1 83 Legislature. In 1765 he was colonial agent in England, where he did all he could to prevent the passage of the Stamp Act. He was a member of the Continental Con- gress, and one of the committee to draw up the Declara- tion of Independence. How he secured the aid of France in the Revolution has already been told. On his re- turn home from France he was several times chosen gov- ernor of Pennsylvania. At the close of the Revolution he helped make the treaty with England which acknowl- edged our independence and fixed our western boundary at the Mississippi River. His last public service was as member of the convention which formed the Constitu- tion of the United States. He died at the age of eighty- four, in the second year of President Washington's ad- ministration. He was buried in an old churchyard in Philadelphia, and it is said more than 20,000 persons at- tended his funeral. Tell how Benjamin Franklin helped the American cause during the Revolution ; about the French king's friendship for Franklin ; the boyhood of Franklin ; his life in his brother's printing office ; his jour- ney to Philadelphia; his first appearance in Philadelphia; his visit to England; his newspaper; his almanac; what he did for the welfare of the people ; his study of electricity ; his public offices ; his death. Name some traits of Franklin's character that boys and girls of our time should copy. CHAPTER XI From the Alleghanies to the Mississippi Daniel Boone, Hunter and Pioneer Work of the Pioneers. — When the Revolutionary War began the Alleghany Mountains marked the western bor- der of the land occupied by the colonists. Of the great wilderness beyond the mountains, stretching westward to the Mississippi River, the northwestern part, from the Ohio River to the Great Lakes, was claimed by England as part of Canada ; in the southwestern part the boundary separating us from Louisiana and Florida was unsettled ; while the entire region was in the possession of Indian tribes ready to dispute their own claims against the world. About this time, however, settlers from Vir- ginia and the Carolinas began to pour through the moun- tain passes and to dot the fertile Western valleys with their cabin homes. While the armies of Washington and Greene and other American leaders were fighting our country's battles east of the mountains these pioneers of the West were doing their part right nobly in the struggle. They kept the Indians from crossing the mountains to join the British armies in the Carolinas; they drove the savages farther westward, opening up the land to white settlement; they captured the few British forts in the West; and sometimes, leaving their homes, they crossed the mountains and fought the British 184 FROM THE ALLEGHANIES TO THE MISSISSIPPI 185 armies in the East. Among the pioneers who won for us this Western region, thus doubhng our country's size, three of the foremost were Daniel Boone, George Rogers Clark, and John Sevier. Boyhood of Daniel Boone. — Daniel Boone was two years younger than George Washington. He was born in Pennsylvania, but when a boy moved with his father's family to North Carolina. From the time that he could first handle a gun he was fond of hunting. Tall, slender, active, and strong, the longest mountain tramp never tired his iron mus- cles. In the rug- ged country of his boyhood home schools were .few, so Daniel spent much of his time in the woods with his gun. Bear, 1 ,1 boone's favorite game. deer, panther, squirrel, and turkey were the game he usually hunted. On his long hunting expeditions he sometimes crossed over to the western slope of the Alleghanies. Not long ago there was said to be still standing on the bank of the creek in what is now eastern Tennessee an old beech tree with some carving on the bark probably made by Boone himself. The letters — showing Boone to have been a better hunter than speller — read as fol- lows: "D. Boone cilled [killed] a bar on [this] tree in the year 1760." Boone Visits Kentucky. -Having heard of some line 1 86 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY hunting grounds far beyond the mountains, northwest of his home, Boone with five companions set out to visit the place. They traveled on foot. For five weeks they struggled on, climbing mountains and fording rivers. At last they came to the beautiful country now known as the ''blue grass region" of Kentucky. Never before had they seen game in such abundance. There were great herds of bufTalo and- deer; bears, wolves, and panthers and other animals were plentiful. After a short stay Boone's companions returned home, but he himself re- mained to spend the winter in the hunting grounds. For three long months he was alone in the wilderness, with- out the companionship of even a dog or a horse, and often afraid to make a fire lest he should attract the notice of the Indians. It was two years after Boone started on this great hunting trip before he returned to his North Carolina home. His accounts of what he had seen made the Kentucky country famous all along the Virginia and Carolina border. The Settlement of Kentucky. — Soon afterward Boone led a party of settlers into the Kentucky country. The road, or trail, they cut was the first II path through the ] wilderness, and w a s afterward known as "Boone's Trail." On the PLAN OF BOONE-S FORT. ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ j.^^_ tucky River they built a fort. The fort was made of logs, and inclosed a space twice as long as broad, as FROM THE ALLEGHANIES TO THE MISSISSIPPI 187 shown in the picture. At each corner was a two-story log house with loop-holes to shoot from. For the wall of the fort, stout log cabins were arranged in straight lines at short intervals, the cabins being joined together by a high fence built of log posts sunk into the ground and firmly fastened together. The fort was entered through heavy wooden gates, that were closed with strong bars. In times of danger the cattle and horses were driven into the large open space within the fort. Boone Taken Captive. — Boone's fort was several times attacked by the Indians. Boone himself was once taken captive and w^as adopted as a son by a powerful chief. He was painted, decked with feathers, and dressed as an Indian, but all the while he was closely watched by his captors. He finally escaped and reached Boones- borough, as his fort was called, in time to prepare it for an attack which he had heard the savages planning. The Indians were beaten off, and Boonesborough was saved. Home Life in the West — Nowadays when a family moves from one part of the country to another they pack their furniture and bedding in wagons or on a freight car to be carried to their new home. But with Boone and the first settlers west of the Alleghany Mountains the case was far different. To ride horseback or to walk were the only modes of travel possible over the rough moun- tain paths. A few cooking utensils, some salt and corn, a few bottles of medicine, and perhaps a little coffee were all they could carry with them. So when their log cabins in the West had been built they had to begin housekeep- ing with no furniture. The bed was frequently a heap of l88 THE BEGIXXERS HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY soft leaves piled in the corner with bearskins for blankets ; a rough table built against the wall and a few three- legged stools completed the furniture of the first settlers' cabins. For breakfast and supper they had journey cake, or ''johnnycake," made of corn meal and baked in the hot ashes. Along with the johnnycake the pioneer boys and girls had sometimes a slice of venison or bear's meat, or honey from a bee tree, or syrup from a maple tree. The men and boys wore suits of warm bearskin. Their caps, too, were made of bearskin, ornamented sometimes with the tail of a fox for a plume. There were log schoolhouses and log meetinghouses, or churches. In most of the schools the only books were a Testament, a primer, a spelling book, and an arithmetic. Hides of animals took the place of money. Two coon skins were equal in value to one fox skin or wild-cat skin : two fox skins, to one beaver skin, buckskin, or bearskin. The First Western State — After the close of the Revo- lutionary War there was a rush of settlers into the "over- mountain" country. "Boone's Trail" became a fairly good wagon road, and boat loads of immigrants from the East came down the Ohio River. At last Virginia con- sented that her "county of Kentucky" should become a separate state. In 1792 the State of Kentucky took her place in the new Union — the first State formed west of the AUeghanies, and the fifteenth State in order, \'er- mont, the fourteenth State, having been formed from Xew York and Xew Hampshire the year before. Boone Moves Farther West. — As Kentucky became more thickly settled Boone longed for the lonely life of a hunter that he had once enjoyed. So he pushed west- FROAI THE ALLEGHANIES TO THE MISSISSIPPI 189 ward, and finally crossed the Alississippi River. His old age was spent in the forests of southern Alissouri. At the beginning of the Revolution who claimed the land between the Alleghany Alountains and the IMississippi River? What did set- tlers from Virginia and the Carolinas do to win this region ? Name three of the foremost of these Western pioneers. Tell about the boyhood of Daniel Boone ; about Boone's first visit to Kentucky. What was "Boone's Trail" ? Describe Boone's fort. Tell about Boone's capture by the Indians and his escape. How did the moving of a family of Kentucky settlers differ from the moving of a family to-day? Tell about the settlers' homes; their food; their clothing; schools and churches ; money. Tell about the progress of the Ken- tuckv countrv after the Revolution ; the last davs of Daniel Boone. GENERAL GEORGE ROGERS CLARK A Ball Interrupted — One warm July ni^^ht in 1778, while General Washington was fighting his country's battles in the East, a ball was going on in the British fort at Kaskaskia, in what is now the State of Illinois. Kaskaskia was an old French settlement, and French youths and maidens from the village mingled gayly with the British soldiers in the fort. Through the grim open- ings in the wall bright lights now shone out into the darkness, and the sound of violin music and tripping feet was wafted upon the summer air. The sentinels, leaving the gates unguarded, were looking upon the gay scene or taking part in the dance. Suddenly a stranger entered an open gate, and made his way unnoticed by the merry throng to the great hall where the dancing was going on. Here he stopped and with folded arms leaned against a doorpost, gazing silently at the dancers whirling past. An Indian lying on the floor looked in- 190 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY tently in the stranger's face, then quickly sprang to his feet with an unearthly war whoop that rang out ahove the sounds of merriment. Instantly the dancing ceased. Women screamed, and men ran toward the door. The strange visitor alone showed no excitement. *'Go on with your dance," he shouted, "but remember that you are now dancing under Virginia, and not under Eng- land." At the same time his followers, stationed out- side, rushed into the fort and seized the officers. Clark and His Bold Plan. — George Rogers Clark was the name of the American officer who had interrupted the dancing in the British fort. He was a young Vir- ginian who with Boone and other pioneers had made his home in the "county of Kentucky." England at that time claimed all the land between the Ohio River and the Great Lakes as part of Canada, and to hold it she had strong forts at De- troit (Michigan), Kaskaskia (Illinois), and Vincennes (In- diana). Virginia claimed the same re- gion because it had been given her by one of her early charters. Clark formed the bold plan of raising a small force to surprise and seize the British forts in the North- west, thereby taking the whole region from the British. Governor Patrick Henry, of Virginia, favored the plan, MAP OF CLARK S ROUTE. FROM THE ALLEGHANIES TO THE MISSISSIPPI 19I and furnished Clark with supphes and permitted him to enHst several companies of backwoodsmen. Clark's little army sailed down the Ohio nearly to its mouth (see map), then struck across the prairie to Kaskaskia. How they surprised and took the place has been told. The March to Vincennes. — When the people of Vin- cennes heard of Clark's victory at Kaskaskia they at once surrendered to his messenger who brought the news. During the winter, however, a British force from Canada occupied tlie place. Their intention was to go on and drive Clark back south of the Ohio. But Clark determined to strike first. It was two hundred and forty miles from Kaskaskia to Vincennes. Much of the country was overflowed from heavy rains, and was waist- deep in water. Nevertheless Clark and a little band of heroes started out to surprise their enemies. For days they marched through water sometimes up to their shoul- ders. They were in constant danger from the Indians. They could get no food on the way, and were so weak from hunger that they could scarcely walk. Any other leader would have turned back. But Clark cheered on his men, plunging in the water ahead of themi and sharing every hardship. At last Vincennes was reached, and after a short struggle the fort was captured. What We Owe to Clark — The capture of these British forts by Clark and his followers gave Virginia possession of the Northwest Territory. But for the heroism of George Rogers Clark the Ohio River instead of the Great Lakes might be to-day the southern boundary of British Canada. In later years Virginia gave up to the United States her claim to this great Northwest CLARK AND HIS MEN IX THE ICY WATER. FROM THE ALLEGHANIES TO THE MISSISSIPPI 193 Territory. Out of it five splendid States have been carved — Ohio, Indiana, llHnois, Michigan, and Wis- consin. Tell about the ball in the British fort at Kaskaskia, and how the dancing was interrupted. Where is Kaskaskia? When did this ball take place ? Tell all you can about the American officer who inter- rupted the ball. By whom was the land between the Ohio River and the Great Lakes claimed? Tell about Clark's plan and his journey to Kaskaskia ; the effect that the news of Clark's success had upon the people of Vincennes; upon the British in Canada. Tell about Clark's march to Vincennes. What do we owe to George Rogers Clark? What changes in this territory afterward took place ? JOHN SEVIER, THE STATE BUILDER A Ride Across the Mountains, and What Came of It In the spring of 1772, three years before the battle of Lexington and one year before Daniel Boone formed his first settlement in Kentucky, three horsemen crossed the mountains from southwestern Virginia into what is now Tennessee. Their purpose was to visit a new settle- ment on the Watauga River, on the western slope of the Alleghanies. One of the visitors was so pleased with what he saw that he decided to leave his comfortable Virginia home and join the frontiersmen in their little group of cabins on the Watauga. This man, then twenty-six years old, was John Sevier, the founder of the State of Tennessee. The First Government West of the Mountains One day not long after his arrival at the Watauga settlement Sevier saw a big, fierce-looking gambler take a horse away from a peaceable stranger, claiming he had won the animal in a bet. "Is there no law here to prevent 194 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY such deeds?" asked Sevier. "No," the frontiersmen re- plied, "but don't be uneasy; that rascal won't stay here long!" This did not satisfy Sevier. He got the peo- ple to meet and choose officers who should make laws, try offenders, and punish the guilty. Sevier himself was chosen one of the five judges, the youngest of the five. This government lasted several years, and was the first government formed west of the Alleghanies. Nancy Ward Saves the Settlements During the Rev- olution, British agents among the Indians were con- stantly trying to stir up the Western tribes to rise against the whites and join the British armies near the coast. Early in the war these agents sent fifty horse loads of ammunition to the Cherokees of southeastern Tennessee. At once the Indians began an attack upon the frontier settlements. But among the Cherokees was a woman, Nancy Ward by name, who was honored and feared by the red men because they believed she had the gift of prophecy. Fortunately, she was a firm friend of the whites ; often she visited the cabins and played with the little children. She overheard the warriors of her peo- ple planning an attack. Slipping silently through the forest, she gave the alarm at a settler's cabin, then hur- ried back to her wigwam. Most of the white families hastened to the nearest forts and were saved. Many others times Nancy Ward saved the lives of the settlers. All honor to this Indian squaw, "the Pocahontas of Ten- nessee!" Katherine Sherrill's Foot Race. — Alarm at Nancy Ward's warning soon caused the Watauga fort to be crowded with women and children. One morning, while FROM THE ALLEGHANIES TO THE MISSISSIPPI 195 some of the women were outside the fort milking the cows, a band of Indians burst upon them. The women ran for their Hves, and ah except one got safely inside the gate. Katherine Sherrill was a tall, brown-eyed girl, straight as an arrow, and graceful as a deer. The In- dians were between her and the gate of the fort. John Sevier wished to rush out to her rescue, but was held back by his friends, who thought he would certainly be killed. But Katherine seeing she was cut off from the' gate, ran toward the part of the wall nearest her. With all her might she jumped, grasped the top of the wall, and swung herself up. John Sevier was there to catch her in his arms and help her down safe inside the fort. Not many years after her Indian foot race the swift- footed Katherine became the wife of John Sevier. Sevier led many expeditions against the Indians. He surprised them in their mountain homes and defeated them in every fight. Tennessee Becomes a State. — John Sevier's home was on the Nolichucky River. "Chucky Jack" was the name he went by among the frontiersmen. He was feared by the Indians and loved by the white settlers. When he rode through a settlement men, women, and children ran to the road to see him and to shake his hand. Every year the number of settlements increased, and the In- dians were driven farther westward. Finally North Carolina agreed that her territory west of the moun- tains should become a separate State. So Tennessee came into the Union (1796), the second State formed west of the Alleghenies. John Sevier, the first governor, was six times chosen to the office. 