Class g;"/f Book -^^S GopyrightN^ COPYRIGHT DEPOSm Pioneers "JlO By KATHARINE R. CROWELL Author of "Japan for Juniors" "Africa for Juniors' "Alaska for Juniors" " Great Voyages " "Coming Americans' "Leaders in Conference" Etc., Etc. The Willett Press Publishers Five West Twentieth Street New York :P, Ll6flA«Y of 00NGKES5 two Gooles rteceivcM. MAY 23 1908 GLASS fih XXC. Nu. COPY a. ARRANGED AND PRINTED BY THE WILLETT PRESS NEW YORK Frontiers : A Bird*s-eye View I. With Axe and Rifle II. Saddle-Bags III. Down-Stream^ .. IV. On the Warpath V. Tne Long Trail VI. Driving the Golden Nail VI I . Twentieth Century Pioneers Frontispiece 5 20 28 35 40 46 52 / The Leader's Supplement 61 mtm^imiiswm^ni^iMn^immmm^^ Pioneers 'We, the primeval forest felling; We, the rivers stemming; vexing we, and piercing deep the mines within ; We, the surface broad surveying ; we, the virgin soil upheaving; Pioneers — O Pioneers. " We, detachments steady- throwing Down the edges through the passes, up the mountains steep, Conquering, holding, daring, venturing as we go the unknown ways. Pioneers — O Pioneers." CHAPTER FIRST PART ONE Now men neede no more contentiously to strive for romne to build an house on, or for a little turfe of ground, zvhen great countreys and whole worlds offer and reache out themselves to them that will first voutsafe to possesse, inhabite aiid till them. O says an old, old book of voyages written when the ''great coun- treys and whole worlds" had just been discovered. In those days few people knew how to read, and copies of any book were very scarce, but in some way these new worlds began to be talked about; so much so that it would seem almost possible if one listened intently, to hear over many an English vil- lage a constant buzz, as of many voices eagerly speaking. Think of the promise held out by this alluring new world ! Room to build a house on, and a "lit- tle turfe" of ground. Yes, and also free air to breathe. No wonder that there was excited and hopeful talking, for there was in England at this time for very many people no chance for a home or for free- dom of thinking. In fact many men and women who had ventured to think for themselves had al- ready been sent away from the country, and were badly enough in need of homes. They will start out presently to the new world; brave men and women who will ''first voutsafe" to "possesse, in- habite and till" the wilderness they find. We call these people pioneers, and as we follow some of them into the new country, let us remember that they come to it for two reasons; first, to find for themselves and their children freedom to worship God in the way they think right; and secondly, to give their children a home, an education and a chance in the world. I rather think that most of the pioneers of this story had these two things in mind. Just watch and see ! and now and then toss back a "Thank you !" to these grand old fellows, for your homes, your free- dom of conscience and your present glorious "chance in life." So now we find in a quaint little town in Holland a little family of father and mother and five quaintly named and quaintly dressed children, who are about to set out for the new world. Such a time as there has been to find a ship! and now that one — the little Speedzvell, — has been se- cured, it proves too small to carry all the Pilgrims who want to go. So the youngest and strongest volunteer to be pioneers for the rest. They go on board the Speedwell, and as they lift anchor, the sailors fire ofif three small cannon. It is a great day for these home-makers beginning their voyage to an unknown land — but it is an even greater day for us ! At Southampton our pioneers leave the Speed- well for the larger Mayflower — larger but after all only a little tub of a boat. Indeed there is not any- thing big in the whole affair, except the courage and purpose of the great-hearted pioneers ! But I have not told you the names of the children. Now, do not laugh ! I do not see either how fathers and mothers could give such names to rollicking lit- tle pink and white, blue-eyed babies — but they did. The first boy was named "Experience" ; his younger brother was 'Treserved"; then came the baby-girls "Submission" and "Patience" and "Hopestill." I wonder how rosy little Hopestill ever got her tongue around her brothers' names ! They were brave and plucky children anyway. As an old chronicler says, they "never showed fear or dis- mayedness" during the long, long voyage amid all the peril of storms and dangers from pirates, and worst of all from the dreaded horrible monsters of the sea. All these people, big and little, firmly be- lieved in these awful creatures. At last the long voyage ends. After they have landed on the "stern New England coast" where "the breaking waves dash high," they still have need to be courageous, for the dangers and hardships of the land prove even more terrible than those of the sea. Poor little children! Hungry, bitterly cold, and sick. It is a sad story — that of the first winter in New England. Shall we not pass it by, and on a March morning go out into the forest with Ex- perience and Preserved, the little sisters and the father and mother — to make the beginning of a home in the wilderness? You see the sturdy little procession — but you do not see much to make a home out of, do you ? But the father carries his axe and his rifle ; and all around them is the great forest. Out of it — grim and mighty and filled with dangers from beast and man, the pioneer will, with axe and rifle, win his home. Listen ! Can you not hear a rhythmic music sound- ing through the forest Hke some mighty "anvil chorus?" The clear ring of the axe, and sharp crack of the rifle — thousands and thousands of homes have been won and held by them ! The other possessions of the family are a little supply of food, a few quilts and blankets, some seeds given them by friendly Indians, and a little spin- ning wheel. That is all I think — outside. Inside, even down to little Hopestill, they carry stout hearts that will never give in and a courage and determi- nation that nothing can conquer. You would never think what first sheltered the mother and the babies from the March winds — and the snow ; for a driving snow-storm reached the place just as they did ! Why, wrapped in their quilts and blankets they rested in the friendly arms of a great uprooted tree! There they stay while the axe be- gins it work; soon a great fire is started, and a rough hut built ; now our pioneer begins to clear the