196 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY Alabama and Mississippi — Following the example of Virginia and North Carolina, Georgia gave up to the United States her western lands. Out of this territory the States of Mississippi (1817) and Alabama (1819) were afterward formed. Tell about John Sevier's first trip across the mountains ; about the establishment of the first government west of the Alleghanies ; about the efforts of the British to stir up the Indians against the settlers of the West; about Nancy Ward,. and how she saved the settlements; about Katherine Sherrill's foot race ; John Sevier's love for Katherine. What was Sevier's nickname? How did the Indians regard him? the whites? Tell about the formation of the State of Tennessee. What States were formed from the territory west of Georgia? CHAPTER XII The New Government Started President George Washington A New Constitution Adopted — The "Articles of Con- federation," the form of government of the United States which was adopted by the different States during the Revokition, proved rmsuccessful. Our Congress could make laws, but there was no way to compel peo- ple to obey them. Congress could not tax the people, so there was no money to carry on the government im- less the different States chose to grant money for this purpose. Seven years' trial of the Articles proved to the people that a change must be made. So representa- tives from the different States met in Philadelphia to try to improve the Articles. George Washington was made president of the meeting, Benjamin Franklin, now an old man, was one of the members. After long dis- cussion the present Constitution of the United States was agreed upon to take the place of the Articles of Con- federation. The proposed Constitution was then sent out to the different States, and was approved by each of them. How the New Government Differed from the Old One. — The new Constitution provided for a Congress to make laws, but this Congress was composed of two bodies, or "houses," instead of one. One house, called the 197 198 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY "Senate," is composed of two senators from each State; the other, called the "House of Representatives," is com- posed of members chosen according to the population, the most populous States having the largest number of representatives. The Constitution also established a new office, that of "President of the United States." It is the duty of the President to see that the laws of the United WASHINGTON ON HIS WAY TO BE INAUGURATED TRESIDENT. States are enforced, and, that he may better do this, he is made commander of the army and navy. By the new Constitution also a Supreme Court of the United States and other courts were established to try violations of the laws of Congress and certain other cases that do not properly come before the courts of the States. Neither Congress nor the President can interfere with THE NEW GOVERNMENT STARTED 199 State affairs, but Congress is given power to lay taxes and to make laws on certain subjects which concern the people of all the States. The New Government Started. — The Constitution was accepted by the required number of States in the year 1789, and the people at once began to select the officers of the new government. For the first President of the United States only one name was thought of — that of General George Washington. Every vote was cast for him. As he traveled on horseback from his Virginia home to New York City, which was then the capital of the United States, children threw flowers before him and the people everywhere along the roadside welcomed him with joyful shouts. Standing on the balcony of Federal Hall, in New York, while a great crowd filled the street in front of him, Washington solemnly prom- ised that he would faithfully perform his duties as Presi- dent, and would preserve, protect, and defend the Con- stitution of the United States. Then a mighty shout^, "Long live George Washington, President of the United"' States !" rose from the multitude. President Washington — Washington was fifty-seven years old when he became President. Many difficult questions had to be settled that required a strong hand and a clear head. The people of western Pennsylvania refused to pay the tax on whisky levied by Congress. The President promptly ordered out troops and forced them to submit. The Indians in the Northwest made war upon the white settlers. Washington sent three armies against them and completely subdued them, driv- ing them still farther westward. The French tried very 200 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY hard to get us to help them in their war against England, but Washington steadfastly refused, believing our coun- try too young and feeble to enter upon a foreign war. In short, Washington, as President, met every difficulty wisely and well, just as he had met and overcome diffi- culties before when a surveyor in the wilderness of the Virginia frontier, when a soldier in the French War, and when a general in the Revolution. CopyriKht Detroit Pli.ito Co. MOUNT VERNON, THE HOME OF WASHINGTON. Death of Washington. — When his four years' term of office was out the people again chose Washington Presi- dent, and they wanted to make him President a third time, but he would not permit it. He retired to his home, Mount Vernon, in Virginia, on the bank of the Potomac, and there busied himself managing his large estate. Two years later (1799) he died. The whole country went into mourning. Washington has been called the THE NEW GOVERNMENT STARTED 20 1 "father of his country," and he is remembered as the •great American who was "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his fellow-citizens." The Capital Changed. — Soon after Washington became President the capital was moved from New York to Philadelphia. Ten years later ( 1800) it was removed to a spot selected by Washington on the north bank of the THE CAPITUL AT WASHINGTON. Potomac. Here a city was laid out in the woods, and was named Washington, in honor of the father of his country. The district in which the new city was to be built was given to the United States by the States of Maryland and Virginia, and in honor of the discoverer of America was called the District of Columbia. Vir- ginia's part of the gift, lying south of the Potomac, 202 THE BEGINNERS HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY was not needed, and was afterward returned to her. Washington is now one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Why so Little Cotton was Raised in Washington's Time — At the time that Washington became President shiploads of tobacco and rice from the Southern States crossed the ocean every year, but all the cotton sent over in a year amounted to not more than a dozen bags — hardly one bale. If Washington had traveled from Vir- ginia to Georgia he would have seen occasional small patches of cotton, but not a single large field of the plant. It did not pay to plant cotton, and there was very little of it raised anywhere in the world. The reason of this was that in those days the lint had to be picked from the seed by hand, and this was slow work. It took one per- son all day to pick out one or two pounds of cotton from the seed. Cotton cloth, which now costs ten cents a ^-^ ^-^^ ^ yard, then cost one dollar and a half a yard. The Cotton Gin In- vented — The people of Georgia were so grateful to General Greene for driving the British from the Southern States that they gave him a farm/ Eli Whitney, a youngfi school teacher from Mas-' sachusetts, while staying, for a while at the home of the Greenes in Georeia / mended an cmbroiderv frame for Mrs. Greene. Mrs. rf^V f% ^i i THE FIRST COTTON GIN. THE NEW GOVERNMENT STARTED 203 Greene was delighted with his skill, and when some guests at her home some time afterward were speaking of the difficulty of separating cotton seed from the lint, and wishing that some quicker way of doing this work could be found, she exclaimed, " Why, gentlemen, just ask my young friend, Mr. Whitney ; he can do anything !" Whitney set his brains to thinking, got some cotton in the seed to work upon, and soon had invented a machine which we call the "cotton gin" (cotton engine). What the Cotton Gin did for the South With the cot- ton gin one man can clean as much cotton as one hun- dred men could clean with their hands. Cotton at once became the best-paying crop in the South. Southern planters hastened to buy as many slaves as possible to work in the cotton fields. Cotton cloth came into gen- eral use, and mills were built in the Northern States to make the Southern cotton into cloth. Ships had to be built to carry American cotton to Europe. Instead of a few bags of cotton the Southern States now raise every year over 10,000,000 bales. In many ways the inven- tion of the cotton gin influenced the life of our people and the history of our country. Why were the articles of Confederation unsuccessful? How long were they in force ? Tell about the change to our present Constitu- tion. Mention some of the ways in which the new government dif- fered from the old. When did the new Constitution go into effect? Tell about the election of the first President ; his ride to the capital ; his inauguration. How old was Washington when he became Presi- dent? Mention three difficult subjects he had to deal with. How did he meet the difficulties of the President's office? What shows how the people liked his course as President? Where did he die? How was the news of his death received? What change of capital was made while Washington was President? Tell about the selection of 204 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY a spot for our present capital; its name; the district in which it is situated. In Washington's time what were the great crops of the South? What can you say of the amount of cotton raised then? Why was this? Tell ahout the invention of the cotton gin. What were some of the effects of this invention? CHAPTER XIII Thomas Jefferson About Jefferson's Life Thomas Jefferson Starts on a Journey You remember that near the close of the French War Colonel George Washington went with his bride to Williamsburg to take his seat as a member of the \^ House of Burgesses of the Vir- ginia colony. In that same year a Virginia boy, who, like Washington, afterward became famous in his country's history, set out from his home for the town of Williamsburg, to enter the College of William and Alary. Thomas Jefferson was the name of the youthful seeker after knowledge. His home was near the foot of the moun- tains, in what was then the far W^st of the Virginia settle- ments. It was a long ride to the capital of the colony, but our young traveler had a strong, active body that was not easily tired. From his earliest boyhood he had been trained by his father to swim, to shoot, to ride, to 205 JEFFERSON. 2o6 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY climb. And then the journey was made easy by frequent stops at the hospitable homes on the way. Jefferson Spends a Merry Christmas Having started on his journey in December, the Christmas holidays found young Jefferson a guest at one of the homes on the road. Among the other Christmas visitors was a gay, rollicking young fellow named Patrick Henry. Henry had kept a country store, but had recently failed in business, and had not yet decided what to do next. His failure, however, did not make him sad. By his funny stories, his fiddling, dancing, and jokes, he kept the young people of the company in constant laughter. Jefferson, being himself a good violinist, and fond of pleasant company, was much attracted to the merry fiddler. Jefferson at College — The Christmas season over, Jef- ferson continued his journey to Williamsburg. He had been so diligent in his previous school work that he was well advanced in his studies, and entered a high class in college. He was now not quite seventeen years old, tall, slender, sandy-haired. He studied hard, yet he did not neglect regular exercise. Every evening at twilight he took a run of a mile. Thus, while improving his mind he kept his body strong. He spent many pleasant even- ings at the home of the governor, where his skill with the violin made the young student a welcome visitor. Tw0r< years after entering college he was graduated. Thomas Jefferson's Home — Like George Washington. " Thomas Jeff'erson in early boyhood, had to mourn the death of his father. Being the eldest son, Thomas then assisted his widowed mother in the management of their THOMAS JEFFERSON 207 large wheat and tobacco plantation. There were no pianos or organs in the homes of that time. Yet Thomas and his eldest sister had fine voices, and to the accompaniment of the brother's violin they made their home musical with the latest songs as well as with the old familiar hymns. As a schoolboy Jefferson was timid, yet fond of play. He was a hard student, and al- wavs ranked among the first in his classes. After he Copyright Detroit Photo Co. MONTICELLO, THE HOME OF JEFFERSON. grew to manhood the home, "Shadwell," in which he had been born and where he had lived with his mother and sisters and little brother, burned to the ground. Nearly everything in the house, including Jefferson's books and papers, was lost. Thomas was absent at the time. The negro boy who brought him the bad news added with a joyful grin that his master's fiddle was saved. Jeft'erson then began to l)uild the house which 2o8 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY was his home until his death, and near which his body is biiricd. He called the new home "Monticello," or "Lit- tle Mountain," from its situation on a beautiful height near the town of Charlottesville. Jefferson Studies Law and Listens to a Great Speech After graduating at William and Mary College, Jeffer- son returned to Williamsburg to study law. It hap- pened about this time that the news of the passage of the Stamp Act reached Virginia, and the burgesses at once began to discuss the measure. Young Jefferson entered the hall and stood near the door to hear what was said. His gay fiddle-playing acc[uaintance, Patrick Henry, who had surprised everybody by studying law and becoming a successful lawyer, was now a member of the House and took part in the debate. Henry's burn- ing words startled the assembly. He declared that not the king of England, nor Parliament, but the Virginia burgesses alone, had the right to tax Virginians. Then, si)eaking of the injustice of King George the Third, he cried out, in a voice of thunder, ''Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell, and George the Third — " At this point many members, thinking he was going to threaten the death of King George the Third, sprang to their feet and interrupted his speech with loud shouts of 'Treason!" "Treason!" But Henry with pale face and flashing eyes waited till the uproar had ceased, then finished by saying, "George the Third may profit by their examples. If that be treason, make the most of it !" Young Jefferson never forgot this scene. He said it seemed to him that Patrick Henry spoke like the grand poet Homer wrote. THOMAS JEFFERSON 209 Jefferson in Public Life. — Not long after he began the practice of law Jefferson himself became one of the Vir- ginia burgesses. Then he was sent to Congress. He was not a good speaker, but he was a fine writer. He favored the Revolution, and was appointed with several others to write the Declaration of Independence. The Other members of the committee asked Jeff'erson to write it. He did so, and the great Declaration prepared by him was signed by the members of Congress on the 4th of July, 1776. Jefferson was a great believer in equal rights for all citizens. Among the laws of Virginia which he succeeded in getting passed was one giving religious freedom to all the people. He followed Patrick Henry as governor of Virginia during the Revolution- ary War. After the war Congress sent him to France as American minister. When 'General Washington be- came President he made Jeff'erson his Secretary of State. He was Vice-President of the United States under Presi- dent John Adams. In 1800 he was elected President of the United States. Death of Jefferson — Adams, the second President, and Jefferson, the third, both lived to be old men. Strange to say, they both died on the same day, and that day the 4th of July, 1826 — just fifty years from the day on which Jefferson's great work, the Declaration of Independence, was signed. On his tombstone at Monticello are carved the words which before his death he asked to be placed there. These words tell three great deeds of his life by which he wished to be remembered. They read as fol- lows : 2IO THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY Here zvas buried C^bomas Seffereon, AUTHOR OF THE DECLARATION OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, OF THE STATUTE OF VIRGINIA FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, AND FATHER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA. Mention two famous Virginians who went to Williamsburg the same year, near the close of the French War. What was the purpose of each? Tell about Thomas Jefferson's journey;. the merry Christ- mas he spent on the way; his life as a college student. What sorrow befell Jefferson when a boy? Tell about Jefferson's boyhood; the burning of his home ; the home he afterward built. What did Jeffer- son do after graduating? Tell about the great speech which he heard. To what different offices was Jefferson chosen? What great paper did he write while in Congress? What law of Virginia did he write? Tell about his death; the words on his tombstone. FROM THE MISSISSIPPI TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS Why We Wanted the Mouth of the Mississippi. — Who should own the land at the mouth of the Mississippi was an all-important question to the settlers of the Western region won hy Clark, Boone, Sevier, ajid their com- rades. There were no cities west of the Alleghanies, and the only market for American crops was in the At- lantic States or in Europe. But railroads had not been dreamed of, and there w'ere not even g'ood wagon roads across the mountains; the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers then became the great highways of Western commerce. THOMAS JEFFERSON 211 Boat loads of wheat, corn, hides, and other produce floated down these rivers to New Orleans, and were there loaded upon ships to be carried to the markets of the world. When Thomas Jefferson became President, France owned not only the land on the west bank of the Mississippi, but near the mouth of the stream she owned both banks. It would be easy for the guns of her forts FREIGHT WAGON OF JEFFERSON S TIME THAT MADE THE TRIP FROM PHILADELPHIA TO NEW YORK IN TWENTY DAYS. at New Orleans to stop any ship passing in or out of the river, or to make them pay a tax for the privilege of passing. The ^^^estern farmers w^ere determined that their road to market should not be interfered with, so they insisted that the United States should in some way get possession of the land around New Orleans. How France Came to Sell — President Jeft'erson sent one of our citizens to France to urge that country to sell us New Orleans and the region around the mouth of the ^Mississippi. France at that time was engaged in a European war, and needed money. She feared that her 212 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY enemy England would attack Louisiana. She also knew that hardy American frontiersmen had already begun to cross the Mississippi into her possessions, and with their ideas of liberty and independence they might give her trouble. So she offered to sell President Jefferson not only New Orleans, but her whole Louisiana Terri- tory. The price she named, fifteen million dollars, we gladly paid (1803). Nowhere was there greater joy over our bargain than among the farmers of Tennes- see, Kentucky, and Ohio. The "Louisiana" We Bought — The Louisiana which we bought was the western half of the Louisiana named by La Salle and claimed by him for France a hundred and twenty years before. Beginning with the present State of Louisiana, it extended northward to the source of the Mississippi and northwestward to the Rocky Mountains. By buying it President Jefiferson more than doubled the size of the United States. Ten great States lAid a large part of four others, have been formed from the "Louisiana Purchase." Exploring Our New Purchase. — Most of the Louisiana Purchase had never been visited by a white man, and was less known to the people of the United States than is the north pole to-day. Many strange stories were told about this Western country. It was said that near the Rocky Mountains lived a tribe of Indian giants; that in the far West was a mountain of pure salt a hundred and eighty miles long with brooks of salt water running down its sides. President Jefferson determined to find out the truth about our new possession. He sent out an exploring party under two captains, Meriwether Lewis THOMAS JEFFERSON 213 and William Clark (brother of General George Rogers Clark). Their orders were to follow the Mississippi River to its source, to cross the Rocky Mountains, and to descend the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean. The Expedition of Lewis and Clark. — The party started up the ]\Iissouri River in one large boat driven by sails and oars and in two smaller rowboats. Their boats were loaded with food, such as coffee, sugar, crackers, and dried meat, with clothing and tools, and with pres- ents of beads, blankets, and knives for the Indians. The explorers left St. Louis in the spring. By the end of summer they reached the Platte River. Here on a bluff they held a coun- cil with the In- dians, and called the place Council Bluffs. Late in the autumn they had reached what is now the State of South Dakota. They decided to go into camp for the winter. So they landed on an island in the river on which there was plenty of tim- ber, and began to cut down trees for their winter huts. In the spring they started again. At last the current of the river became so swift that they could not use their boats. An Indian guide was found who led the men, A MOUNTAIN TRAIL IN THE COUNTRY TRAVERSED BY LEWIS AND CLARK. 214 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY tired, foot-sore, and half-starved, across the Rocky Mountains. Coming to a river, they buih new boats and began to descend the stream. It brought them to the Columbia. Their voyage down this river took several weeks, and it was late in autumn when they heard the roar of the waves of the Pacific, and felt that their long journey was ended. They spent the winter on the Pacific coast, and the following spring started on their homeward journey. They reached St. Louis two years and four months after they had set out. Results of the Work of Lewis and Clark — The account of their journey written by Captains Lewis and Clark was eagerly read. People began to realize the great value of the Louisiana Purchase. The "Great West" lay now beyond the Mississippi instead of beyond the Alleghanies. In exploring the Columbia River, Lewis and Clark had strengthened our title to the Oregon country beyond the mountains. The United States al- ready had a claim to Oregon on account of the visit of an American ship to the mouth of that river tJiirteen years before. Why was the question of the ownership of the land at the moutli of the Mississippi so important to the settlers west of the Alleghanies? When Jefferson became President who owned this land? What did the Western farmers demand ? What induced France to sell us Louisiana? What was the price paid? What can you say of the size of the "Louisiana" President Jefferson bought? Tell how little was known of our new purchase. What exploring party did Presi- dent Jefferson send out? What were they directed to do? Tell about the expedition. What were some of the results of the work of Lewis and Clark? THOMAS JEFFERSON 215 WE TEACH THE PIRATES OF AFRICA A LESSON How the Pirates Treated Our People — The Revolu- tionary War proved how well we could defend ourselves against foreign armies on our own soil. About twenty years later, while Thomas Jefferson was President, we had a chance to show the world that we were ready and able to take care of our people and our flag in distant parts of the earth. The northern coast of Africa was the home of pirates who made a business of capturing the ships of other countries. The sailors and passen- gers of the captured ships were thrown into prison or made to work as slaves. They were cruelly treated, be- ing poorly fed, and for the slightest offense severely punished. Unless their friends were able to pay the pirates a large sum for their ransom the poor captives had to spend the rest of their days in slavery. Every year American ships were captured by the pirates and American citizens made captive. The United States Decides to Punish the Pirates The nations of Europe were in the habit of paying the pirates in advance every year not to attack their ships. The United States did so for a while; then we determined to use powder and lead instead of gold to make the pirates respect our flag, and stop their outrageous con- duct toward our ships. President Jefferson sent four ships of war to the Mediterranean Sea to protect our merchant vessels. Our little fleet captured several pirate ships and took a number of prisoners. Lieutenant Decatur's Brave Deed. — One of our war- ships, the Philadelphia, while chasing a pirate vessel. 2l6 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY stuck fast on a rock in the harbor of Tripoli, and had to surrender. The crew of the Philadelphia were thrown into prison, and the ship itself was added to the pirate fleet. As we could not recapture our ship a bold plan was formed to destroy it. Lieutenant Decatur, com- manding- a small vessel he had captured a short time be- fore, sailed into the harbor by night, and ran alongside the Philadelphia before the enemy discovered that his crew were Americans. Then his men sprang on board the Philadelphia, killed or chased overboard the pirate crew, set fire to the ship, and sailed away in the light of the flames without the loss of a man. The Pirates Promise to Respect Our Flag — After this our fleet bombarded the pirate capital, and at the same time we sent a force to attack the city by land. The ruler of the pirates then begged for peace and promised to make a treaty by which he would let our ships alone without being paid for it. Thus the young government of the United States gave notice to the world that ships flying the Stars and Stripes would be protected on what- ever waters they sailed. Tell about how the pirates of Africa treated our people in President Jefferson's time. What were European nations in the habit of doing? What did the United States at last decide to do? What steps did President Jefferson take to protect our ships? Tell about Lieutenant Decatur's brave deed ; the defeat of the pirates. By this war what did we show the world? CHAPTER XIV Andrew Jackson The War of 1812. The Purchase of Florida Andrew Jackson's Boyhood — When the Revohitionary War began Mrs. Jackson, a widow, was Hving with her two sons in a log cabin in the backwoods of North Caro- Hna. Andrew, the younger of the boys, was at that time eight years old. The ^_ ■ little family was very poor. The boys went to school in a log cabin in the woods. But as they had to work hard to help their mother make a liv- ing, and as their home was in the path of the British army, they could not stay long at school, so did not learn much in their books. Once the boys were captured by British i soldiers, and Andrew was or- dered by an officer to clean his muddy boots. Andrew re- fused to obey, and the angry officer struck him with a sword, leaving a scar that he bore the rest of his life. Both boys were thrown into prison, where they took the smallpox. They recovered from the smallpox, but An- 217 ANDREW JACKSON. 2l8 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY drew's brother died soon after he was released from prison. Before the war ended Andrew's mother died, leaving him, a boy of fourteen, alone in the world. Jackson Moves to Tennessee, and is Elected to Office. Andrew tried supporting himself by making saddles and harness; then by keeping a country store; finally he studied law and became a lawyer. He moved to Ten- JACKSON REFUSING TO BLACK A BRITISH OFFICER'S BOOTS. nessec, and though he knew little a1)0ut law, yet his knowledge of human nature and his rough honesty made him popular, and he was elected judge. Afterward the people of Tennessee elected him to Congress. Jackson was a strong-willed man with a high temper that fre- (juently got him into fights. Beginning of Our Second War with England W'hen ANDREW JACKSON 219 Andrew Jackson was about forty-five years old our coun- try had another war with England. This war is often called the War of 181 2 because it began in that year. For some time England and France had been fighting each other. In order to injure her enemy, England passed a law that no American ship should trade with France or with any country allied to France. France then made a law that no American ship should trade with England or with any of her colonies. Both France and England claimed the right to seize any of our ships caught violating these laws. As England had a far stronger navy than France she seized more of our ships than France did, and caused us greater loss. Besides, this, English oflficers would force their way on board our ships, and if they found one of our sailors whom they believed to be an Englishman they would take him off with them. Often these of^cers refused to listen to our men. Thousands of native-born Americans were thus seized and made to serve on English ships. At last we decided to make England stop her insults; in the year 181 2 we declared war against her. Perry's Victory on Lake Erie — Most of the land battles of the war were fought on the Canadian frontier. Our armies made several attempts to invade Canada, but they met with poor success. Yet we were able to keep the British armies from getting very far into our own terri- tory. The most important battle in this region was fought on Lake Erie. The British fieet on the lake was commanded by an experienced officer who had served in European wars. The commander of the American fleet, Captain Oliver H. Perry, was a young man who had 220 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY PERRY S VICTORY ON LAis.E ERIE. never before been in a naval battle. From the mast of Perry's ship floated a blue flag bearing in large white letters the words, "Don't give up the ship !" These were the last words of the brave American captain, Law- rence, who had been killed in a naval battle on the At- 1 a n t i c a few months before. Perry's ship was attacked by two of the enemy's ves- sels, and all on board except him- self and a few oth- ers were killed or wounded. After helping to fire the last gun he jumped into a boat, carrying his flag with him, and started for another one of his ships which was yet unhurt. Showers of cannon balls and musket shot fell around him little boat, but it made the passage safely. Perry climbed on deck, flung his blue flag to the breeze, and in fifteen minutes every British ship had sur- rendered, Jackson's Victory at New Orleans. — On the Atlantic Ocean our seamen won the admiration of the world by many glorious victories. On land, however, the British were generally successful. Washington City was cap- tured, and our Capitol was burned. The British then prepared to take New Orleans. Fifty ships carrying twelve thousand men sailed to attack the city. Andrew Jackson was sent to defend this place. A short time be- ANDREW JACKSON 221 fore this Jackson had won a great victory over the Creek Indians of Alabama, and he was now "General" Jack- son. His little army at New Orleans was only half as large as that of the British. Nevertheless he hastily made a long breastwork of earth and Cotton bales, and behind this calmly awaited the enemy. When the Brit-- THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. ish soldiers came within shot of Jackson's Kentucky and Tennessee riflemen there was a sheet of flame from the earthworks, and the long line of redcoats melted away. Again and again they tried to reach our breastworks, but in vain. Their defeat was a severe one. The British general and more than two thousand of his men were killed. In the American army there were only eight 222 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY men killed and thirteen wounded. This last battle of the war was fought in 1815. The 8th of January (the day of the victory) has since been celebrated as a holi- day by the people of Louisiana, and Jackson is known as the "hero of New Orleans." The War Ended — Two weeks before the battle of New Orleans both sides signed a treaty of peace in the city of Ghent, in Europe ; but we on this side of the water knew nothing of it. There were no telegraphs and railroads in those days, and steamboats had not yet dared to cross the ocean. On the day of the battle a ship bearing the news of peace was slowly plowing her way through the waves in the middle of the Atlantic, with nothing but the wind against her outspread sails to drive her on- ward. When she at last reached our shores we realized that the battle of New Orleans need never have been fought. We gained what we fought for in the war. Though England made no promises in the treaty, she has never since tried to seize our ships or arrest our seamen. The nations of Europe began to respect us as they never had done before. Purchase of Florida. — After the Creek Indians of Ala- bama were defeated by General Jackson many of .them iled to Florida and joined the Seminole tribe of that sec- tion. Led by their chief, "Billy Bowlegs," these Indians made raids into Georgia, driving off cattle, stealing slaves, and murdering settlers. General Jackson was sent against them. "Old Hickory," as the people called him, made short work of the Indians. He quickly chased them out of Georgia into Florida. Florida at that time belonged to Spain, and an Auierican army had no right ANDREW JACKSON 223 to cross her frontier while the two nations were at peace. But our fiery general followed the Indians far into the Spanish territory and captured the chief vil- lage of the sav- ages. He seized several Spanish forts, and hung two white men and two Indian chiefs for stirring up the Seminoles. The President of the United States, on inquiring into the affair, gave back the forts to Spain. UNITED STATES AFTER THE PURCHASE OF FLORIDA. But Spain now decided that she was willing to sell a ter- ritory which seemed likely to get her into trouble with the United States. We were glad to buy; so a bargain was made. For five million dollars Spain sold Florida. At the same time we gave up our claim to Texas as a part of the Louisiana Purchase, and Spain gave up her claim to the Oregon country. Jackson President of the United States. — In 1828 An- drew Jackson was elected President of the United States. He was the first President whose home was west of the Alleghany Mountains. He was the first man, too, who had risen from a poor boy to the highest office in our country. Wliile he was President there was bitter dis- puting among our citizens over some great public ques- tions : one, whether there should be a United States bank 224 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY in which to put United States money ; another, as to how great a tax, or tariff, should be placed on goods brought into this country. Jackson, as we might expect from his fiery nature, took a leading part in these disputes. Yet the people thought he made a good President, for when his first term expired they elected him a second time. At the close of his second term as President he went back to his home in Tennessee, He died in 1845, ^" *^^^^^ man of seventy-eight years. Tell about the boyhood home of Andrew Jackson ; about the treat- ment of Andrew and his brother by British soldiers. What did Andrew do for a living? Where did he go from North Carolina? How was he liked in his new home? What sort of disposition did he have. Tell how our second war with England began. Where (lid most of the land battles of this war take place? Tell about the l;atlle on Lake Erie. What can you say of the success of the British in the land battles? Tell about the battle of New Orleans. Why was the battle of New Orleans unnecessary? What was the result of the War of 1812? Tell how Indians from Florida annoyed the people of Georgia. Who was sent against these Indians ? What did Jackson do ? Tell about our purchase of Florida. To what high office was General Jackson finally chosen? How did he differ from preceding Presidents? What pul)lic questions came up while he was President ? W'hen and where did he die ? CHAPTER XV Three Great Inventions The Steamboat Difficulties of Travel One Hundred Years Ago — When Washington was President, ahhough our country was then less than half its present size, as much time was required to travel across the United States as it takes to go around the world to-day. Travel was so slow, un- STAGECOACH IN WHICH OUR GRANDFATHERS TRAVELED. comfortable, and expensive that no one dreamed of traveling for pleasure. Most journeys had to be made on horseback. Between the largest towns stagecoaches carrying mail and passengers passed two or three times a week. The trip from Baltimore to New York cost itwenty-one dollars and required four days. At the hotels along the road the traveler spending the night 225 226 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY would probably have to share his room with four or five others. A\'ater journeys were as slow and uncomfort- able as land journeys. It took a week for sailing ves- sels on the Hudson River to travel the hundred and fifty miles from New York to Albany; and passengers on the boats had to furnish their own bedding and food. When we bought Louisiana many persons thought it would be impossible for our government to control such a vast ter- ritory. They declared that the United States would soon separate into several smaller republics. This re- sult would probably have happened had it not been for three great inventions that have brought Maine and Texas nearer together than Maine and Massachusetts were one hundred years ago. These inventions — two of them by Americans — were the steamboat, the rail- road, and the telegraph. The First Successful Steamboat — One August day in the year 1807 a great crowd had assembled on the bank of the Hudson River in the city of New York. A steam- boat, the first that ever appeared on the Hudson, was to make its trial trip. A short time before this there had been two attempts in different parts of the United States to make boats that could be propelled by steam. But neither attempt had been successful ; the boats moved too slowly, and it cost too much to run them. The crowd that now lined the banks of the Hudson fully expected to see another failure. They made much fun of "Ful- ton's Folly," as they jeeringly called the queer-looking boat, with its two great paddle wheels at its sides, with its tall smokestack, and with its masts and sails besides. Directly clouds of smoke mingled with sparks began to THREE GREAT INVENTIONS 227 pour from the smokestack. Then the great paddle wheels began to turn, and the boat started off. Those who had come to make fun were now silent in wonder. Then as the speed increased and showers of spray were thrown up by the uncovered wheels the little crew on the boat caught the sound of cheers from the shore. Straight up the river the boat continued, making the FULTON S STEAMBOAT, THE CLERMONT. hundred and fifty miles to Albany in thirty-two hours. The return trip was made in thirty hours. "Fulton's Folly" was now Fulton's Success. Robert Fulton, the Inventor.— Robert Fulton, the in- ventor of the steamboat, was born in Pennsylvania. He was ten years old when the Revolutionary War began. As a boy at school he was fond of drawing. He had great talent for making things. When he wanted a pencil he hammered one out of lead; he made his own fireworks for the 4th of July. The boat which he and 228 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY his playmates used in fishing was pushed along with poles. This was tiresome work, so Robert contrived some paddle wheels turned by a crank to propel it. When he was seventeen years old he went to Phila- delphia and supported himself by painting pictures. He saved enough money to go to Europe. Then he gave up his painting, for he liked machinery better than pictures. He invented a torpedo for blowing up vessels of war. He also invented a diving boat, to move under water. Fulton's Efforts to Make a Steamboat. — All the time that he was working on other things, however, Fulton was trying to plan a boat that could be moved by steam. He formed a partnership with Livingston, a wealthy and influential New Yorker. In France, Fulton and Liv- ingston built a steamboat on the Seine. Before it could be tried its heavy engine broke the boat in two, and the vessel sank to the bottom. It was fished up and re- paired. On trial the boat moved, but so slowly that the spectators thought it a failure. Fulton saw how he could imprpve it, and at once set to work planning another boat to make a trial trip on the Hudson River in his own country. He called this boat the Clcrnwnt — the name of his friend Livingston's home. The successful trip of this boat from New York to Albany has been described. Improvements in the Steamboat — After this the build- ing of steamboats went on rapidly. Four years after the launching of the Clermont the first steamboat ap- peared on the Mississippi. This boat was built at Pitts- burg by Fulton and Livingston, and went from Pitts- burg to New Orleans in fourteen days. In 1819 the. first voyage across the ocean was made by a steamship. THREE GREAT INVENTIONS 229 In this year the Savannah, from Savannah, Georgia, crossed to Liverpool, and from there went to St. Peters- burg, stopping in Denmark and Sweden. The Swedish king offered one hundred thousand dollars for the vessel, but his offer was refused. Many of the first steamboats had sails to help them along. In later years instead of paddle wheels ocean steamers are moved by screw pro- pellers which turn under the water at the stern of the ship. Modern Steamboats — One of the largest steamboats in the world to-day (1912) is the Mauvetania, an ocean steamship seven hundred and eighty-eight feet long, and Copyright Detroit Phot.. C. A MODERN STEAMSHIP, THE MAURETANIA. able to carry twenty-one hundred persons. The speed of modern ocean steamer is from twenty to twenty-five miles an hour, though there are smaller vessels that can move at the rate of thirty to forty miles an hour. The passenger steamer of to-day has all the comforts and conveniences of an elegant hotel, such as spacious din- 230 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY ing rooms, parlors, pianos, library, baths, and electric lights. Why was there no traveling for pleasure in Washington's lime? Give some examples of the difificulties of travel by land; by water. What did some people declare would be the result of the purchase of Louisiana ? Name three inventions that helped to prevent such a result. When and where was the first successful steamboat tried? Tell about the trial trip of this boat. Who was the niventor ? Tell about his boyhood; how he first supported himself; his first inven- tions ; his efforts to make a steamboat ; the first steamboat on the Mississippi; the first steamboat voyage across the ocean; improve- ments in the steamboat. great-grandfathers THE RAILROAD A Railroad Seventy-five Years Ago — In a schoolbook called refer Parley's lursf Book of History, which your and great-grandmothers studied when they were chil- dren, is the following interesting informa- tion a1)0Ut Baltimore, Md. : "But the most curi- ous thing at Balti- more is the railroad. I must tell you that FIRST RAILROAD IN THE UNITED STATES, thcrc is a grcat tradc between Baltimore and the States west of the Alleghany Mountains. There is therefore a vast deal of traveling back and forth, and hundreds of teams are constantly occu- pied in transporting goods and produce to and from THREE GREAT liNVENTIONS 231 market. Now, to carry on all this business more easily, the people are building what is called a railroad. This consists of iron bars laid along the ground, and made fast, so that carriages with small wheels may run along upon them with facility. In this way one horse will be able to draw as much as ten horses on a common road. A part of this railroad is already done, and if you choose to take a ride upon it you can do so. You will mount a car something like a stage, and then you will be drawn along by two horses, at the rate of twelve miles an hour." This railroad, the "Baltimore and Ohio," was opened in 1830, and continued to use horse power until the road was finished to the town of Frederick, sixty-one miles distant, in 1832. The First Locomotive — While Robert Fulton was planning his first steamboat English inventors were working on the problem of how to make a steam wagon. ONE OF THE FIRST PASSENGER TRAINS. During our war of 181 2 George Stephenson, an English coal digger, invented the first successful steam locomo- tive. Fifteen years later, or about the time the Balti- more and Ohio horse-power railroad was opened, loco- motives began to be tried in the United States. The first engines were no larger than a hand car of the pres- ent day, and had a boiler about the size of a flour barrel. 