land — Indian-fashion. Chop, chop, chop — day after day the axe rings out, and often there is the crash of falHng trees, which lie where they fall, in a great tangle. When a large space has been prepared in this way, the fun begins. Out from the cabin troop all the members of the family carrying flaming torches of pine wood. They set fire to the fallen trees. There is a great snapping and crackling and soon there is a glorious bonfire and much excitement — not only from the leaping and roaring flames. As the heat increases the children see multitudes of animals — deer, raccoons, woodchucks, rabbits, foxes — scurrying out from all sides into the shelter of the surrounding forest. It is a thrilling moment when a big gray wolf darts out from the burning mass! and not less thrilling when a shot from the settler's rifle brings him down. The fire at length burns out, and there is the "clearing." The soil, softened by the heat, is covered vnth a thick layer of warm ashes and in this fine hot-bed the settler plants his seeds — corn, pumpkin, peas, potatoes and beans. These sprout quickly and grow rapidly. No danger now of a famine next winter ! Thus far the Indians have been very friendly and have taught this family and others in the settlement many things besides clearing the ground and plant- ing seeds; how to make maple sugar, for instance; and how to dig clams and to catch fish ; how to pre- serve meat and bake beans^in an earthen jar as you have them to-day ! They brought skins of ani- mals and taught the settlers to make them into soft leather, and if the children looked queer in Holland, in their clumsy clothes and clattering wooden shoes, they are even more comical now. But the leather shirts and skirts and aprons, shoes and caps have at least the one advantage of never wearing out! It ought to be said that the Indian squaws do a good deal of the teaching, and give much help to the palefaces. It is certainly an Indian mother who made the pretty wicker cradle in which Hopestill's baby brother lies so comfortably, in spite of his queer wrappings. The Pilgrim babies are funny looking little creatures, and they have a hard strug- gle for life in these early days of pioneering. Only the very strongest can live through all the hard- ships and suffering. But this little fellow has bright eyes and a determined. Pilgrim-like sort of expression. He will probably pull through ! While we are talking the corn and other things are ripening, and somehow the cornfield has a very familiar look. Rows of hillocks and tall stalks of corn, squash and pumpkin vines running between the rows, and beans climbing up the stalks. If you plant that way you do it because the Indians did. When the corn is ready to be ground, there is a mill — an Indian mill it is — ready to grind it. This mill is a great log hollowed out in the shape of a mortar, just over the opening hangs a heavy log tied by a rope to a long limb of a tree. Soaked corn is put into the mortar, the children pull on the rope, the log comes down and pounds the corn. It is great fun — ^this grinding the corn — for even sober little Pilgrims like noise and clatter and the Indian mill certainly does make a tremendous racket. It can be heard even in far-away clearings, and these pioneers learn after awhile to communi- cate with one another by a sort of telegraphic code made up on the strokes of the log ! But this noise is not the only enjoyment. The shining yellow kernels hold within themselves great possibilities of pleas- ures to come! There will be samp and succotash and "pones" — which the Indian teachers say must be baked on a red oak plank over a fire of walnut logs ! And there is a familiar friend of yours which these children call ''parched" corn; whatever they call it, their astonishment is great the first time they hear it "pop" and see it turn inside out ! Experience and Preserved think of these coming delights — so would you, if you had starved through last winter ! and the pounding goes merrily on. The next thing is to sift the ground corn through a loosely-woven Indian basket. The meal goes through, the ''samp" stays in. Did you notice that there were no dishes among the possessions brought to the wilderness? Noth- ing but one little flat pewter cup! How then, will the children eat these good things when they come? But hark! what is that sound? It is surely the friendly axe providing plates of broad chips of wood, and chipping out deep bowls and trenchers! They brought no furniture with them. No — but on stormy days the axe stops its ringing in the forest and with the help of wedges splits from big logs broad slabs, and in time the cabin is supplied with table, stools and rough frames which piles of hem- lock boughs change into beds. The greatest triumph and comfort is a big high- backed "settle." It helps to keep off the bitter winds which, coming through the cracks in the log walls, freeze the children's backs while their faces are roasted by the roaring fire on the hearth. It is so cold sometimes that the sap forced out of the wood by the flames freezes into ice on the ends of the logs ! So you see the value of the high settle — it keeps the cold out and holds the heat in. As the cold weather and the long evenings come on, the big fire on the hearth lights up the room and there is besides the light of blazing "Indian candles" or, as we should say, pine knots. But have you thought what a work it is to keep that fire from going out? Once in a while it does go out — in the night too. Not much of a calamity, you think. But in those days matches were not made by the milhons per day ! In fact at this time not even the inventive New Englander had even thought that they could be made. The Indians had taught them how to strike a spark, but sometimes the spark would not kindle the tinder ! What then? The nearest fire is in the cabin of a far-away settler. There is no help for it; so the boys get a flat piece of very green wood and set off sleepily but sturdily through the woods and in time get back carrying burning brands on their green- wood shovel ! Our pioneers have now shelter and warmth and light; food in plenty and clothing — of a queer cut perhaps, but warm, — pure water, the free air they longed for and "roume" to grow up in. They are far on the road toward home-making, are they not? PART TWO WELL — Experience and Preserved, Submis- sion, Patience, Hopestill and the bright- eyed baby Desire, did grow up; nothwith- standing their queer names which we should think almost too queer to bear