232 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY The first passenger trains, as the picture shows, looked quite dififerent from those with which we are famihar. Discomforts of Railroad Travel. — Travel on these trains could not have been very pleasant. As rich pine wood was used for fuel there were clouds of black smoke and showers of burning cinders. Nor did the engines then have any contrivance to catch the sparks. Conse- quently the passengers were kept busy dodging cinders and putting out the fire in their clothes ; at the end of a journey they looked as though they had spent a day in a blacksmith shop. There were no sleeping cars. At night the coaches, with their hard, straight-backed seats, were dimly lighted with tallow candles. One of the first railroad accidents happened in South Carolina. The fireman on the engine was a negro. In the ab- sence of the engineer he determined to stop the noisy his- sing sound made by the steam escaping from the safety valve; so he fastened down the valve, and, to hold it more firmly, sat on it himself. You can guess what hap- pened. For some time after this passengers refused to ride on this road unless there was a freight car loaded high with cotton bales between them and the engine. Railroads To-day. — Railroads now cross our country in every direction from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from Canada to Mexico. They have built up our great West, bringing in settlers and carrying Western products to Eastern markets. They have brought all parts of our country nearer together, causing the different sections to know and understand each other better. In W^ashing- ton's time the traveler was carried by his horse prob- ably forty miles in a day. He had to stop at the farm- THREE GREAT INVENTIONS 233 houses or hotels on the road to get his meals and to spend the nights. To-day the traveler speeds along in a pas- senger train at the rate of fifty miles an hour. While his train is whirling onward through tunnels and over I By Curtesy of the Santa Fe Railroad) THE LARGEST LOCOMOTIVE IX THE WORLD, I912. bridges he may eat his meals in an elegant dining car; then a drawing-room car offers him the comforts of parlor and library; and at night he may retire to a com- fortable bed in a sleeping car. Tell about the railroad described in Peter Parley's history. When and by whom was the first successful steam locomotive invented ? Describe the first locomotive and passenger cars. Mention some of the discomforts of railroad travel. Tell about the railroad accident in South Carolina; modern railroads. The Telegraph Samuel Morse, Inventor of the Telegraph About the time that railroads came into use in the United States j,another invention that helped to make our country great ?was made. This was the electric telegraph. Samuel Morse, the inventor of the telegraph, was a Massachu- setts bov, the son of a minister. Like Robert Fulton, 234 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY young Morse was fond of drawing. One of the first whippings he ever got was 'for scratching with a pin a picture of his teacher on his mother's bureau. When his school days were over his father sent him to Europe to study painting. His father being poor, Samuel was often in sore need of money. He wrote home from Europe: "I have had no new clothes for nearly a year. My shoes are out at the toes. My stockings all want to see my mother, and my hat is gray with age." Never- ^ theless he studied hard, and painted some pictures that made him so famous that he was elected professor of art in the University of New York. While on the return voyage to America, in 1832, the conversation of some passen- gers on the ship turned Morse's thoughts to electric- ity. Before he had reached New York he had made a drawing of a telegraph instrument, and had devised an alphabet of signs. ''Well, captain," he said to the cap- tain of the ship when he reached land, "should you ever hear of the telegraph, remember that the discovery was made on the good ship Sully." Morse's Difficulties. — As there was no telegraph wire in those days Morse bought a quantity of wire used in making ladies' bonnets, and with this wire and the in- strument he had made he was able to send messages a SAMUEL F. B. MORSE. THREE GREAT INVENTIONS 235 short distance. At this time he supported himself by teaching, and as he had only three pupils he was fre- quently hard pressed for something to eat. A rich mill owner, whose son became interested in Professor Morse's experiments, furnished the means to make the first perfect instrument. To build the first telegraph line required more money than any rich men of that day were willing to risk, so it was decided to ask Congress to build a line. A bill was introduced appropriating thirty thousand dollars to construct a telegraph line from AA ashington to Baltimore, forty miles. Some of the members of Congress made fun of the proposed tele- graph, and Morse gave up all hope of getting the money. The First Telegraph Line — In the midst of his discour- agement a young lady brought Morse the news that Congress had passed his telegraph bill just five minutes before adjournment. He was so rejoiced that he prom- ised her that she should send the first message. In the spring of 1841 the line was completed. A passage from the Bible, "\\'hat hath God wrought!" (Num. xxiii, 23) was the first message sent. The first news sent over the wire was that the convention of Democrats which met in Baltimore nominated James K. Polk for President. For Vice-President they nominated Silas Wright, who was then in Washington, and they notified him by tele- graph. He sent four separate telegrams declining the nomination, but the convention refused to believe them, and finally sent a committee to Washington "to get re- lial)le information on the subject." The Atlantic Cable — Before the first telegraph line had been built Morse had constructed a line beneath the 236 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY water in New York harbor. The wire was wound with thread soaked in pitch, and was then inclosed with rub- ber. About 1850 Cyrus Field, a wealthy New Yorker, concluded that a telegraph could be laid across the At- lantic Ocean, and set to work to carry out his idea. It was sixteen years later before a cable that worked suc- cessfully was laid. This cable is over two thousand miles long. Since then many other cables have been laid. By means of the cable and the telegraph our daily newspaper is enabled to tell us each morning what hap- pened in all parts of the world the day before. Who invented the telegraph ? Tell about the boyhood of Morse ; his life in Europe; the beginning of his idea of the telegraph; the first telegraph wire ; his poverty. Who helped him make a perfect instrument ? Tell about the help he got from Congress ; the first message ; the first news ; the refusal to believe a telegraph message. Tell about the first telegraph line under water; the laying of the Atlantic cable. CHAPTER XVI A Period of Peaceful Development Three Great Statesmen Thirty-one Years of Peace. — For thirty-one years after the close of our second war with England our country was at peace with the world. Then came the war with Mexico, which you will read about in the next chapter. During this period of peace the population of the United States was more than doubled, and the number of States increased from eighteen to twenty-eight as follows : In- diana (1816), Mississippi (1817), Illinois (1818), Ala- bama (1819), Maine (1820), Missouri (1821), Arkan- sas (1836), Michigan (1837), Florida (1845), Texas ( 1845 ) . Our country grew in wealth as well as in popu- lation. New inventions were made that in many ways changed the habits of our people. Cheaper rates of post- age and cheaper newspapers brought the news of the day into the poorest homes. It was seen that neither wealth nor noble birth was needed to enable an American citizen to rise to the highest office in the land. Need of Wise Government — In the days of President Washington farming and trading w^ere the pursuits in which nearly all our people were engaged. But with in- crease of population, the invention of new machinery, and changed conditions of living, other occupations grew popular, such as manufacturing, mining, and stock rais- 238 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY ing. To make wise and just laws for a people with such dififerent occupations and such varied interests, and wath homes scattered over so large a country, liecame a task of increasing difficulty. In the halls of Congress, in newspapers, and among private citizens there were ex- cited disputes over laws proposed or passed. Yet we generally found some way to compromise our quarrels, and on the whole the government was wisely ad- ministered. Three Great Statesmen — Among the lawmakers of this period were three men who rank among the greatest statesmen our country has produced. These men were near the same age ; they entered Congress ahout the same time (just before the War of 1812) ; for forty years they held high offices almost continuously; and during this long period they took part in the settlement of nearly every great public question that disturbed our people. The names of these men are John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina; Henry Clay, of Kentucky; and Daniel Web- ster, of Massachusetts. Boyhood of Calhoun. — John C. Calhoun's father was an Irishman named Patrick Calhoun, who came to America while the thirteen colonies w^ere still subject to England. John was born in South Carolina at the close of the period of the Revolution. His first schooling was ob- tained in the short-term, poorly taught country schoolk near his home. When thirteen years of age he was sent to Georgia to attend an academy taught by his brother- in-law, a Presbyterian minister. Young Calhoun studied hard and was very fond of reading. Unlike Thomas Jefiferson, however (page 205), he made the A PERIOD OF PEACEFUL DEVELOP^^IEXT 239 mistake of spending too much time in reading and study- ing, and he neglected to take sufficient exercise. The re- suh was that he injured his heahh, and had to give up his studies and return home. About this time his father died, and John took charge of the farm. Outdoor life soon restored his health, and he returned to school. Later he entered Yale College, in Connecticut, gradu- ated, and began the study of law. -Boyhood of Clay — At the time that John C. Calhoun was attending his first school in South Carolina Airs. Clay, the widow of a Baptist minister, was living with her children on a small farm in the swampy region of east- ern Mrginia known as "the Slashes." If you had passed through the widow's barnyard on almost any weekday afternoon you might have heard issuing from the barn the loud tones of some one making a speech. Then if you had stepped to the barn door and peeped in you would have seen a boy al)0Ut thirteen years of age standing before his horse and cow. He was addressing them in beautiful language, accompanying his words with suitable gestures, his small audience all the while gazing at the young orator in open-eyed wonder. The boy who was thus giving himself his first lessons in speechmaking by declaiming words memorized from a book was Henry Clay. He had poor school advantages, but, like Calhoun, he was a good student. He first at- tended school in a log cabin with a dirt floor. Out of school hours he worked hard on the farm. Barefooted, he plowed his mother's fields; and he often rode horse- back to mill with a rope for a bridle and a bag of wheat or corn for a saddle. Remembering this, his friends in 240 THE BEGINNJLR'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY later years nicknamed him "the mill boy of the Slashes." Clay Studies Law and Moves to Kentucky. — After working in a store for a year Henry, at fifteen years of age, was employed as assistant clerk in one of the Vir- ginia courts. Here it was his duty to copy legal papers. The other clerks at first were disposed to laugh at the new boy's awkward appearance and movements. But Henry was so obliging and did his work so well that they soon stopped laughing. The judge of the court became his friend and recommended to him good books to read. When seventeen years old he began to study law. The next year he moved from Virginia to Kentucky, and l)egan to practice his profession. From this time Ken- tucky continued to be his home. Boyhood of Webster — Daniel Webster's boyhood was spent amid the hills of New Hampshire. Like Calhoun and Clay, Webster was reared on a farm. He was a delicate, sickly boy, however, and for this reason only light tasks were required of him. He said afterward that there were two things in his boyhood that he dearly loved, reading and playing. He read all the books in the village library, and committed to memory most of the contents of some of them. He was known as the quickest boy in school. His teacher once offered a knife to the boy who should recite the greatest number of verses from the Bible. On the next day, when Web- ster's turn came, he rose and repeated verse after verse until at last the teacher cried "Enough!" and handed him the knife. One day when Daniel and his father were riding together Mr. Webster told his son that he A PERIOD OF PEACEFUL DEVELOPMENT 241 had decided to send him to college. Daniel knew that his father could ill afford this expense, and he was so overcome with surprise and thankfulness that he leaned his head upon his father's shoulder and wept. At col- lege he was known for his power of eloquent speech. After graduating he studied law, but before beginning to practice he taught school, for a few years in order to help pay the expenses of his older brother at college. Public Life of Calhoun, Clay, and Webster. — Not long after reaching manhood these three men, with homes so far apart, were brought together in the halls of Con- gress. When the House of Representatives met in Washington, in 181 5, among the youngest members were John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina ; Henry Clay, of Kentucky; and Daniel Webster, of New Hampshire. (Webster soon afterward moved to Massachusetts, and, until his death, made his home in that State.) Henry Clay was made chairman, or "speaker," of the House, and was many times re-elected to this office. Calhoun, Clay, and Webster were each at different times mem- bers of the President's cabinet. Calhoun was twice Vice-President of the United .States. The three served together as members of the United States Senate, each holding his office at the time of his death. Strange to say, no one of these three great statesmen was chosen to the office of President of the United States. The Cumberland Road — When Henry Clay entered public life the steamboat was a new invention and rail- roads were unknown. He saw the importance of pro- viding some easy way of transporting freight and passengers between the States on the Atlantic coast and 242 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OE OUR COUNTRY those, like Kentucky, west of the Alleghanies. As a member of Congress, Clay favored the plan of using part of the money raised by taxation for the construc- tion of wagon roads, canals, and other ''internal im- provements." In accordance with this plan, a wagon road called the Cumberland Road was built, under direction of Congress, from Cumberland, a town in Maryland, across the mountains toward the Mississippi River. It was a splendid road — a great part of it eighty feet wide and paved with stone, and it proved of im- mense benefit to the country. Other roads were built and canals were dug, until the coming of the railroad put a stop to the old means of transportation. Henry Clay, the Peacemaker. — Many people both North and South believed slavery to be wrong. But slave labor was profitable in the South and unprofitable in the North. The people of the North, finding that slaves did not thrive in their cold climate, sold their slaves to the South, and then forbade slav- ery within their own borders. They also wished to require every new 'State that entered the Union to forbid slavery. Louisiana, the first State formed from the Lou- isiana Purchase, was admitted as a slave State in 1812. When the Territory of Missouri asked for admission, eight years later, Northern members of Congress demanded that she come in as a free State. The people of Mis- HENRY CLAY. A PERIOD OF PEACEFUL DEVELOPMENT 243 JOHN C. CALHOUN. souri owned slaves and insisted on keeping them. The citizens of the other Southern States took the side of the Missourians, and there was a hot dispute in Congress that threatened to spHt the Union. Finally an agreement was reached which was advocated by Henr}^ Clay and carried chiefly by his eloquence (1820). This agreement, called the Missouri Compromise, provided that Mis- souri should be a slave State, but that slavery should be forbidden in all other portions of the Lou- isiana Purchase as far north as Alissouri. Thirty years later there was a similar struggle over the admission of California. Again Clay proposed a compromise, and his eloquence helped to carry it through. Because of his success in settling disputes Clay was called the Great Peacemaker. The Monroe Doctrine.— When James ^lonroe, of Vir- ginia, became President he appointed Calhoun Secre- tary of \\3.r. About this time the countries of South America that had belonged to Spain declared their in- dependence and set up governments of their own. France and several other European nations threatened 10 force these South American countries to return to the rule of Spain. President Monroe then sent a message to Congress in which he declared that any attempt by Euro- pean governments to extend their forms of government 244 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY to this continent would l)e dangerous to our peace and safety, and that no European nation would he permitted to establish or extend colonies on American soil. These bold declarations constitute what is known as the Monroe Doctrine. When the European rulers read them, they dropped their schemes to gain control of American ter- ritory. Since Monroe's time the Monroe Doctrine has been asserted by other Presidents, and the world now realizes that we are determined to maintain it. The Hayne-Webster Debate — Perhaps the most fa- mous debate that ever occurred in Congress was the one between Senators Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts, and Robert Y. E[ayne, of South Carolina. At this time Calhoun, as Vice-President of the United States, pre- sided over the Senate. Senator Hayne first made an elo- quent speech in which he declared that the high tariff (known as the protective tariff) fixed by Congress was unfair to the South. The Southern people had to buy all the manufactured goods they used, and they should, he contended, be permitted to buy them at as low prices as possible. The protective tariff made the South poorer and the New England manufacturers richer. The law, he said, was not only unfair, but it was contrary to the Constitution, and unless it was repealed some States would not allow it to be enforced. Hayne asserted further that if a State decided any law of Congress to be contrary to the Constitution, it could declare the law not l)in(ling on its own people. This was the Doctrine of Nullification. Webster, in his reply to Hayne, maintained that the Union was not a compact, or agreement between the A PERIOD OF PEACEFUL DEVELOPMENT 245 States, that a State could not nullify a law of Congress, nor could a State withdraw from the Union which it had helped to form. South Carolina's Opposition to the Protective Tariff. — Calhoun was a firm believer in nullification. By his ad- vice South Carolina declared that the hateful tariff law should not be enforced in her borders, Andrew Jackson was then President, and he prepared to use the United States army, if necessary, to carry out the law. It looked for a time as if there would be war. Through the elTorts of Clay, the Peacemaker, however, a com- promise tariff law was passed, lowering the tarifif and satisfying South Carolina. This ended the trouble. In the midst of the dispute Calhoun resigned his place as Vice-President, in order that he might be elected Sena- tor from South Carolina and be able to take part in the debates in defense of his State. Improvements During This Period. — During this pe- riod steamboats began to appear on all our lakes and rivers; railroads took the place of canals and national wagon roads^ matches came into use instead of ' the clumsy flint and steel; McCormick's reaper increased the production of grain in the West as the cotton gin had stimulated cotton planting in the South ; the first photo- graphs were taken; public schools, particularly in the West, were made better and the school term lengthened ; newspapers and books became cheaper and were more widely read. At the beginning of this period we could claim only two great American authors, Washington Irving and William Cullen Bryant. Now other great names were rapidly added to the list, among them the 246 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY novelists, Cooper and Hawthorne; the poets, Longfellow and Poe ; the historians, Bancroft and Prescott. Western Growth — This was a period of rapid j^rowth in the West. Railroads were pushed forward into the rich farming lands of the Mississippi Valley. Great steamboats, carrying, immense cargoes of products of the soil or manufactured articles, plied the Mississippi and its tributaries. The government owned great stretches of territory in the West that it had obtained from the States as they came into the Union. These lands bore a fertile soil and enjoyed a climate favorable to farming. The government sold them at low prices to homeseekers from foreign countries and from the old States. From 1821 to 1837 the population of Mississippi increased from 80,000 to 320,000, of Missouri from 70,- 000 to 350,000, of Tennessee from 450,000 to 800,000. All this great region felt the stir of the State-building spirit, and great areas were put imder the plow, and towns and cities sprang up everywhere. The long era of peace was spent by the people in conquering the wil- derness, in founding homes, in building cities, in con- structing States. What was our next war after the second war with England ? How many years of peace between these wars? What can you say of the growth of our country during this period? What change took place in the occupations of our people? What effect did the growth of our country have upon the work of our lawmakers? Why? Name three great statesmen of this period. In what respects were they alike in their history? Tell about John C. Calhoun's boyhood and youth; the boyhood of Henry Clay; Clay's work as clerk; his removal to Kentucky. Tell about the boyhood and youth of Daniel Webster. Name the public offices filled by Calhoun, Clay, and Webster. What was the Cumberland Road? What was Clay's connection with it? A PERIOD OF PEACEFUL DEVELOPMENT 247 What put a stop to canal and road building by Congress ? Tell about the dispute over the admission of Missouri as a State. How was the dispute settled? What other dispute did Clay help to settle? What name was given him because of this? What office did Calhoun hold under President Monroe? Tell about the famous message President Monroe sent to Congress. What famous debate took place in Con- gress during this period ? Tell some things said by each debater. What is a protective tariff? (Get your teacher or your father to explain this.) What action did South Carolina take in regard to the tariff law of Congress? What did President Jackson prepare to do? How was the trouble settled? Name some of the inventions of this period. Show how our people progressed in education. Name a poor-boy President during this period. Tell of the growth of the West. CHAPTER XVII Sam Houston Early Life of Houston We Give Up Our First Claim to Texas When we bought Louisiana from France, in 1803, we did not know exactly how far westward our new territory ex- tended. In the southwest we claimed that it included the greater part, if not all, of Texas. But Spain de- clared that Texas was part of her province of Mexico, and that our Louisiana did not reach even as far west as the Sabine River. Sixteen years later (in 1819) this matter was settled. In that year we bought Florida from Spain, and as part of the bargain we agreed to take the Sabine River as our western boundary, thus giving up our claim to Texas. About this time Mexico declared herself independent of Spain. Jn the war between Spain and Mexico that fol- lowed Mexico won; and Texas now, instead of belonging to Spain, belonged to Mexico. Settlers from the United States in Texas — But the Sa- bine River was easier for our westward-marching pio- 248 SAM HOUSTON. SAM HOUSTON 249 neers to cross than the Alleghany Mountains had been for their fathers in the days of Daniel Boone. Before long settlers from the United States began to throng into the fertile plains of Texas. The Mexican govern- ment at first encouraged the coming of the settlers, making rich grants of lands to the pioneers who came. The new-comers, however, were different in language, customs, and religion from the Mexicans. They loved liberty, and the government of Mexico was harsh and tyrannical. There were mutterings of discontent — signs of an approaching storm. Sam Houston's First Appearance in Texas In De- cember, 1832, three horsemen from the United States crossed the Red River from the Indian Territory (then a part of Arkansas Territory) into the Mexican State of Texas. Traveling southward, they reached the vil- lage of Nacogdoches, an American settlement in eastern Texas. Here the leader of the little party was recog- nized and welcomed by some acquaintances among the settlers as Sam Houston, famous as an Indian fighter, then as Congressman, afterward as governor of Ten- nessee. Houston told his Texas friends that he was on his way to San Antonio, by order of President Jackson, to make a treaty with the Comanche Indians. The peo- ple of Nacogdoches felt that they needed such a man as Houston to help them in their disputes with Mexico. They begged him to make his home among them. He promised that he would do so after he had carried out President Jackson's order. Schoolboy Days of Houston — Sam Houston, who was soon to be the leading man in Texas, was born in the 250 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY A^alley of Virg-inia. He started to school when he was eight years old, but as he had to help with the farm work he could attend school only a few months in the winter. After his farm work 1)egan, if he did his work well, he was allowed to run from the fields to the schoolhouse in time to keep his place in spelling. When Sam was thir- teen years old his father died, and his mother with her nine children moved to Tennessee. In his new home Sam w^ent for a while to another school. Here, it seems, he was fonder of play than of his books. His teacher said, "Many a time did I determine to give Sam Houston a whipping for neglect of study, but he would come into the schoolroom bowing and scraping, with such a fine dish of apologies, and withal so polite and manly for one of his age, that it took all the whip out of me." Young Sam got hold of a book of Greek poetry translated into English, and took great delight in reading it. He then wanted to study Latin, and when his teacher refused to allow him to do so he declared he would never recite another lesson. Life among the Indians. A School-teacher His older l)rother put Sam to work clerking in a store. He did not like this indoor work. Just beyond the Tennessee River, a few miles from his home, was an Indian tribe. Sam was on friendly terms with the red men. He often hunted with the Indian boys, and sold them ammunition, from the store. One day the storekeeper missed his clerk. It turned out that Sam had run away to live with the Indians. He made his home with them for several years, dressed like an Indian, spoke their language, and followed their customs. Then, needing money to pay a SAM HOUSTON 25 1 debt for ammunition, he came back to the white people and opened a school. Reading, writing, and "cipher- ing" were the only branches taught in most frontier schools. Sam knew these branches pretty well, and he controlled the boys easily; so his school was a success. He raised the price of tuition from six dollars a year to eight dollars, payable one-third in cash, one-third in corn, and one-third in cotton cloth. Having made enough money to pay his debt, he stopped teaching and started to school again himself. Houston becomes a Soldier; a Lawyer; Governor. Among the Indians Again — When our second war with England began, Houston, now twenty years old, joined the army. He was sent with the troops under Gen- eral Jackson against the Indians of Alabama. In the battle of Horseshoe Bend he was wounded so severely that it was several years after the close of the war be- fore he recovered his health. Then, resigning from the army, he studied law. He was elected to one office after another until he became governor of Tennessee. While governor he suddenly gave up his office and left his people. He crossed the Mississippi River into the Ter- ritory of Arkansas and took up his abode with his old friends, the Indians. Again he put on the clothing of an Indian and lived in a wigwam. He was known by- ihe Indian name of Colonneh, the Rover. While here he was requested by President Jackson to visit Texas, as already told. When and how did the United States first get a claim to Texas? What nation disputed our claim ? How was the dispute settled ? What was the result of Mexico's war for independence? Tell about 252 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY the coming of settlers from the United States. Mention some causes of discontent. Tell about Sam Houston's first appearance in Texas ; about Houston's schoolboy days ; his running away from home ; his experience as a teacher; as a soldier against the Indians; as a public officer; his second retirement to the Indians. TEXAS AND THE PACIFIC SLOPE The Texas Revolution. — Houston now made his home at Nacogdoches, in Texas. Soon the Texans were in arms against the tyrannical Mexican government. THE ALAMO. Houston was made commander of the Texas army. At the Alamo, a stone church used also as a fort, situated in San Antonio, a small company of Texans under Col- onel Travis was attacked by a large army of Mexicans. SAM HOUSTON 253 The fort was taken, but not until every one of its brave defenders had fallen. Near the town of Goliad a little army of Texans was compelled to surrender to a large Mexican force. Instead of carrying out their promise to send the captured Texans back to their homes, the cruel Mexicans marched them out in front of the camp, stood then) up in rows, and shot them to death. On ihe 2 1 St of April, 1836, General Houston's army met the Alexicans on the bank of the San Jacinto River, a few miles below the present city of Houston. The Texans were outnumbered two to one, but they rushed into battle shouting, "Remember the Alamo!" "Remember Goliad;" and drove their enemies before them. The Mexican gen- eral was captured, and a great victory was won. This severe defeat of the jMexicans ended the war. Texas became an independent republic, with General Houston its president. Texas Joins the United States — The settlers of Texas had all come from the States, and they now wanted their new country to join the United States. At first the United States refused the request of the Texans for an- nexation. IMexico still claimed that Texas belonged to her, and threatened to make war on any nation that should seize or accept it. The United States tried to 1)uy Texas as she had l)ought Louisiana, but Mexico would not sell. At last, the people of the United States showed by their votes that they wanted Texas if she still wished to join them. In December, 1845, Texas became a State of the United States. This was the first new territory which we acquired without buying it. Texas is the largest State in the Union. It is nearly GENERAL HOUSTON'S VU lOKV AT SAN JAClNTi SAM HOUSTON 255 as large as the first thirteen States east of the Alleghany Mountains taken together. War between the United States and Mexico. We Gain More Territory — Alexico still claimed that Texas be- longed to her. When Texas joined the United States war broke out between Mexico and the United States (1846). The war lasted two years. Generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott were the leading generals on our side. Our troops won every battle. We conquered northern Mexico, including what is now California, and captured the city of JNIexico. Mexico was then glad to make peace, and to let us have the northern territory our troops had conquered, on our paying fifteen million dol- lars for it. This new land included the present States and Territories of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona (with small parts of Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico). Our country now extended from ocean to ocean. Gold in California. — About the time we got the Cali- fornia country a workman w4io had been building a sawmill on a river bank in northern California noticed in the water some shining yellow particles. He took a panful of the sparkling dirt to the owner of the mill. The two men examined it carefully, weighed it, pounded it, poured acids upon it, and at last decided it was gold. They tried to keep the discovery a secret, but the news leaked out. Rich discoveries of gold were made in va- rious parts of the country. People began pouring into California from all parts of the United States. On horseback, in wagons, on foot, a long procession of im- migrants streamed across the W^estern plains, all wild SAM HOUSTON 257 with the "gold fever." In two years after gold was dis- covered California had enough people to be admitted as a State. California is now noted not only as a gold-producing State, but as a rich fruit and farming country. The BIG TREES OF CALIFORNIA. famous "big trees" of California are the largest in the world. More Territory — The land west of the Rocky Moun- tains and north of California was known as the "Oregon country." It was claimed by the United States, because it had been visited by Captain Robert Gray in his ship Cohimhia in 1793, and because Lewis and Clark 258 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY had explored it in 1S04. Spain once claimed this region, but she gave up her claim to us when she sold us Florida. England claimed the Oregon country as part of British America, and she insisted on her claim. In the year that the Mexican war began, however, we agreed with Eng- land to divide the disputed territory between us, the United States taking the part south of the present bound- ary of British America. General Houston was at this time a member of the United States senate which helped to make a treaty, or agreement, with England. A few years later (1853) we bought from Mexico a strip of land now the southern part of Arizona and New Mexico. We called this new territory the "Gadsden Purchase," from General Gadsden, who was our agent in buying it. This made the sixth time we had added to our territory. Last Days of General Houston — \Mien Texas joined the United States, General Houston was chosen United States senator. He was governor of Texas when the war broke out betw^een the North and the South. Hous- ton believed that Texas made a mistake in leaving the Union to join the Southern Confederacy, and he refused to support the new government. The Texans then re- moved him from his office. He took no part in the war, however, but allowed his son to join the Confederate army. He died at his home in Huntsville before the war was over. To what office was Houston first called by the Texans? Tell about the fall of the Alamo; the cruelty of the Mexicans at Goliad; Houston's victory at San Jacinto; the efforts of Texas to join the United States. When did Texas become a State of the Union? What can you say of its size? What caused the war between the SAM HOUSTON 259 United States and Mexico? Who were our leading generals? What was the result of all the battles? the result of the war? What States are included in this "Mexican cession"? Tell about the discovery of gold in California; the growth of California in population; the productions of the State. Tell about how the United States acquired the Oregon country. What States are included in this region? What other territory did we get from Mexico? Name the six dif¥er- ent additions to our territory thus far. Tell about the last days of General Houston. CHAPTER XVIII The Story of Two Kentucky Boys Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis Two Kentucky Boys — A few years before the be- ginning of the War of 1812 two boys were born in the State of Kentucky who were destined when they were ]!IRTHPLACES AND HOMES OF LINCOLN AND DAVIS. each about fifty years of age to be leaders of opposing sides in a great war between the Northern and the Southern States. Less than a hundred miles separated the birthplaces of these boys, and there was only eight 260 THE STORY OF TWO KENTUCKY BOYS 26 1 months' difference in • their ages. The father of the older of the boys had moved to Kentucky from Georgia, where he had been a soldier in the War of the Revolution. The grandfather of the younger boy had come from Vir- ginia to make his home in Kentucky a few years after Daniel Boone had led the way into this region. The name of the older boy was Jefferson Davis; of the younger, Abraham Lincoln. EARLY LIFE OF LINCOLN Boyhood of Lincoln.— When Abraham Lincoln was seven years old his father removed from Kentucky to Indiana. He selected a place in the woods for a home, and with the help of little Abe and his older sister Sarah and Mrs. Lincoln a shelter was quickly built. This shelter was called a ''half-face camp." It was a kind of shed made of poles and covered with leaves and branches. One side was left entirely open, and in front of this opening a fire was kept burning to warm the camp. Over the fire hung a huge iron kettle, and in this kettle Abe's mother cooked the wild game, beans, corn, or other food. In this uncomfortable home the Lincoln family lived a whole year. AA'hen they moved into their new log cabin it seemed to little Abe like a palace, although it had a dirt floor and no doors or windows, save openings in the walls over which skins of wild animals were hung. Abe slept on a pile of leaves in the loft of the cabin, and every night he climbed to his bed by a ladder of wooden pins driven into the logs. Lincoln's School Days — Abraham Lincoln's mother taught her husband to read and write, and she probably 262 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY taught little Abe also. He went to school in a log cabin near his home. But his school days were soon over. His father took him from school to put him to work, but he continued studying. He had no slate, and writing paper was scarce. So he used to write compositions and work "sums" in arithmetic at night on the wooden shovel by the fire- place. When he had covered the shovel with letters and figures he shaved them ofif and began again. At nineteen years of age he had read every book he could find, could "spell down" the whole neighborhood in their spelling matches, and could write a neat, clear hand. A Trip to New Orleans. — Young Lincoln longed to see something of the world beyond his father's little farm. The chance came when a rich neighbor offered to hire him to accompany his son on a flatboat loaded with corn and other products to New Orleans. To the Western farmers of that time boats on the Ohio and Mississippi took the place of freight trains with us. It was a long trip, of about eighteen hundred miles, to New Orleans. Young Lincoln managed the boat successfully and sold the cargo for a good price. One night, on the way down, LINCOLN S EAKI.V liU-Mi:. THE STORY OF TWO KENTUCKY BOYS 263 when they had tied their boat to the shore, and the two young- men were asleep on board, they were awakened by a gang of negroes coming to rob the boat. Abra- ham seized a club, knocked several negroes overboard, drove the rest from the boat, and, with his companion, chased them some distance in the darkness. Moves to Illinois. Rail Splitter: Soldier When young Lincoln was twenty years old his father moved to Illinois. Here another cabin home was built. Abra- ham, w^ith the help of his cousin, John Hanks, split enough walnut rails for his father to fence in a field of fifteen acres. Once, when he needed a pair of trousers, he agreed with a lady who was to make them to split for her four hundred good fence rails for every yard of cloth she furnished. W h e n war against the In- the beautiful memorial built over dian chief Black '^^^ Lincoln cabin, in Kentucky. Hawk broke out Lincoln joined the army and was made captain of a company. Black Hawk was cap- tured, and the war was closed before Lincoln's men had a chance to do any fighting. In a speech after- ward he jokingly said that in the Black Hawk War he fought, bled, and came away — that he charged upon the wild onions, and had a good many bloody struggles 'with the mosquitoes. 