up under; and it is their children and grandchildren who are living in the strongly-built houses of which there are many in this thrifty and attractive New England settlement. For, since we watched the little cabin going up in II the forest, other ships have come over the sea bring- ing men and women and children, strong and strong-hearted, whom no dangers or hardships can frighten and whose keen thought and ready wit overcome all the obstacles of the wilderness. These later arrivals are called Puritans. Now, the worst is over. Still, for some reason the men carry their rifles always — even to the meeting-house on Sundays, and we see that the meeting-house itself has four cannon on the roof. Even in the daytime the chil- dren do not go far from home. Sometimes, daring or heedless boys and girls have wandered away and have never been seen again. When evening falls, we hear from father or mother the anxious ques- tion, "Are all the children in?" as a hen cluck, clucks until the downy chicks are safely under her sheltering wings. The heavy wooden shutters and the doors are barred and double-barred. You think that here in the little settlement the night will be quiet? You forget the howling of the wolves ! And even our brave little children shudder and tremble as they sometimes hear in the distance, louder than all the dismal howling, the blood-freezing Indian war- whoop! So, happy are the family when the morn- ing dawns, if no terrible thing has happened. Sometimes far off in some lonely clearing they see smoke rising from the ruins of a log house. They can guess what has happened there, for, you see, their once kind and friendly neighbors, the In- dians, are their most cruel and revengeful enemies now, and night and day all the people must be on their guard against them. Many things are unlike the first pioneer days. For one thing, the children we see are mostly dressed in homespun. Glance around you ! You will soon see why this is so. The day we have chosen is in summer. Do you know New England in summer? Such blue, blue 12 skies ! and the air thrills and trills and flutes and whistles with bird-song; and it is spicy and sweet with odors of balsam and pine and wild strawber- ries. There is the fragrance of sweet fern and the beauty of wild roses; and the fresh breezes blow over fields of blue flax and white and red clover. Bright sunshine sparkles in and out among the stately blades of the Indian corn as they bend to the breeze and rise again, and soft cloud shadows chase the sunshine over rippling golden grain-fields and the blue waters of a tiny lake. Sheep are grazing on the uplands and down in the lush grasses of the meadows are sleek cattle, chewing the cud. Laugh- ing, eager brooks are turning wheels of saw-mill and grist-mill, and over in the forests we hear shouts of drivers, and see oxen dragging out great trunks of spruce trees, tall and straight. Presently these trees will be the masts of vessels sailing to England, for New England already has its shipyards. You have discovered, have you not, why the children are dressed in homespun? Partly because the timid wild animals have been frightened by the sound of axe and rifle far back into the forests, and partly because the fields of flax and hemp, and the sheep on the hillside provide linen and wool for the spinning wheels and looms which are to be found in almost every house. Wheelwrights visit the houses sometimes. Why wheelwrights when the only roads are Indian trails ? But these wheelwrights make spinning- not wagon- wheels. These little homespun children are not idle. Puri- tan children — idlef Oh, no, no. For one thing there are the flax fields — there would not be so many pretty drooping blue blossoms if the children had not so carefully weeded the beds when the baby plants were three or four inches high, and so tender that the weedings must be done barefoot unless the ground has a growth of thistles ! Even then there must be no heavy shoes ; but three or four pairs of 13 heavy woolen stockings are allowed. Can you not see the quaint little figures carefully stepping — facing the wind, so if in spite of their care any plants should be trodden down the wind will help to blow them back into place? Now, on this lovely June day the flax is ripe. Too bad ! for instead of going fishing, the boys must help to pull up the plants by the roots — spread them out in the sun to dry and turn them over and over. After that there will be many, many things to do before the flax will be ready for spinning. And even after that, the skeins of thread must be bleached and rinsed and beaten and washed and dried and wound on bob- bins for the loom! The little Puritans help in all this work. They are shepherds too, and this would not be so bad — sitting on some hillside, listening to the birds, watching fascinating squirrels and wading in brooks. But — Puritan children watching squirrels and wading in brooks ? — Alas ! no — for it is ordered that while they tend sheep or cattle, "they must be set to some other employment withal" — spinning on a distaff, knitting, or weaving tape. When, in the autumn, the days shorten and the pleasant long evenings come on, you perhaps make a slight motion with thumb and forefinger — and lo ! your house is flooded with light. Did the little Puritans so ? It is pleasant enough to go to the forest to gather a supply of "Indian candles," or on a crisp autumn day to go "bayberrying." Have you ever seen bay- berry candles? The Puritan children knew all about them from the gathering of the tiny waxen berries until the candles were ready to burn. But the real candle-making? That is disagreeable and tiresome work of which the children have their full share. "Rush lights" are rather nice to make — just common rushes, with a part of the bark pulled ofif, dipped in tallow and left to harden. We were speaking a moment ago of the few 14 things the pioneers brought with them to the new world. They had really almost nothing, and it puz- zles us to think how they could have lived at all without the start given them by the Indians, but once started, it is amazing to see how they made the fields and the forests and the waters furnish every- thing they needed. It was as though a general thinking cap had settled down on the heads of men, women and children, and as they ploughed or planted, spun or wove, carried water from the spring, spent long evenings whittling by the light of the fire — always they were thinking out ways of making work easier and of saving money by care- ful use of everything; so the children grew up, and before long this inventiveness and savingness seemed to be a part of the character of every child born in New England. Each man had a home of his own, and every mem- ber of the family worked hard to make the home more comfortable. Suppose you put on your think- ing cap and go through one day checking off the things that make your days easy and pleasant. Did the little Puritans have this? or this? or this? Be- gin when you get up in the morning — no, you must begin before you get up — for surely those children did not have steel springs or — ^but it was your think- ing cap we were speaking of, was it not? We might go through a day with the little Puri- tans. I do not like to think of how they find out that it is time to ''get up" — yott feel perhaps a soft touch, and open your eyes to see a bright face and hear a gentle voice. "It is time to get up, dear! Such a lovely morning! So bright and sunny, and sweet and fresh. How cheerily the birds are singing! Hurry! so that you may not miss anything of the beautiful day, or its opportunities for enjoyment in work and study and play and helpfulness." Did the Puritan children hear anything like that? No, no. I do not understand it exactly, for Puritan 15 fnthcrs and mothers loved their children, but they thought it was right to be very stern and hard with them — and I have certainly heard that the first some of these children know of the dawn of another day is a bucketful of cold water suddenly thrown over them. You gasp in sympathy, don't you? And their first thoughts are not of pleasure and thanks- giving for being alive in God's beautiful world ; but instead a heavy burden of dismal recalling of the wrong things they did yesterday. But they must not loiter, for if they are not at the breakfast table at the proper time — but never mind what might happen in such a case, for they are in time, and take their places — not their chairs — oh, no, the older people sit at the table but the children stand and do not speak unless spoken to ! This morning they have bread and milk in wooden bowls. After breakfast — it is still very early in the morning — there are many "chores" to be done; pleasant work much of it is, or would be, if the Puritans were allowed to take pleasure in anything. It is all done at last and the children start off to school — a long walk through the woods. This at least is a pleasant time. The severe-looking teacher calls the roll — all Bible names — Sarahs and Abigails and Mehitables ; Zerniahs and Abiels — and woful is it if any are tardy, or if they falter as they say the alphabet and "a-b abs" from the little horn book — which looks like a hair-brush without any bristles. In place of the bristles is a queerly printed little slip of paper containing the alphabet and a few Bible verses. To preserve the precious bit of printing a thin sheet of horn is fastened over it. The children recite their lesson aloud — very loud — in unison, and the ear of the master is so trained that he can detect amid all the din the faltering or sudden silence of one voice. Let us not think what then happens to the little owner of that voice ! Reading and writing and a very little "cyphering" i6 are taught in these schools; but we should add to this the education the children are receiving at home. For at this time each household supplies all its own wants, and the boys and girls are thoroughly taught every part of the work. This "manual training," together with what they are taught in school, fits them well for their work in life. After school there are more chores. So go the days of the week, and at length the sun sets on Sat- urday — as it does with us now. But for the little Puritans the Sabbath began when the sun set on Saturday, and lasted until sun- set on Sunday. For you Sunday may be the happiest day of the whole happy week, but not so for these early little Puritans ! For them its hours are very long. You should be grateful for two things in re- gard to Sunday — grateful to these stern old Puri- tans for their large share in preserving for America the day of rest, grateful, too, for the better under- standing of how the day may be made a blessing. All the family go to church. It is a solemn walk. For the reason above spoken of they are all careful to keep together. The shelter of their father's rifle is not to be despised ! But once in church the men and women take the most comfortable "pens" — the girls have their special place and the boys are hud- dled together on the most uncomfortable seats — some of them on the pulpit steps, in full view of all the people ! The sermon is very long and hard to listen to, and trying to listen makes some people restless and others sleepy. It is well not to be either; for constantly walking up and down the aisles is the stern "tithing man" carrying a long pole with a heavy knob on one end and a foxtail on the other. The restless children are knocked on the head with the knob ; the sleepy ones are tickled awake with the foxtail ! You remember the resolute purpose of these pio- neers in coming to the new world was to win homes 17 and freedom of conscience for themselves and their children. They were "awfully" strict, but they car- ried out this purpose with splendid courage and determination, and America is what it is to-day largely because of these three things — Christian homes, schools, and freedom of conscience, with observance of the day of rest. We owe a great debt to these stern, strong, righteous pioneers, who lived nearly three hundred years ago. When you are men and women you will be three hundred years ahead of them in knowledge and at- tainments. I wonder if even one hundred years from now your great-great-grandchildren will still remember some good thing which your heroism shall give to America? Once a year at least you should think of these things! On Thanksgiving Day, a happy occasion which you also owe to the New England pioneers. Another little ship set sail from Holland once upon a time — the Half-Moon, with Hendrick Hud- son and his crew on board. They were looking, as were all seamen at that time, for a northwest passage to India and "Cathay," lands of gold and spices and precious stones. The Half-Moon sailed on and on and in the sum- mer days came not to India or Cathay but to a land of beauty, where emerald islands resting on the sparkling l3lue waters drew close together and stood on guard at the entrance to the country. But the Half-Moon sailed through the narrow gateway, dis- covering