264 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY Lincoln Studies Law. Elected to the Legislature and to Congress. — After his war experience was over Lincoln studied law. About the time he began to practice he was elected to the Legislature of Illinois. As he was then too poor to hire a horse he walked all the way from his home to the State capital, over a hundred miles. He was elected again and again to the Legislature. Then his people sent him to Congress. When Lincoln took his seat in the House of Representatives, or "Lower House" of Congress in December, 1847, among the new members of the Senate, or "Upper House," was Jeffer- son Davis, of Mississippi, the Kentucky boy mentioned in the beginning of this chapter. What State was the birthplace of two opposing leaders in the war between the North and the South ? In what respects was the early history of these boys similar? What were their names? Tell about the boyhood of Lincoln; about his school days; his trip to New Or- leans; his new home in Illinois; his experience as a rail splitter; as a soldier; his public ofHces. What former Kentuckian did he meet in Congress? EARLY LIFE OF DAVIS Boyhood of Jefferson Davis. — Abraham Lincoln's father moved northward from Kentucky; Jefferson Davis's father moved southward. Before Jefferson was old enough to remember, his father took his family from Kentucky and settled in Mississippi. Here little Jeff, when only five years old, started to school. He and his sister Polly used to walk through the woods to the log cabin in which the school was taught, carrying their "dinner" in a basket. Jefferson was two years younger than his sister, but he thought he had to take care of THE STORY OF TWO KENTUCKY BOYS 265 her. One day when they were going through the lone- hest part of the woods they saw coming toward them through the undergrowth what seemed to be a drunken man carrying several chairs on his head. Jefferson Jefferson H)avi6, OF MISSISSIPPI, WAS BORX JUNE 3, 1808, OX THE SITE OF THIS CHURCH. HE MADE A GIFT OF THIS LOT MARCH 10, 1886, TO BETHEL BAPTIST CHURCH, AS A THAXK-OFFERIXG TO THE LORD. INSCRIPTION ON MARBLE SLAB .IN WALL OF THE BAPTIST CHURCH, FAIRVIEW, KENTUCKY. seized his sister's hand and said, "Wq mustn't run, Polly!" Slowly the strange object drew near, until it proved to be a wild deer, with great branching horns. Gazing at the two children bravely standing hand in hand, the deer came quite close to them, then turned and bounded oft". Jefferson Decides between Going- to School and Picking Cotton — After two years at a boarding school in Ken- tucky, Jeft'erson returned to his home in [Mississippi, and entered the county academy. One day when his teacher threatened to punish him for not knowing a lesson which Jeft'erson declared was longer than he could master the boy took up his books and went home. His father after listening to his story said : "It is for you to choose whether you will work with your head or with your hands ; of course, my son could not be an idler. I want more cotton pickers, and I will give you work." For two 266 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY days Jefferson worked steadily in the cotton field from morning until night beside his father's negro slaves. Then he decided that long lessons were not so bad as long cotton rows, when the cotton had to be picked by a boy unused to steady work in the hot sun. The next day he was back at his place in school with no more com- plaint about long lessons. A Cadet at the Military Academy ^^'hile Jefferson Davis was at college he was appointed by President Monroe a cadet in the military academy at West Point, New York. A schoolmate at college has said of him that, while gay and light-hearted, Davis was free from coarseness and vulgarity; that "he was always a gentle- man in the highest sense of the word." The cadets at West Point are trained to be soldiers. They are sup- ported by the government, and a sum of money is paid them each month for their expenses. Every month Cadet Davis sent a part of his pay to his mother. Once or twice she returned it, but finding that this distressed him, she kept it. A Soldier. — After graduating from West Point, Lieu- tenant Davis was stationed with other soldiers at first one fort and then another in the Northwest. He was engaged in the Black Hawk Indian War, and it is said that he was the ofiicer before whom Captain Abraham Lincoln was sworn into service in that war. After his marriage he resigned from the army and lived on a plantation in Alississippi. Li 1844 he was elected to the Lower House of Congress. \Mien the INlexican \\"ar broke out a regiment of volunteer soldiers from Mis- sissippi chose Mr. Davis as their commander. In the THE STORY OF TWO KENTUCKY BOYS 267 battle of Buena Vista the skill and bravery of Colonel Davis and his men won the victory for our army. Davis was severely wounded in this battle. United States Senator — On his return from the Mex- ican War, Colonel Davis was made United States sena- tor. In the same Congress in which he took his seat as senator from Mississippi, Abraham Lincoln first ap- peared as representative from Illinois. Thus the two Copyright Detroit Plioto Co. JEFFERSON DAVIS'S HOME, BEAUVOIR, MISS. Kentucky boys, having grown to manhood with lives so widely dififerent, have at last come together as law- makers for their country. One boy, blessed with a com- fortable home and every advantage of education, made the most of his opportunities. The other boy, raised in poverty and with almost no school advantages, con- quered every difficulty, made opportunities, then im- proved them. Both were high-minded, truthful, gener- ous, brave — worthy examples to all American boys. 268 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY Tell about Jefferson Davis's removal from Kentucky; about the adventure of little Jefferson while on his way to school; about his cotton-picking experience. What was said of him as a college stu- dent? What is the United States Military Academy? How did Davis become a cadet? How did he show his love for his mother? In what Indian war did he serve? After his marriage where did he make his home? What part did he take in the Mexican War? On his return from the Mexican War to what office was Colonel Davis chosen? Compare the lives of the two Kentucky boys. FORMATION OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES Different Political Beliefs of Lincoln and Davis Al- though Lincoln and Davis were members of the same Congress, they belonged to dififerent political parties — that is, they had different beliefs about the powers of the government, and how these powers should be exercised. Lincoln's party was composed of men who, for the most part, be- lieved that the Constitution of the United States gave the President, Congress, and other United States officers power to do certain things which the party of Jefferson Davis believed could be done only by the officers of the different States. Lincoln's party believed that in cases where the meaning of the Constitution was not perfectly plain more power should be given to the United States, or cen- tral government, and less power to the State. Davis's party believed that the State governments should have ABRAHAM LINCOLN. THE STORY OF TWO KENTUCKY BOYS 269 more power and the central government less. These different beliefs led to many disputes. The Slavery Question. — Another question which di- vided Jefferson Davis and the people of the South from Lincoln and the people of the North was that of slavery. Slaves were brought to this country by New England ships and were once owned in all the States. But it was found that the cold climate of the Northern States and the trading and manufacturing occupations of the people were not suited to the negro. In the North it was cheaper to hire a white workman than to feed and clothe the negro slave and care for him in sick- ness, when, after all, he could not be trained to do skillfully the work which the Northern people wanted done. In the South, on the other hand, negro slaves w^ere profitable to their masters. The warm climate of the South was like that of the negro's African home. Under the direction of a good "overseer," ne- groes made excellent farm hands on Southern planta- tions. So it came about that the Southern people con- sidered slavery the best thing for the negro, for the South, and for the whole country. Many Northern people, on the other hand, came to look upon it as a great wrong, a shame and a disgrace to the whole country. When a new State was ready to join the Union there JEFFERSON DAVIS. 270 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY was nearly always a hot dispute between North and South as to whether it should come in as a *'free" or a ''slave" State. The Abolitionists — The North began to form societies called ''abolition societies," for the purpose of abolish- ing slavery in the Southern States. Members of these societies made speeches, published papers, and wrote poems declaring slavery to be a sin, and Southern slave owners to be cruel and wicked. The Southern people declared that cruel slave owners were few; that the slaves were well cared for, happy, and contented. They pointed to passages in the Constitution of the United States permitting slavery, and they insisted that Con- gress had no right to interfere with it. The more bitter the Northern attacks upon slavery became the more de- termined were the people of the South to stand by what they considered their rights under the Constitution. The Question of Slavery Before the United States Su- preme Court — In a lawsuit over the ownership of a negro slave named Dred Scott the Supreme Court of the United States decided that the Constitution permitted a master to take his slaves into any territory of the United States. This decision enraged the people of the North who were opposed to slavery. The Judges who made the decision were abused in newspapers and public speeches. Al- though many Northern people did not join in this abuse, yet the bitter attacks upon the judges angered the South against the North. \Mien Northern States refused to carry out the law of Congress which required that slaves escaping into their borders be returned to their Southern owners this anger increased. THE STORY OF TWO KENTUCKY BOYS 27 1 The John Brown Raid — Another event that increased the feehng- between the North and South was the John Brown raid. John Brown was a Northern abohtionist who had been engaged in bloody fights with the slave owners of Kansas. With a few followers he went to Virginia, broke into a house where arms belonging to the United States were stored, seized a number of guns, and called upon the negro slaves to join him in a war upon the white people of the South for the purpose of abolish- ing slavery. Brown's party killed several white citizens and, took others prisoners; but the slaves did not join them, as they had expected. The raid proved a failure. John Brown was captured, tried for treason and mur- der, was found guilty, and was hanged. Yet many of the Abolitionists of the North praised John Brown, and in newspapers and public speeches declared he had done right. This led Southern people to believe that the senti- ment in the North was in favor of Brown's plans. Abraham Lincoln Chosen President of the United States. — In the midst of this bitter feeling between North and South, members of the Republican Party met in Chicago to choose a man for whom their party would vote for President. During the meeting friends of Lin- coln brought in two old fence rails which Lincoln had split when a young man. With the rails was carried a banner bearing the words, "Abraham Lincoln, the Rail Candidate for the Presidency." The rails were greeted with cheers, and Lincoln was nominated. The party of Jefferson Davis could not agree upon a candidate for their side to vote for, and split into two parts. Lincoln was then elected President of the United States. 272 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY The Southern States Leave the Union. — From the be- ginning of the government the Southern States had be- Heved that a State had the right to withdraw, or secede from the Union. Northern States also had held this view, and in the New England States particularly it had been often asserted. When Lincoln was elected Presi- dent the Southern States determined to secede. They Copyriglit Detroit Photo Co. CONFEDERATE CAPITOL AT RICHMOND. did this not because Lincoln himself was hateful to them, but the party to which he belonged included the bitterest enemies of the South. The Southern people believed that with this party in control of the government, de- cisions of the Supreme Court would be disregarded, the Constitution would be broken, and their rights trampled upon. THE STORY OF TWO KENTUCKY BOYS 273 Jefferson Davis Chosen President of the Confederate States. — Between December, i860, and February, 1861, seven States withdrew from the Union — South Carohna, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. Delegates from the seceded States met at Mont- gomery, Alabama, and formed a new government, called the Confederate States of America. Jefferson Davis, of ]\Iississippi, was chosen President, and Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, Vice-President. Four other States — Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Ten- nessee — afterward joined the Confederacy, and the cap- ital was moved from Montgomery to Richmond, Vir- ginia. Lincoln and Davis in Later Years — Soon after Lincoln was made President a terrible war between the United States and the Confederate States began. The war lasted four years, and closed with the armies of the United States victorious. Just after the close of the w^ar President Lincoln w^as killed. A half-crazy man named John A\'ilkes Booth crept up behind the President in a theater and shot him. His death was a great loss to the South as well as to the North; for if Lincoln had lived he w^ould have saved the Southerners from much of the harsh treatment they received just after the war. To-day the memory of Abraham Lincoln is honored in all parts of our country. At the close of the war President Davis was arrested on the charge of treason, and was thrown into prison. After two years of imprisonment he was released, and his case was never tried. He died in the city of New Orleans, at the age of eighty-one, loved and revered by 274 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY the people of the South, respected by good men every- where. What different political beliefs did the parties of Davis and of Lincoln have? Tell how slavery came to prevail in the South and not in the North. How was slavery regarded in the South? How did many Northern people regard it? Tell about the attacks of the abolitionists upon slavery and slave owners ; the reply of the South- erners. What was the decision of the United States Supreme Court in the Dred Scott lawsuit? How was this decision received? Who was John Brown? Tell about his raid. How did this increase the hatred between North and South ? Tell about the nomination of Lincoln for President by the Republican Party ; the result of the election. At the beginning of our government what belief about secession was held by all the States ? Why did the Southern Stales determine to secede when Lincoln was elected President? Tell about the formation of the Confederate States government ; the officers chosen ; the capitals. Tell about the last days of Lincoln ; of Davis. CHAPTER XIX The War Between the States The Beginning of the War How the War Began. — Jefferson Davis and the people of the South beheved that a State had a right to leave the Union. Abraham Lincoln and the N^orthern people de- clared a State had no such right. So when the officers of the seceded States asked President Lincoln to remove the LTnited States soldiers from the forts in their borders he refused to do so. He not only refused to remove these troops, but he sent supplies and more troops to Fort Sum- ter, on the coast of South Carolina. The Southern peo- ple believed that by sending these soldiers to Fort Sum- ter the North began the war. President Davis ordered the Confederate troops near Fort Sumter to capture the fort before the ships bearing President Lincoln's re- inforcements should arrive. On April 12, 1861, South- ern soldiers attacked the fort. After a stubborn defense lasting part of two days Fort Sumter w^as surrendered to the Confederates. The great war had begun. The First Great Battle. — The first great battle of the war was fought in Virginia on Bull Run Creek, near Manassas Junction. The Northern army started south from Washington to capture Richmond, the Confederate capital. They were met by the Southern army. In one part of the field of battle the troops under the Southern 275 2/6 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY General T. J. Jackson were fiercely attacked, but they firmly held their ground. In the midst of the fight an- other Southern officer, whose troops had begun to re- treat, seeing Jackson's unyielding bravery, shouted to his own men: "Look; there is Jackson, standing like a stone wall! Let us die here, or conquer!" His men took fresh courage at the sight. The advance of the Northern troops was checked. At this moment fresh Confederate troops arrived upon the field. The South- ern army rushed forward, and gained a great victory, driving their enemies back to Washington. General T. J. Jackson, who became one of the most famous generals of the war, was ever afterward known as "Stonewall Jackson." What Each Side was Trying to Do — The purpose of President Lincoln was to conquer the Confederacy, so as to make the seceded States come back into the Union. To carry out this purpose the Northern armies east of the Alleghany Mountains tried again and again to cap- ture Richmond, the Confederate capital. West of the Alleghanies, Northern troops invaded the Confederacy in the efifort to defeat its armies and capture its cities. Northern armies also triedto get control of the Missis- sippi River by attacking Southern cities and forts along its bank, their object being in this way to cut the Con- federacy in two. Lastly, Northern ships of war sta- tioned themselves outside of Southern harbors to prevent any ships passing in or out. The purpose of Presi- dent Davis was to defend the Confederacy from the at- tacks made upon it. The object of the Southern armies was to drive the invading armies from their soil. In BATTLE OF MANASSAS. 278 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY numbers, in wealth, in ships, and in suppHes of war, the North had a tremendous advantage. Tell how the war between the States began. Where was the first great battle? Tell about General T. J. Jackson's bravery; the result of the battle. What was President Lincoln's purpose in the war? How did he try to carry out his purpose ? What was the purpose of President Davis? the object of the Southern armies? the stronger side? WEST OF THE ALLEGHANIES The Southern Line Broken. Battle of Shiloh To guard their territory west of the Aheghanies the Con- federates built a line of forts through Kentucky. The North- ern General U. S. Grant captured two of these forts (Henry and Donelson), breaking through this line. General Grant then ad- vanced southward to near the boundary between Tennessee and Mississippi. Here he was met by an army under General Albert Sidney Johnston, one of the best Southern generals. The great battle of Shiloh followed. The first day of the battle the Confederates were victorious. But late in the afternoon General Johnston was mortally wounded. In the night another army came to the aid of General Grant, and next day the Confederates (under General Beauregard) retired southward. General Bragg's Defense of Tennessee. — The Southern General Bragg now began a struggle for the possession GENERAL A. S. JOHNSTON. THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES 279 of Kentucky and Tennessee. At Murfreesboro, in Mid- dle Tennessee, a bloody battle was fought between Bragg's army and that of General Rosecrans. Both sides claimed the victory. The next year the same gen- erals met in northern Georgia, just south of the Ten- nessee line. Here the great battle of Chickamauga was fought, in which the Confederates gained a brilliant vic- tory. General Grant now took Rosecrans's place, and in the battle of Chattanooga, Tennessee, defeated General Bragg's army. Northern Troops Invade Georgia — General Sherman was now placed in command of the Northern army in the \\'est (1864). Sherman started southward through Georsfia. He was opposed by a Southern army first under General Joseph E. John- ston, then under General Hood. The Confederates repeatedly checked the larger forces of the Federals, but could not stop their advance. Sher- man's soldiers burned houses and laid waste the country in their path. At last they reached the seacoast at Savannah. Sherman then turned northward through the Carolinas. The Struggle for the Mississippi River In the second year of the war Northern warships captured New Or- leans. Higher up the river Vicksburg and Port Hud- son, held by the Confederates, still guarded the stream. The next year General Grant took Vicksburg after heroic resistance by its defenders. Generals Stephen D. Lee GENERAL JOHN HOOD. B. 28o THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY (who defeated Sherman at Chickasaw bayou), John- ston, and Pemberton. Port Hudson surrendered a few days later. The whole Mississippi River was now in the hands of Union troops. The Confederacy was cut into two parts. West of the Mississippi.— West of the Mississippi were the Confederate States of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas, with the disputed State of Missouri. In the first year of the war the Confederates under Generals Price and McCulloch won the battle of Wilson's Creek in Missouri. Union troops afterward gained control of the State. In Louisiana General Dick Taylor with a small Southern army defeated General Banks in the battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill. In Texas a fort at Sabine Pass, garrisoned by a little band of forty-two men under Lieutenant Pick Dowling, dis- abled or drove back Union ships carrying a large army for the invasion of the State. Galveston, which had been seized by Union troops, was recaptured by the Con- federates in a brilliant fight. How was the Southern Hne west of the Alleghanies broken? Tell about General Grant's advance and the battle of Shiloh. Name three great battles fought by the Southern General Bragg. What was the result of each? Tell about General Sherman's march through Georgia; about the capture of the Mississippi River by the Federals. Name some important battles west of the Mississippi. THE DEFENSE OF RICHMOND General Lee's First Campaigns (1862-4). — The next year after the battle of Manassas another Northern army (under General McClellan) advanced against Richmond. THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES 281 '^x In the "Seven Days' Battles," near Richmond, General R. E. Lee, commanding the Southern army, drove back the enemy and saved the city. General Lee was greatly helped by General Stonewall Jackson. Jackson defeated four different Northern armies in the Shenandoah Val- ley, and kept them from going to the aid of McClellan. In the battles of Second Manassas, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville (all in Vir- ginia) General Lee thrice defeated Union, armies that were trying to capture Richmond. But the victory at Chancellorsville was dearly bought by the South. General Lee's ablest assistant, General Stonewall Jackson, was mistaken in the darkness for the enemy, and was mortally wounded by his own men. Twice General Lee crossed the Potomac River and invaded the North. In the first invasion a drawn battle was fought at Antietam Creek, Maryland. The Northern gen- eral having received heavy ^reinforcements. General Lee returned to Virginia. In Lee's second invasion the greatest battle of the war was fought near Gettys- burg, Pennsylvania. The Northern General Meade had one hundred thousand men ; Lee, seventy thousand. The fight lasted three days. On the third day a heroic charge by the Confederates was repulsed by overwhelming num- bers of the Federals. Unable to drive back the superior forces of the enemy, Lee slowly retreated into Virginia. GENERAL STONEWALL JACKSON. 