the loveliest river the sun shines on ! And so it came about that in time we see upon those emerald islands curious wooden houses, with fronts of black and yellow brick, and with queer-looking gable roofs ; and in front of the houses merry little Dutch children are playing, while the beautiful bright river runs down to the sea between high banks covered with trees and grass and flowers. i8 We see Indian canoes on the river ; they are filled with furs which they will trade to the Dutchmen in exchange for beads and hatchets and nails. They are friendly, for the Dutch have treated them fairly and have paid them one hundred and twenty-five dollars for Manhattan Island! Some of the pleasant things you owe to these Dutch pioneers are — the first free churches and first pubHc schools of America, and our observance of New Year's Day, Easter and Christmas. When next you visit Manhattan Island try to see it as it must have been almost three hundred years ago, when the happy little Dutch children were singing Christmas carols and enjoying their Christmas feasts ! The "new worlds and great countries" attracted many people. Even before the Pilgrims came to Plymouth three little ships had brought colonists who began a settlement on the James river. We are not very much interested in these settlements be- cause for many years no children came to them. One thing we notice : that the day after the landing of the first colonists at Jamestown a religious serv- ice was held. The "church" was made from the sails of the ship. Other people came — William Penn and his Quak- ers; many Germans and Swedes, Lord Baltimore's colony, and still others, until at length there were settlements along the whole extent of the Atlantic coast from Maine to Florida ; but Florida belonged to Spain. Everywhere we may see now groups of children, fair-skinned, rosy-cheeked, blue-eyed ; most of them, but not all — here and there are some little black children. The fair-skinned boys and girls are happy in the new world ; but the bbck children have been brought here against their vvill. 19 CHAPTER SECOND PART ONE ''By me7i and women of blood and iro7i, simple folk but brave a7id true, was the first expa^ision move- ment undertaken a7id completed; thus i7i sorrow and sufferi7ig, by privatio7t, sacrifice a7id almost in- credible heroism was the grou7id broke7i for the great harvest of the future. ' ' IN a log house in a little mountain settlement a circle of children are sitting — on the floor or on three-legged stools — in front of the big fire- place. They are bending forward, with flushed and eager faces ; and their earnest eyes are fastened upon a man seated at the side of the fire. He is dressed in hunting shirt, moccasins and leggings, all tattered and muddy. From his belt hang a tomahawk and knife — and by his side is his heavy rifle ; if he were standing up it would reach to his chin, though he is a tall man. He has a kind and pleasant face, his eyes are like eagles' eyes and his muscles stand out like cords. He is telling of thrilling adventures and his story is really meant for their fathers and mothers and big 20 brothers — but you may be sure the children do not miss a word of it. Their eyes glow with excite- ment as the ''Long Hunter" goes on to tell of the beautiful country — the lovely land of the blue grass — which opened out before them when the long, long miles of dark forest came suddenly to an end. Once more the travelers could see sky and sun- shine. There were sparkling, running waters, gor- geous flowers and great prairies of long grass; it was all so beautiful and good that it was like para- dise — so the hunter says, but it is not the beauty that makes the eyes and mouths of the listening children open wider and wider and their breath to come in quick gasps. It was partly the salt springs — 'licks" the hunter calls them — for wherever there was a "lick" the wild beasts came in throngs. These hunters could see them streaming across the vast reaches of waving grass land, immense herds of big, shaggy-maned buffalo, and great bands of elk with splendid, branching antlers, deer without num- ber, and bears that could not be counted, wolves and panthers. Do you wonder that the eyes of the listening boys and girls dance and sparkle? The hunter says that these salt-lick game trails — "traces" he calls them — have become as wide and as hard as city streets under the trampling of these thousands of hoofs during years without number. But most thrilling are the stories of other trails — the Indian war trails — for this beautiful game-filled country is the favorite hunting ground of tribes living north and south of it. None of them dare to live in it, and each fights to keep the others out. Much less shall the paleface come in ! Any white man ven- turing in must do it at the risk of his life. The Long Hunter and one of his companions were captured by these ferocious Indians. They es- caped after awhile, but the story of what happened during their captivity is enough to make the chil- dren's hearts stand still. If you have read "The Deerslayer" you know something about it ! And I fancy you know the man who is telHng the story ! He is that prince of hunters and explorers — Daniel Boone. There is not much sleep for the children that night, and possibly not for their big brothers, for Daniel Boone's stories make a tremendous stir among these young frontiersmen. This little settle- ment where they live does not hold out many chances for home and fortune. But what possibili- ties are in this fertile country far "out West" ! to say nothing of its excitement and dangers, which perhaps attract as much. At any rate, all through the winter the children continually hear snatches of most tantaHzing talk — just enough to make them "crazy" to hear more. Whenever the grown-up people get together the talk goes on. At length five families and perhaps forty men of the settlement decide to go to the new coun- try. It is a daring thing to do — to leave all fa- miliar things and to go out into the mysterious and unknown forest which stretches in a continuous twi- light from the mountains almost to the Mississippi. But these people have never seen the Mississippi river ! So far as they know the forest may stretch on to the Pacific coast. On a certain Monday in the early spring the long journey will begin, and on Sunday there is "evening preaching" in the little "church-house" on the moun- tain. All the people of the settlement attend the service. Above the pulpit, high up in the wall, there is a window — with a heavy wooden shutter — the church has been used for a fort in time of Indian troubles. But the window is open now, and through it the children see the western mountains all aglow under a magnificent sunset. The people are singing — and hark! from the sunlighted summits across the val- ley come back the softest, sweetest echoes ! But the children do not hear the echoes. They are watching the clouds — purple, crimson, amber — passing in great flocks over a sky exquisite with tints of green and gold. Have you ever noticed that clouds are always like the things one is thinking of ? Then you may know how these glowing clouds take shape to our children of the frontier, for their thoughts are of the mysterious country beyond those mountains and of its fascinating bears and buffalo. But the glorious color dies out and the purpling mountains are suddenly very solemn and "lonesome" — worse than lonesome. Why should these black mountains make them think all at once of the saddest Indian stories they know? The sun shines on Monday morning, and to the children there is only enjoyment in getting off. Of course all the household goods (not very many!) must be taken; and all the farming tools; and seeds for planting ; and the cows — and the chil- dren and the mothers. And there are no wagons or carts — of course not, for there are no roads — nothing but Indian "traces" or the old game trails. Shall we look on while these first pioneers for the "far West" contrive a way to carry all their goods and belongings? There they are — in a confused group — all the baggage and the children, the cows and the horses — the horses ! Why of course ! they can carry the loads. There is a great time, though, in getting all the baggage securely tied on so that it will not slide ofif backward when they are going uphill, or forward when they go down ! Well, they are packed at last — a patient-looking row. Several, though, have only empty saddle-bags ! But they are the most interesting, for presently the expectant little children are put into them — their weight carefully balanced. Now they start. First the men walking ahead, carrying their rifles ; then the elder children driving the cows ; and after 23 them the long row of horses — carrying the baggage, the tools, the mothers and the babies. These brave people would not own up to it prob- ably, — they never complain, — but it is a hard jour- ney — an "awfully" hard one you would say. And so gloomy! You cannot think how the great dark forest stretches out — mile after mile, mile after mile, mile after mile — the leaves so thick overhead that scarcely a ray of sunlight can squeeze through ; it never seems to be morning or noon, but just early evening all day long. And these dreadful mountain woods are so still and so lonely. Once the men hear a sound as of one man calling to another, and once there is the report of a gun. But these sounds do not make it any more cheerful, for all men in these solitudes must be Indians ! Sometimes they hear the "gobble, gobble, gobble" of wild turkeys. The children like this — all children like turkey — but the men, before following the sound, make very sure that they are genuine "gobbles" and not Indian imitations, for hunters are often lured to their death by these calls. But at night when the wolves howl it is not still, though to the children it does seem more "lonesome" than ever. Now and then there is a blessed opening in the forest; the trees stand far apart, the sun shines on glowing rhododendron and laurel, the birds sing, and a gay little river rushes across their path. They ford the river or swim it! In these open places there is plenty of game, which is a good thing, but the little company have their own troubles in getting it cooked, for they must be careful that the smoke from their fire does not bring Indians. Once when they know there are Indians near by they build their fire two miles from the camp ! It is a hard, hard journey ! But at last they reach the lovely land of the blue grass and they have been as long in reaching it as you need be in going around the world. 24 PART TWO IT is a beautiful country, and the pioneers have arrived at one of the very loveliest times of the year, when the trees are in full leaf, and the dogwood and red bud in bloom. The air is almost heavy with sweet-smelling things, and filled with the song of bright-flashing birds. But even the chil- dren must not venture to enjoy all this until they can do so from the safe shelter of a fort. This is an Indian country, although for a little time the tribes are held somewhat in check by various treaties. So all the little company, as best they can, help in the making of the fort or stockade. They first build log cabins in an even row. The backs of these form one side of the palisade; the spaces between them are filled with a high stockade made of heavy timbers placed upright in the ground; on the other sides of the square are similar stockades, all of them loop-holed. At the corners and in the centre of the square they build strong, loop-holed two-story block- houses, and in the sides place great doors or gates with strong, heavy bars to be used when necessary. Once inside the fort our children will be safe from everything except fire or a surprise; but in- creasing watchfulness guards against these dangers, and the forts are rarely captured or destroyed. It is pleasant to know that in this far-away wil- derness, shut off from civilization by hundreds of miles of almost impassable country (I leave it to you to think why it should be more difficult to get back to the settled country east of the mountains than it has been to leave it to come westward!) our pioneers already have some neighbors — white- skinned neighbors — for the truth is that Daniel Boone's stories of the fine and fertile land he had found spread like wild-fire among the frontiersmen of the colonies of Virginia, North Carolina and even of Pennsylvania; with the result that four pioneer parties, each without knowledge of the other, reach 25 this beautiful region about tlie same time, and, if we could but hear them, axes are now ringing and forts going up in all the settlements. Our children have the leadership of Boone him- self — and their settlement is called Boonesborough. The other stockades, about thirty miles to the south- west, are named Harrodstown, BoiUng Springs and Logan's Station. When the forts were about finished Henderson, the man who had planned Boonesborough, issued a call to the other