282 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY Fighting Between Lee and Grant. Surrender of Lee. — General Grant was now placed in command of the army opposed to Lee. His forces outnumbered Lee's three to one. Once more a great Northern army started toward Richmond. On the way the great battles of the Wilder- ness, Spottsylvania, and Cold Harbor were fought. Fi- nally, by overwhelming numbers, Lee was forced back to Petersburg, near Richmond. When Grant captured the town of Petersburg, Richmond was abandoned by the Confederates, and Lee began to retreat toward the south- w^est. At Appomattox Court House, seventy-five miles from Richmond, he encountered Grant's forces, number- ing over one hundred thousand men. Here, on April 9, 1865, Lee gave up the struggle, and surrendered his little army, which was then reduced to ten thousand soldiers. General Grant treated General Lee and the ragged, half- starved Confederates with the greatest kindness. He supplied them with food, and let them keep their horses to use in their farm work at home. When General Lee's army surrendered the other Confederate forces soon laid down their arms, and the great war was ended. Tell about the Seven Days' battles; about General Jackson's vic- tories; the battle of Chancellorsville; Lee's first invasion of the North; his second invasion; the fighting between the armies of Grant and Lee; the surrender of Lee; General Grant's conduct. AFTER THE SURRENDER General Robert E. Lee — The greatest general of the Confederacy was Robert E. Lee. A native of Virginia, Lee had graduated at West Point, and had been a gallant officer in the Mexican War. When the war between the THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES 283 States broke out Lee was offered the chief command of the armies of the United States. But he dechned the offer because he beheved it his duty to stand by his State. In the second year of the war he was placed in command of the Confederate army in Vir- ginia, and later was made com- mander in chief of all the South- ern forces. The army he com- manded was never as large as that opposed to him — sometimes not half as large. Yet for three years he successfully defended Richmond, driving back one Northern army after another, and proving himself one of the greatest generals of the world. General Lee was not only a brave soldier and a great gen- eral, but he was also a modest Christian gentleman. When the war was over he became president of Wash- ington College, in Virginia, and spent the rest of his life as a teacher of Southern boys. General U. S. Grant— The greatest general of the Northern, or Federal, armies was Ulysses S. Grant. Like Davis and Lee, Grant was a graduate of West Point Academy, and a brave officer in the Mexican War. During the first three years of the war between the States, General Grant commanded troops west of the Alleghany Mountains. On account of his victories in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi he was made com- mander in chief of all the Union forces, and was put GENERAL R. E. LEE. 284 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY in charge of the army in Virginia, which had been so often beaten by General Lee. General Grant afterward became President of the United States. He was an able general, and a generous, kind-hearted man. When he died several ex-Confederate generals showed their respect for his memory by attending his funeral. The Battles and Leaders of the War — There is not space in this book to tell the story of the war. You must study it in large histories. Only a few of the most important battles have been named. Both the soldiers who wore the "blue'^ and those who wore the "gray" showed the greatest bravery. Both fought for the cause they believed was right. Among the great generals on the Confederate side, besides Robert E. Lee, were Stone- wall Jackson, Albert Sidney Johnston, Joseph E. John- ston, Beauregard, Hood, Stuart, Forrest, Longstreet, S. D. Lee, Gordon. On the side of the Union were Generals Grant, Sherman, Rosecrans, Hancock, Thomas, Sheri- dan, Meade, McClellan, and Llooker. Slavery Abolished. — During the war President Lincoln decided that it would help to weaken the Confederacy to free the slaves. So he wrote his famous "Emancipation Proclamation," declaring free the slaves in those parts of the Confederacy not yet occupied by Northern armies. At the close of the war a change, or amendment, was GENERAL U. S. GRANT. THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES 285 added to the Constitution abolishing slavery in all parts of the United States. One Country Once More. — The terrible war brought sorrow and suffering and death everywhere. The Southern people suffered most because the fighting was on their soil. Their family circles were broken by death, their homes were destroyed, their farms laid waste, their stock killed. But bravely those who were left set to THE STARS AND BARS. THE BATTLE FLAG. CONFEDERATE FLAGS. work to build up the old South, and make it even greater than before. Northern and Southern people had learned to respect each other's courage; now they came to understand each other better. The war was like a great storm whose black clouds had long been gathering and whose thunders had been muttering in the distance. At last the tempest burst in its fury, carrying death and ruin in its path. But after a while its last echoes died away, the sun rose once more in splendor, and the air seemed never so pure, nor the skies so clear. Our coun- 286 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY try to-day, after the awful suffering caused by the war, is stronger, more closely united, more prosperous than ever before. CONFEDERATE S(>I.1)1I:RS RETURNING HOME. Tell what you can about General R. E. Lee; about General U. S. Grant. What can you say of the soldiers on both sides? Name some of the leading Confederate generals ; the leading Union gen- erals. Tell about the abolition of slavery; the suffering caused by the war; the good results the war produced. CHAPTER XX Our Country Reunited Dark Days for the South — The suffering of the South did not end with the war. There was a period of "Re- construction" lasting five years or more, during which the N^orthern people as victors tried to govern the Southern people as subjects. Besides the amendment to the Con- stitution abolishing slavery, the Southern States were forced to accept two other amendments, which gave other privileges to the negroes and allowed them to vote. At the same time many of the best white citizens were not allowed to vote. The result was that ignorant and dis- honest men were elected to the offices, unjust laws were passed, good laws were not enforced, the people's money was wasted or stolen, and hatred between whites and blacks was aroused. United States soldiers were kept in the Southern States to uphold these incompetent State officers and enforce the bad laws. At last the people of the North came to see that it was best for both negroes and whites to let the people of each State manage their own affairs. Accordingly, all white citizens in the South were once more allowed to vote, and the United States troops were withdrawn. The intelligent white citizens at once took charge of the State and county gov- ernments, and the Southern people began to be peaceful and contented. 287 288 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY Progress of the South. — Since the close of the dark days of "Recon- struction" the South has made wonderful progress. Southern people are glad that slavery is gone, and they would not restore it if they could. The old friendly feeling between the white and black races that existed before the war is returning, as the negroes, freed from the control of the unprin- cipled Northern adventur- ers who flocked southward after the war, are learn- ing to shun politics and to become industrious work- ers. Southern farmers have ceased to depend on cotton and corn alone, and have begun to cultivate fruit, vegetables, and other crops. Coal, iron, and other minerals abound in several Southern States, and the mining industry now employs thousands of men and millions of capital. In- stead of shipping all their raw cotton to the North and to Eurpe to be made into cloth, Southern people have begun A TEXAS OIL WELL. OUR COUNTRY REUNITED 289 to build their own cotton factories in sight of the cotton fields. In Texas great underground streams of oil have been discovered. Wells bored in this region bring the oil to the surface in huge fountains. Having always main- tained splendid private schools and colleges, the Southern States now also provide by taxation excellent public schools for white and for black children. Copyright Detroit Photo Co. BRIDGE ACROSS THE MISSISSIPPI AT ST. LOUIS. Progress of the West — The progress of the West since the war has been equally wonderful. Chicago, no longer a "Western frontier" town, has grown to be the second largest city in America. In 1869 the first railroad to the Pacific Ocean was completed, connecting the East and the West. This and other Pacific railroads after- ward built hastened the settlement of the great West. At the close of the war there were only five States be- yond the row of States touching the west bank of the Mississippi River. Since then twelve States have been formed from this western region. Arizona, the last of the Territories, came into Statehood in 1912. 290 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY New Territory Purchased in the Far North. — Two years after the close of the war between the States we bought the northwest corner of North America from Russia for seven milhon two liundred thousand dollars. We changed the name of our new purchase from Rus- sian America to Alaska. This was the first territory acquired by us that did not touch any part of the United States. Alaska is more than twice as large as Texas, and though condi- tions are such that explorations pro- gress slowly some wonderful gold and copper mines and some exten- ^ sive coal fields have been discov- ered in sections most thoroughly investigated. Some Recent In- ventions. — Since the war a number of inventions have come into use that have greatly changed the life of SCENE IN ST. LOUIS, I9I2. ^^^^ ^p^^^^j^^ ^j^^ electric light is taking the place of the gas light and the oil lamp. Telephones now make it possible for persons hundreds of miles apart to talk to each other. Copyrife'iit Uml OUR COUNTRY REUNITED 291 Electric cars have taken the place of horse cars in the cities. More recently, instead of buggies and car- riages drawn by horses, automobiles driven by gas or electricity are met upon the roads and highways throughout the country. Bicycles are ridden by rich and poor, old and young, to save many a w^eary step. Ice machines have changed ice from a luxury which only the rich could afford to a comfort in reach of the poorest. Typewriting machines are taking the place of pen and ink with letterwriters. The wireless tele- graph has made it possible for passengers on ships hun- dreds of miles apart to send messages to each other and to friends upon the distant land. Flying machines and airships now carry adventurous "birdmen" through the air at a speed greater than that of the fastest express train. In fact, if any one had told our grandfathers fifty years ago that all these changes would take place it would have seemed like a strange fairy story. World's Fairs — The American people delight to cele- brate birthdays and anniversaries. In 1876 we cele- brated the one hundreth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence by our first World's Fair. It was called the Centennial Exposition, and was held at Philadelphia. In 1892-3 we celebrated the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America by the great Columbian Exposition at Chicago. The one hundredth anniversary of the purchase of Louisiana was celebrated by a World's Fair, held at St. Louis in 1903. France's Gift — To show their friendship for the United States the people of France presented us with an im- mense statue called ''Liberty Enlightening the World." 292 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY The statue stands on an island at the entrance to New- York Harbor. It is so large that inside the head of "Liberty" is a room big enough to hold forty persons. A picture of this statue is on the outside of the cover of this book. * *,'''' ^ ^ COURT OF HONOR AT THE COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION AT CHICAGO. Tell about the suffering of the South during "Reconstruction" days. To what conclusion did the North finally come? What was the result? Tell something of the progress of the South since Re- construction; the progress of the West; the purchase of Alaska; our anniversary expositions; France's gift. CHAPTER XXI War With Spain Our First Island Territory We Take Up Cuba's Fight. — In 1898 we went to war with Spain — the first European nation we had fought since the War of 181 2. Spain had once owned all the islands of the West Indies. One by one they had been taken from her until only Cuba and Porto Rico re- mained in her possession. The people of these Spanish islands w^ere wTetchedly governed, and time and again the Cubans took up arms to throw off the rule of their mas- ters. But the Spaniards always conquered them, and ruled more cruelly than ever. The people of the United States felt sorry for their Cuban neighbors. We tried to get Spain to rule the island more mildly. But the Spaniards were suspicious of us, and did not like our sympathy with the Cubans. While one of our finest battleships, the Maine, was visiting the harbor of Havana, Cuba, she was blown up, and over two hundred of her sailors were killed in the explosion. The people of the United States be- lieved this cowardly deed was done by Spanish officers, m ADMIRAL DEWEY. 294 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY or that they allowed it to be done. Congress then di- rected the President to use the army and navy of the United States to, drive the Spanish from Cuba, if they still refused to set the island free. Fighting in the Philippines.^War began April 21, 1898. The first great battle was fought in the Pacific Ocean three thousand miles from our coast. Com- modore Dewey, with a fleet of our ships, was stationed at Hongkong, China. He sailed against the Philippine Islands, owned by Spain, and without losing one of his own men at- tacked and completely destroyed the Spanish ships in the harbor of Manila, the chief city of the Philippines. For his splendid success Congress voted to present Commodore Dewey with a sword, and the President promoted him from commodore to admiral, the highest rank in the navy. Hobson's Brave Deed Mean- while Spain sent another fleet to guard Cuba. These Spanish vessels sailed into the harbor of Santiago, on the Cuban coast. An American fleet under Admiral Sampson, with Commodore Schley next in command, stood outside the harl)or, ready to give battle to the Spanish ships if they should venture out. The entrance to the harbor of Santiago is a narrow winding channel, guarded by forts, so it was impossible for our ships to get inside the harbor. Lieutenant Hobson oflfered to LIEUTENANT HOliSON. In the West Indies. WAR WITH SPAIN 295 obstruct this narrow channel, and thus "bottle up" the Spanish ships and prevent their escape. With seven volunteers he took a coal ship, the Merrimac, into the channel, and sunk her partly across it. Hobson and his men hurried from the sinking ship and floated off on a raft they had brought with them for this purpose. They were captured by the Spaniards, but their captors in Copyriglit V BATTLESHIP ALABAMA. admiration for their brave deed treated them with great kindness. Land Attack on Santiago — United States forces were landed to attack the city of Santiago. Our soldiers, after sharp fighting, drove the Spaniards from El Caney and San Juan, outposts of Santiago, into the city itself. Our 296 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY army was commanded by General Shafter. Among the brave officers who helped win the victory were General Joe Wheeler, a famous Confederate cavalry leader, and Colonels Wood and Roosevelt, of the ''Rough Riders," a regiment composed chiefly of Western cowboys, but in- cluding also many college men from the East. Destruction of the Spanish Fleet. — The Spanish Admiral Cervera, finding that the sunk- en Merriinac did not wholly block the channel, one Sunday morning, in the hope of es- caping, started out with his fleet. His ships were at once pursued by the vessels of our fleet, under Commodore Schley (Admiral Sampson being ab- sent at the time). The Spaniards made a brave fight, but in less than three hours every one of their ships was disabled, and Admiral Cervera was a prisoner. End of the War — Beaten in every battle, Spain was now ready to give up. On August 12, 1898, both sides agreed to stop fighting. The war lasted less than four months. In the treaty of peace Spain agreed to give up all claim to Cuba, the people of the United States to decide what should be done with the island. Spain also agreed to let us have the island of Porto Rico, and to sell us the Philippine Islands for twenty million dollars. Cuba and the Philippines. — The Congress of the ADMIRA-L SAMPSON. WAR WITH SPAIN 297 ADMIRAL SCHLEY. United States promised to withdraw our soldiers from Cuba and let the Cubans form a government of their own. In 1902 this promise was carried out. Many of the Filipino people, under their leader, Aguinaldo, wanted their country also to be independent, and they fought to keep our troops from taking possession of the island. They were beaten, however, and Aguinaldo himself was captured. Hawaii Annexed The Presi- dent and Congress of the Ha- waiian Islands, in the Pacific Ocean, two thousand miles south- west of San Francisco, had once applied for annexation to the United States, and we had refused to admit them. They again applied during our war with Spain; we annexed the islands, and they be- came subject to the United States. The Panama Canal— Events of the Spanish War con- vinced us that we must have a waterway across the Isthmus of Panama in order that our warships might be able, when necessary, to hurry to the defense of our Is- land possessions. In 1903 we obtained from the little republic of Panama a strip of land ten miles wide across the Isthmus, and through this ''canal zone" we set to work digging a canal, at the rate of five hundred train- loads of dirt removed each day. It is believed that the work will cost the United States about $400,000,000, and that the canal will be completed in ten years. Then 298 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY Columbus' dream of a direct waterway to India will at last have come true. The distance by sea from New York to San Francisco will be shortened eight thousand miles, and great benefit will result to the commerce of the world. LOCATION OF THE PANAMA CANAL. In what year did we go to war with Spain? Tell about Spain's rule of her West Indian Islands ; our sympathy with the Cubans ; the blowing up of the Maine; the action of Congress. Tell about the battle of Manila; the honors to Commodore Dewey. Where did Spain send another fleet? Where did Sampson and Schley station our ships ? Tell about Hobson's brave deed ; the land attack on Santiago; the destruction of the Spanish fleet. How long did the war last? What was agreed upon in the treaty of peace? What has Congress promised the Cubans? Tell about Aguinaldo's re- sistance in the Philippines; the annexation of Hawaii. CHAPTER XXII Oklahoma, the Indian State Sequoyah, the Indian Alphabet-maker, and Okla- homa, THE "Beautiful Land" Sequoyah's Boyhood. — At the time that George Wash- ington was fighting his country's battles in the War of the Revolution, there was living with his mother in what is now the State of Tennessee (then the western part of North Carolina) an Indian boy named Sequoyah. Like most In- dian lads, Sequoyah was a skillful hunter. He was able to support himself and his mother by selling to the white settlers the furs and hides of the animals he trapped or killed. Sequoyah did not spend all his time in hunting. He loved to visit the homes of the whites and to watch the blacksmiths and carpenters at their work. He be- came a good blacksmith himself sequoyah. and could make a horseshoe or mend a broken wagon as skillfully as the best workman. He also learned to be a silversmith. The settlers brought to him their old battered silver forks, spoons and ornaments, and he melted them and made new articles of beautiful design. 