settlements to send delegates to a convention about to be held to make laws to govern this little colony of the wilderness. One goes to Washington nowadays to see and hear the lawmakers, but I think this *'Elm Tree Legislature" must have been much more interesting. It is certainly a very great occasion to our chil- dren of the frontier, who, early in the morning, gather to watch the ''representatives" beginning to arrive. There are seventeen in all. The ''hall" — just outside the stockade — is a level field of white clover, in the midst of which is a magnificent elm tree. Its wide-spreading branches can certainly shelter a hundred men from the burning rays of the sun. Just look up through the curling plumes! Never are blue sky and foamy white clouds so beau- tiful as when seen through the branches of an elm tree! And ever through the leaves are flashes of scarlet and gold, and ever float downward silvery showers of sweetest music. No "rotunda" can equal this — and wherever was there such a carpet as this green and white field of clover ! And the "representatives" ! Are not fringed buckskin shirts and leather caps and leggings and rifles and knives more interesting than black clothes and stiff linen collars and — watch-fobs? At any rate, the frontier dress becomes these strong, grave, fearless-looking men — whose eagle eyes never lose their alert watchfulness — and whose rifles are ever ready to their hand, even amidst all the keen inter- 26 est of the discussion and "speeches." But let us lis- ten to the laws they make — in this first little '*Amer- ica" of the West. First there are game laws ! for, can you believe it — buffalo, elk and deer are already becoming scarce where Boone had seen those great streams of ani- mals coming down to the salt licks. Even now the hunters have to go fifteen or twenty miles to find any number of them. And until the corn shall ripen the people must live on game. So severe laws are enacted to stop useless slaugh- ter, and the killing off of game by "foreign" hunt- ers who kill — only for the sake of the skins and furs. There are laws about holding court, about regu- lating militia, and for punishing criminals. One of the members of this elm tree convention is a clergyman ; he proposes the law forbidding pro- fane swearing and Sabbath-breaking — but the rest pass it! A law is passed "to protect the game" — Boone proposes it ; "to preserve the breed of horses" ; this, too, he proposes, and "to protect the range," or natural pasture where the branded horses and cattle of the pioneers range at will. The Kentucky range at that time was fine, rich in fine grass, cane and the wild pea vine, and the animals could graze on it all through the year. Finally, they agree upon relig- ious freedom and toleration for all sects. Pretty good for the year 1775 ! And it is a happy thing, for there is a great variety of religious belief among the settlers. The larger number are Presbyterians, but there are Baptists and Methodists and some Ro- man Catholics from Maryland, while the first relig- ious service at Boonesborough — the first in Ken- tucky — is conducted by a clergyman of the Church of England. But do you not miss something in this first legis- lature? — for you know we are always thinking of our frontier children — and there seems to be no law for establishing schools. 27 CHAPTER THIRD ' ' The flat-bottomed boat ran altogether down- stream. Hence it led altogether away from home ajid from the East. The Western man was relying upon himself, cutting loose from tradition, asking help of no man; sacrificing, perhaps, a little of sentime7it, but doifig so out of necessity, and only because of the one great fact that water would not run back up-hill, would not carry him back to that East which was once his home. So the homes and the graves in the West grew, and there arose a civilization distifict and different from that which kept hold upon the sea and upon the old world. ' ' ON a certain bright morning long ago, the front door of a house on Water street in the city of Philadelphia opened and a troop of chil- dren with their father and mother came sedately down the white marble steps. Shut your eyes a moment and look at them. The boys' clothes and their stiff hats are exactly like their father's — only not so large; and the little girls' short-waisted dresses, their shawls ( !) and bonnets are precisely like their mother's — only smaller. The father and mother walk ahead — the children two-by-two, and hand-in-hand follow after. They look very sober — these funnily dressed children — 28 and walk along gravely. Their hearts beat quickly, though, and their eyes sparkle. They are full of happy thoughts. If it were not for their tight clothes and the way they have been taught they would skip along, and laugh and shout for very gladness; for is not this the long looked for day upon which they are to start out on a most wonderful and delightful journey? As they think! The beautiful blue Delaware flashes and sparkles before them — but these children are not going "down stream" on the Delaware! — Presently they turn away from the river, walking a little way on Chestnut street. They pass the hall where awhile ago the Declaration of Independence had been signed. As they go by, the bell which we know now as "Old Liberty" rings out. They turn to the south, cross Walnut street, Locust and Spruce streets. This is certainly a tree-named city ! On the corner of Pine street there is a church. The father and mother climb the steps — the chil- dren still follow after — Down the long aisle they go; all the way to the very front pew, which seems to be almost under the high pulpit. The father, by grave waves of his hand, indicates that John and WilHam and Nancy are to enter this pew; then the mother; after her little Betsy and Sarah and Thomas, and finally the father takes his seat and shuts the pew door. The church is crowded with people ; there is a long row of ministers in the pul- pit, and one of them preaches an even longer ser- mon. The hymns are long too ; everything is long, and these tightly-dressed children are most uncom- fortable. About three hours pass — then there is a little com- motion among the ministers in the pulpit. The pas- tor of the church finds a hymn, and hands the hymn book to the minister at the end of the long row — He looks at the hymn, gives his head a vigor- ous shake "No!" and the book passes to the next 29 in the row. He shakes his head— the next shakes his head. They all do, evidently declining to do