299 300 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY So, although Sequoyah did not have the advantage of going to school, yet he was quick to use his mind, his eyes, and his hands. He learned to do things and to do them well. Many white boys and girls could learn a lesson from the example of this young Indian. Sequoyah Invents an Alphabet — Sequoyah belonged to the Cherokee tribe of Indians. The Cherokee language was a spoken language only, its words had never been written or printed. After Sequoyah had grown to man- hood there came into his hands by chance an old spell- THH LORD'vS PRAYlvR IN CHEROKElv. ^yvt 5-iwa ?.o, S-ii.v^vi(r i^4>vdJi &&vit. itKQGr.'i >*n Fp^Sfilp.lP KfrSy. Dd" hotJi CPliAl'^Jly^ I^R ©J[dt;yddJTO(>i)WO-y, otiy(riccroir^c^j[..v^oeyh cpe p^rt. G^tis^z Oe^gt.^ i*kt. Dtf THE LORDS PRAYER IN CHEROKEE. ing book used by children of the white settlers. His inquiring mind led him to ask questions about the book. He was told that the characters (or groups of letters) stood for words of the spoken language. He determined to make some characters by means of which his own beautiful Cherokee language could be written, so that his people could learn to read and write their own speech. Noticing that the same syllables occurred in different words, he decided to make each letter in his new alpha- bet stand for a distinct syllable. He took from the spell- OKLAHOMA, THE INDIAN STATE 301 ing book capitals, small letters, italics, figures — some up- side down — then added some new characters of his own devising, until he had an alphabet of eighty-five char- acters, each of which represented a syllable. By means of this alphabet every sound in the Cherokee language could be expressed. It was adopted by the tribe and came into general use. Although Sequoyah's alphabet has two and one-half times as many letters as the Eng- lish, yet after the Cherokee child has mastered his al- phabet he has no more trouble with reading, and hard •spelling lessons are unknown. It is said that Sequoyah could teach any Cherokee, old or young, to read and write his language in three weeks. Sequoyah Moves West. The Indian Territory Soon after completing his great invention, Sequoyah moved westward and made his home among the Cherokees west of the Mississippi. In 1832 Congress set aside the In- dian Territory to be the home of the tribes that had re- moved from Southern States east of the Mississippi. When the Republic of Texas came into the Union she gave to the United States the strip of land north of the Texas "Panhandle" and this strip was added to Indian Territory. The Indian Territory became the home of the "Five Civilized Nations," — the Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks and Seminoles. When an old man Sequoyah wandered toward the southwest. He died somewhere in northern Mexico when over eighty years old. The Coming of the Whites. Oklahoma Territory When the Indian Territory was formed, the whites were forbidden by law to settle within its limits. Later the 302 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY ' western part of the Territory was transferred to the United States by the tribes owning it. These vacant lands were then opened to settlement, April 22, 1889, was fixed as the day on which expectant settlers were permitted to "cross the line" into the coveted land. United States troops kept the vast crowd in order until noon of the appointed day, when, at a blast from a bugle, men on horseback, on foot, and in all kinds of vehicles set out in a mad race for the best lands. Before night towns were laid out. Fifty thousand persons entered the Territory the first day. Additional lands were after-' ward thrown open for settlement. In 1890 this western region was organized as Oklahoma Territory, with Guthrie as its capital. The Two Territories United as a New State. — Not long- after Oklahoma was formed, the tribal lands in the In- dian Territory were divided by the United States Gov- ernment into small tracts, which were given to the In- dians separately. At the same time the Indians were declared by law to be citizens of the United States, with rights and duties similar to those of other citizens. On November 16, 1907, Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory were admitted into the Union as the new State of Oklahoma. The State of Oklahoma — Oklahoma is our forty-sixth State, and the last remnant of the great Louisiana Ter- ritory to enter Statehood. The name Oklahoma is an Indian word for "Beautiful Land." The fertility of its soil, the variety of its resources, and the beauty of its scenery justify its name. The new State entered the Union with a population six times as large, and with OKLAHOMA, THE INDIAN STATE 303 wealth fifty times as great, as any other State had when admitted. Its government, as outlined in its first State Constitution, contains some notable features. Among them may be mentioned the provisions for abolishing trusts, for controlling railroads and other corporations, STREET SCENE IN OKLAHOMA CITY IN I9I2. and for prohibiting the manufacture and sale of intoxi- cating liquor in the State. Oklahoma's Neighbors, Arizona and New Mexico. — After the admission of Oklahoma as a State, the only Territories remaining (excluding Alaska and our island possessions) were New Alexico and Arizona. In 191 1 304 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY and 1912 these last Territories became States, bringing the total number of States to forty-eight. Looking Backward — Looking backward over the his- tory of our country, we see that more than four hundred years have passed since the shores of America were first visited by Columbus. In the year 1500 European sail- ors had just begun to venture in the track of Columbus across the dreaded ocean to the unknown shores of the New World. One hundred years later (1600) the vast continent was still the home of wild animals and savage Indians, undisturbed by the white man save by wander- ing bands of explorers and by a few Spanish settlers in Florida and in Mexico. Turning the page till another hundred years have passed (1700), we find the home- building Englishmen have begun to occupy America. A row of struggling English colonies lines the Atlantic coast. Back of the Englishmen are the settlements of their enemies the French; south of them, the territory of the no less hated Spaniards. Another century brings us to the year 1800. What mighty changes do we see! The English-speaking settlers now own the country as far west as the Mississippi River. The independence of the English colonies has been declared and won, and a new nation has been born, the United States of America. In 1900 another hundred years have passed. How ap- pears our country to-day in the dawn of the twentieth century? A great and powerful nation whose territory stretches from ocean to ocean, and from the Lakes to the Gulf, and includes distant islands of the seas ; a govern- ment whose flag is respected in every quarter of the globe; a people contented, prosperous, and happy, at OKLAHOMA, THE INDIAN STATE 305 peace with the world, and fihed with the spirit of love and helpfulness for each other; enjoying the blessings of freedom and good government to a degree rarely equaled, and nowhere excelled on the face of the globe. The Future. — Every American has a right to be proud of our country. It is our country. It belongs to every one of us. Our fathers have made it what it is to-day. Who can tell what the next century has in store for us ? Shall our beloved country go onward and upward in the path of honor and greatness? Every boy and girl who reads this book will help to answer this question. If the children of America grow up truthful and pure and brave, proud of their country, and loving God and their fellowmen; if they have the rugged honesty of Abraham Lincoln, the devotion to duty of Robert E. Lee, the wis- dom of Benjamin Franklin, the love of country of George Washington; if they copy the virtues of their fathers and avoid their faults, the future of our country will be even grander and more glorious than its past. Turning back the pages of our history to the year 1500, what do we see? in the year 1600? in 1700? in 1800? in 1900? What of the future ? 306 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY ^ y u o- c n « O CO >^ t-. 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C'^-' rt (I) ' — ' P-ioo*-" CO , ON zi C^co o <:i O0;r: 00 o ifl " rt ° Si "t! rt u _ '^ '-T C « 00 O ^ 00 ■ — rt In, *^ u '^ c •a 'z: • - ° o (J 00 ■*; yi; i^co S •- = r^ o rt c -i ~ V^ O ^ ' rt oo'Sb 2 !•?:?;§ •- I, J> o p= O "" ■" H w „r "^ 5 IS ° btdo Q^ Ji ■C f>S _. O rt rt 308 THE BEGINNER'S HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY LIST OF THE PRESIDENTS No. i6 President. George Washington John Adams . Thomas JeiTerson James Madison . James Monroe John Quincy Adams . Andrew Jackson . Martin Van Buren . William H. Harrison* John Tyler James K. Polk . . Zachary Taylor* . Millard Fillmore . Franklin Pierce James Buchanan . Abraham Lincoln* Andrew Johnson . Ulysses S. Grant . Rutherford B. Hayes James A. Garfield * . Chester A. Arthur Grover Cleveland Benjamin Harrison . Grover Cleveland William McKinley* . Theodore Roosevelt . William H. Taft . . State. Virginia Massachusetts Virginia Virginia Virginia Massachusetts Tennessee . New York Ohio . . . Virginia Tennessee . Louisiana . New York N. Hampshire Pennsylvania . Illinois Tennessee . Illinois Ohio . . . Ohio . . . New York New York Indiana New York Ohio . . . New York Ohio- . . . Term of Office. By whom elected. Two terms; 1789-1797 . One term; 1797-1801 . Two terms; 1801-1809 . Two terms; 1809- 181 7 . Two terms; 1817-1825 . One term; 1825-1829 . Two terms; 1829-183 7 . One term; 1837-1841 . One month; 1841 . 3 years and 11 months; 1841-184S One term; 1845-1849 . 1 year and 4 months; 1849, 1850 2 years and 8 months; 1850-1853 One term; 1853-1857 . One term; 1857-1861 . One term and 6 weeks 1861-1865 3 years and loJ/J months: 1865-1869 Two terms; 1869-1877 . One term; 1877-1881 . Six months and 15 days . 3 years, 5 mos., 15 days; 1881-1885 One term; 1885-1889 . . One term; 1889-1893 . One term; 1893-1897 . One term and 6 months; 1897-1901 One term, 3 years, 6 mos.; 1901-1909 Whole people Federalists Democratic- Republicans Democratic- Republicans Democratic- Republicans House of Rep. Democrats Democrats Whigs Whigs Democrats Whigs Whigs Democrats Democrats Republicans Republicans Republicans Republicans Republicans Republicans Democrats Republicans Democrats Republicans Republicans Republicans •Died in office. Index Abolitionists, 270 Adams, second President, 209 Aguinaldo (Ah-gwin-al'-do), 297 Alabama, 1 17, 260 Alamo, 252 Alaska, 290 Alden, John, 79 Alexander, Indian chief, 83 Almanac, Poor Richard's, 182 Alphabet, Cherokee, 300, 301 America, discovery by Columbus, 11; by Cabot, 21; name, 22 Annapolis, 58 Antietam (An-tee'-tam), battle, 281 Appomattox, surrender, 282 Arkansas, 237, 251, 273 Articles of Confederation, 197 Bacon, Nathaniel, 53 Baltimore, first Lord, 54; second Lord, 55, 57 Baltimore city, 58, 230 Bancroft, 246 Banks, General, 280 Barr, Captain, 116, 117 Beauregard (Bo'-re-gard), General, 278 Berkeley, Governor, 52, 53 Bienville, loi, 115-121 Biloxi Bay, 117, 121 Biloxi settlement, 117 Black Hawk War, 263. 266 Boone, Daniel, 184-188 Boonesborough, 187 Booth, J. Wilkes, 273 Boston, 80, 163, 167 Braddock, General, 153, 155 Bradford. Governor, 77, 78 Bragg. General, 278 Brown, John, 271 Bryant, Wm. Cullen, 245 Bull Run, see Manassas, 275 Bunker Hill, battle, 166, 167 Burgoyne (Bur'-goin), General, 172 Cables, ocean, 235 Cabot, John, 21 Cabot, Sebastian, 22 Calhoun, J. C. 238, 241 Calhoun, Patrick, 238 California. 243 Canal, The Panama, 298 Carolina, colony, 60, 63 Carolina, French fort, 59 Cartier, Jacques (Zhack Kart-e-ay'). Joi- 104, 121 Cassette girls, 118 Castell, Robert, 64 Cervera (Cer-ve'-ra), Admiral, 296 Champlain (Sham-planeO, Samuel, loi, 105, 107, 121 Champlain, Lake, 107 Chancellorsville, battle, 281 Charles I, king of England, 55 Charles II, king of England, 60, 88, 94 Charleston, 60, 63, 168 Chattanooga, battle, 279 Cherokee language and alphabet, 300 Cherokees, 301 Chicago, 289, 291 Chickamauga, battle, 279 Chickasaws, 301 Choctaws, 301 Clark, George Rogers, 189, 190-193 Clark, William, 213 Clay, Henry, 238, 245 Clermont, steamboat, 227, 228 Cold Harbor, battle, 282 Colonies, general view of, 123; groups, Columbus, Christopher, early life, 1-6; discoveries, 7-15; old age and death, 15, 16; results of discoveries, 21 Columbus, Diego, brother of Christopher, 3 Columbus, Diego, son of Christopher, 9 Concord, skirmish, 164, 165 Confederate States, 268, 273, 280 Congress, Continental, 164, 167 Congress, under the Constitution, 197 Connecticut, colony, 82 Constitution, present, 197-199 Cooper, J. Fenimore, 246 Cotton gin, 202, 203 Creek Indians, 220, 222 Creeks, 301 Crescent City, 1 18 Cuba, 13, 16, 294, 296 Cumberland Road, 241 Custis, Mrs. Martha, 155, 156 Dare, Virginia, 33 Davis, Jefferson, 261, 264-273 Debtors, oppressed. 64, 65 Decatur, Lieutenant, 215 Declaration of Independence, 169, Delaware, Lord, 49 Delaware, colony, 94 De Leon, Ponce (Pon'-thay day Lay- own), 23-25 De Monts, Sieur (S-yur Da Mong'), 103 De Soto, Ferdinand, 25, 26 309 3IO INDEX Detroit, Fort, 190 Dewey, Admiral, 294 Dinwiddie, Governor, 151, 152 Donelson, Fort, 278 Donnacona, Indian chief, 103 Dowling, Lieutenant, 280 Dred Scott decision, 270 Duquesne (Du-kane'), Fort, 153, 155, 156 Dutch, 95-99 El Caney, battle, 295 Electricity, Franklin's studies in, i8j Electric light, 290; cars, 290 Elizabeth, Queen, 30, 36, 59 Emancipation proclamation, 284 English Turn, 117 Erie, Lake, battle, 219 Expositions, 291 Ferdinand and Isabella, 9, 15 Field, Cyrus W.. 236 Filipino, 297 Five Civilized Nations, 301 Flag. American, 169; Confederate, Florida, 23; purchase of, 223, 258, Forrest, General, 284 Franklin, Benjamin, 178-183 Fredericksburg, battle, 281 French fishermen, 22; explorations, 121; territory, 113, 121, iS9. 212 tlements, 105, 113, 117. nS; war, 159 Fulton, Robert, 22t, 228 28 s 273 1(11- set- 149- Gadsden Purchase, 258 Galveston, battle, 280 Gates, General, 172 Genoa, 3, 4 Georgia. 63-70, 273, 279 Germantown. 92 Gettysburg, battle, 281 GofTe, Colonel, 85 Gold, discovery of, 255, 290 Goliad massacre, 253 Gosnold, Captain, 39 Grant, General U. S.. 278. 279, 282-284 Great Meailows, battle, 152 Greene, General, 173 Iladley, Indian attack upon, 84 lialf-Moon. ship, 97 Hancock, General, 284 Harvard College, 131 Havana, 16, 118,, 294 Hawaii (Hah-wi'-e), 297 Hawthorne, 246 Hayne-Webster Debate, 244 Ilayti, 13, 16 Henrietta Maria, Queen, 55 Henry, King of England, 30 Henry, Patrick, 190, 206, 208 Henry. Prince of Portugal, 6 Hobson, Lieutenant. 294 Hochelago (Ho-she-lah'-ga), 103 Holland, 72, 95 Hood, General, 279 Hooker, General, 284 Horseshoe Bend, battle, 25: Houston, Sam, 248-259 Hudson. Henry, 96, 97 Huguenots, 116 Iberville, loi, 114-118 Illinois, 189, 237, 263 India, western route to, 7, 13, 97, 108 Indian, Sequoyah, 299-301 Indian Territory, 299-301 Indiana, 193, 237 Indians, name, 13; in Virginia, 43-47; in Maryland, 56; in Georgia, 66-68; in Massachusetts, 74-78; in New England, 83-86; in Pennsylvania, 90-92; in New York, 98; in Canada, :o2; in Missis- sippi, 117: in Louisiana, 119; in Ken- tucky, 186-188; in Tennessee, 194-193; Houston's life among, 250, 251 Inventions, recent, 290 Iroquois (Ir'-o-quoy) Indians, 107, 156 Irving, Washington, 245 Isabella, Queen. 9, 10, 15 Isthmus of Panama, 105 Jackson, Andrew, 217-224, 249, 251 Jackson, General Stonewall, 276, 281 Jamaica, 14 James, king of England, 36, 40, 93 Jamestown, 40 Jasper, Sergeant (Sar-jent), 1O9 Jefferson, Thomas, 205-215 Johnston, General Albert Sidney, 278 Johnston, General Joseph E., 279 Kaskaskia, 189-191 Kentucky, 185-189, 240, 264 King Philip's War, S3-86 King's Mountain, battle of, 173-175 Knights of the Golden Horseshoe, 53 Labrador, 22 1 afayette. General, 173 Lake Erie, battle, 219, 220 La Salle, Robert Cavalier, loi, 108-113, i]6, 121 Lawrence, Captain, 220 Lee, General Robert E., 280-284 Lee, General S. D., 284 Le Moyne Brothers. 101, 113-121 Lewis and Clark expedition, 213, 214, 237 Lexington, battle, 165 Liberty bell, 169 Liberty statue, 292 Lincoln, Abraham, 261-264, 267, 268, 271, 273. 275, 284 Locomotive, first, 231 London Company, 39 Longfellow, 246 Longstreet, General, 284 Louisiana,- 110-113, 1 14-121, 212, 248, 253 Magellan, Ferdinand, 27 Maine, state, 273 Maine, battleship, 293 Manassas, or Bull Run, first battle, 275; second battle, 281 Manhattan Island, 98 Manila Harbor, battle, 294 Mansfield, La., battle, 280 Marquette (Mar-kef), Father, 109 INDEX 311 Maryland, 54-58 Mason and Dixon's line, 58 Massachusetts, 71-80 Massasoit, Indian chief, 77, 78, S3 Mauretania, steamship, 2^9 MayiJozvcr, ship, 7J, 74, 76 McCormick's reaper, 245 Meade, General, 281. 284 Mexico, 248; war with, 255 Michigan, 193, 237 Mississippi, 237, 246 . Mississippi River, discovered, 26; ex- plored, 109-117, 189: contest for, 279 Mississippi, State, 115, 196, 264, 266, 267, 27Z Missouri, 237, 242, 243, 246 Missouri Compromise, 243 Missouri State, 189 Mobile Bay, 1 15 Mobile city, 117 Monroe Doctrine, 243, 244 Montcalm, General, 158 Montgomery, Ala., 273 Monticello (Mon-ti-chel'-lo), 208, 209 Montreal, 104, 113, 121 Morse, Samuel F. B., 233-235 Mosquitoes in Louisiana, 119 Moultrie, Fort, 169 Mount Vernon, 200 Murfreesboro, battle, 279 Musgrove, Mary, 66 Nacogdoches,- 249, 252 Natchez, 1 17 Necessity, Fort, 152 Negroes, 270, 271 New Amsterdam, 98 New England, 47, 71, 82 New England boy of colonial times, 127- 137 New France, 1 01-123 New Hampshire. 82 New Jersey, 94, 93 New Netlierlands, 99 New Orleans, 1 19-121; battle, 220; cap- ture, 279 New York, 95-100 New York city, 171, 201 North Carolina, 32, 59-63, 273 Nova Scotia, 105, 106 Nullification, 244, 245 Oglethorpe, James, 64-70 Ohio, 193 Oklahoma Territory, 301-303 Oklahoma State, 303 Oregon, 214, 223, 257, 258 Pacific Ocean, 27 Pacific railroad, 289 Palmetto, 61, 62 Palos, Spain, 8-10, 14 Panama Canal, 297 Pelican, ship, i 14 Penn, William, 87-95 Pennsylvania, 87-93 Pensacola, 115 Perry, Captain Oliver H., 219, 220 Petersburg, 282 Philadelphia, 89. 163, 169-173, 201, 291 Philadelphia, ship, 215, 216 Philippine Islands, 27, 294, 296 Pilgrims, /2-yg Pine trees of Carolina, 60-61 Pirates, African, 215, 216 Pitt, William, 156 Pleasant Hill, La., battle, 280 Plymouth, 75 Plymouth Company, 39 Pocahontas, 45, 49 Poe, Edgar A., 246 Polo, Marco, 7 Port Hudson, 279, 280 Port Royal, 106, 121 Porto Rico, 293, 296 Portugal, 5, 9 Potato, 35 Powhatan, Indian chief, 45 Prescott, 246 Price, General, 280 Princeton, battle, 172 Printing press, 181, 182 Priscilla Mullins, 79 Providence, R. I., 82 Puritans, 79, 80 Quakers, 87, 89 Quebec, 103, 104, 121 Quebec, battle, 158 Railroads, 230-233, 289 Raleigh (Raw'ley), Walter, 29-37, 38, 39 Reconstruction, period, 288 Revere, Paul, 164 Revolutionarv War, 161-177 Rhode Island, 81-S2 Rice plant, 61, 62 Richmond, Va., 2~z, 276, 280-282 Roanoke Island, 33 Rochelle, 115 Rolfe, John, 49 Roosevelt, Colonel, 297 Rosecrans, General, 279 Sabine Pass, battle, 280 St. Augustine, 105, 123 St. Louis, 213, 291 St. Mary's, 56, 58 Salem, Mass., 80 Samoset, Indian chief, 77 Sampson, Admiral, 296 San Jacinto, battle, 253, 254 San Juan, battle, 295 San Salvador, 13 Santiago, battle, 295 Saratoga, battle, 172 Savannah, Ga., 66 Schley (Shli), Admiral, 296, 297 Scott, General, 255 Secession, 272 Seminole Indians, 222 Seminoles, 301 Sequoyah, 299-301 Seven Days' battles, 281 Sevier (Se-veer'), John, 175, 185, 193- 196 Shafter, General, 296 Sheridan, General, 284 312 INDEX Sherman, General, 279 Sherrill, Katherine, 194, 19s Shiloh, battle, 278 Slashes, The, 239 Slaves, 51, 63, 203, 269-271, 28s Smith, John, 38-48, 71, 96, 97 South America, 15, 28 South Carolina, 59, 61, 62, 232, 273 Southern boy of colonial times, 137-147 Southern colonies, 38-70, 124 Southern progress since the war, 288 Spain, 8; war with, 293-298 Spottswood, Governor, 53 Spottsylvania, battle, 282 Squanto, Indian, 77 Stamp tax, 162 Stantiish, Myles, 74-79, 95 Standish, Rose, 76, 79 Steamboats, 226-230 Stephens, Alexander IT., 273 Stephenson, George, 231 Stuart, General, 284 Stuyvesant, Peter (Sty'-ves-ant), Gov- ernor, 99 Sumter, Fort, 275 Swedes, 94 Taxation of the colonies, 162, 163 Taylor, General Richard, 280 Taylor, General Zachary, 255 Tea Party, Boston, 163 Telegraph, 233-236 Tennessee, 195, 273, 278 Texas, III, 226, 273, 280 Thanksgiving Day, 78 Thomas, General, 284 Tobacco, 35, 51, 58 Tomochichi (Tom-o-chee'-che), Indian chief, 66-69 Tonty, 116 Travel, modes of, 141, 225, 232 Travis, Colonel, 252 Trenton, battle, 172 United States, independence declared, 169; acknowledged by England, 176; first constitution, 176; present constitu- tion, 197; territorial growth, 212, 222, 257> 258, 290, 297; future of, 286 Valley Forge, 172 Vermont, 188 Vespucius Americus, 23 Vicksburg, 279 \'incennes (Vin-sen'), Ind., 191 Virginia, 32, 38-54, 273 War, French, :49-i59; of the Revolu- tion, 161-177; of 1812, 218-222; with Mexico, 255; between the States, 275- 286; with Spain, 293-297 Ward, Nancy, 194 Washington, George, boyhood, 137-147; major, 150; colonel, 152-158; general, 161-175; President, 199-202 Washington city, 20c, 220 Watauga River. 193 Webster, Daniel, 238, 240-245 West Point Academy, 266, 282, 283 West, progress of the. 289 Wheeler, General, 296 White, Governor, 33 Whitney, Eli, 202 Wilderness, battle, 282 William and Mary College, 145, 205 Williams, Roger, 81-82 Williamsburg, Va., 53, 146 Wilson's Creek, battle, 280 Winslow, Edward, 78 Wisconsin, 193 Wolfe, General, 158 Wood, Colonel, 296 World's Fairs, 291 York, Duke of, 94 Yorktown, Va., 176 CC-t A »1*