something the minister asks of them. So he steps in front of the pulpit — he is very solemn-looking — and says to the congregation: "We have gathered here to-day to say farewell to our dear friends who are about to go out as missionaries to Pittsburg. They are going into great dangers and perils, and it is likely that they will soon die. In anticipation of^ this sad event, we zvill now sing their funeral dirge" : Then he gave out this hymn : "Why should we mourn departing friends, Or shrink at death's alarms?" And they do sing it! — the whole hymn — s-l-o-w- 1-y, to the doleful tune of ''China." The father and mother do not "shrink" — but keep up brave hearts, and the children follow after ! They do not stay in Pittsburg, however, but go "down-stream" to a settlement on the bank of the Ohio river, where dangers and perils are perhaps even greater. The journey down the Ohio is certainly perilous enough, but waterways are easier than land trails, and the rush to the West is at this time down- stream. It will be so until these children have grown up ! By that time there may be a change for the better in ways of traveling. In fact, at the very time that our missionary children are drifting down the Ohio in a flat-bottomed boat, in danger every moment from Indians, a boy is growing up who will in a few years make it possible to go even up-stream, and in a vessel which will of itself strike terror into the Indians! You all know this boy! It is a great thing, though, to go down-stream, for the flat-bottomed scow, with its square ends, can easily carry all the belongings of the pioneer — even his live stock. There are other boats, log rafts and the bark canoes and the pirogues — which is a prettier name than "dugout," but it means the same thing. In low water these boats are some- 30 times a month in making the trip from Pittsburg to the Falls of the Ohio — but the river is fortunately high when our children go down — for all the In- dians are on the warpath and in the thick forests on the river banks are many trails. It is like run- ning the gauntlet to get through. They do get through, but with many narrow escapes. When they reach their journey's end, their real troubles begin. It is a terrible thing to pass clear- ing after clearing, where the settlers have been killed or taken captive, the house burned and all growing things destroyed. They see all these things as they hurry to the stockade where only they can be safe. Once inside, they find everyone making ready for an attack. The women are making bullets, even the twelve- year-old boys are ''fort soldiers," and to each has been given a gun and a loophole ! The bullet-mak- ing goes on all night. In the very early dawn watchers in the high block-houses see some Indian scouts hiding in a cornfield. This means that a large party are near who mean to surprise the fort. The men, and women too, are cool and fearless in this prospect; but a sudden remembrance brings dismay. There is no water in the stockade ! and the spring is outside at the foot of the hill! What can be done ? '* Why," say the women, "we will go out and get water !" They take their pails and buckets, the big gate is unbarred and out they go, down to the bottom of the hill — facing those hiding Indians all the way. Some are young girls — almost children — would yoii like to be one of them? The girls do show some nervousness, but the older women are as cool as possible, talking and laughing together, and by their unconcern they completely deceive the In- dians who are lurking near by — and who fear that if they attack the women, all chance of surprising the fort will be lost. But the women are hardly in- side the gate when the attack on the fort is begun. 31 It does seem likely that the Philadelphia minis- ter's fears will come true ! But the strong palisades hold out, though burn- ing arrows are shot on to the roofs of the cabins and burning torches are brought to the walls. At last the Indians give up the fight and withdraw to the northern woods. Who can say, though, when they will come again? But settlers are pouring into the country — some coming by pack train over the Wilderness Road, but many more by the river trails. We have not paid much attention to the pioneer mothers — who were the bravest of the brave. Al- ways that ; and the cheeriest and most patient teach- ers and guides of the boys and girls when the In- dians allowed them any peace and quiet. Many a man now living can look back to years of frontier life when all his teaching was given by his mother, and often from her one book — the Bible. But now and then the hearts of even these cour- ageous mothers faltered. Especially so on the com- ing in of the pack trains, when afar off they could hear the musical klingle, klangle, klingle of the cow bells. Was there ever such a homesick sound as this tinglelingle of the bells? For, when these mothers were children they had driven home the cows many and many a time. "With klingle, klangle, klingle Way down the dusty dingle The cows are coming home. Now sweet and clear and faint and low The airy twinklings come and go Like chimings from some far off tower, Or patterings of an April shower That makes the daisies grow. Ko-klarg, ko-klarg, ke-linglelingle, Way down the darkening dingle, The cows come slowly home ; And old time friends, and twilight plays And starry nights and sunny days Come trooping up the misty ways When the cows come home." 32 So the bells sounded to the mothers on the fron- tier. Nevertheless, cow bells were among the most pre- cious possessions of the Kentucky pioneer. Else how would they ever have found the cows when they wandered off? And they would break away into the forest, even on the Wilderness Road. Such times as the children had in finding them ! and very often in not finding them, for not every cow had a bell. It was about this time that a man sold a mile — a square mile at that — of fine fertile land for three oxen and a cow bell ! But the pack trains brought more than memories with them. They carried news of what was then going on in the old homes across the Alleghanies. Great things! and after a while the men of "the West" would have great part in them. The people who came — by pack train or by boat — were warmly welcomed. All kinds of people ! and many, many children. You can think how you would be likely to grow up, if you were on the constant lookout for danger; and if you were always cool and courageous when it came ! If you had either to do without things or make them for yourself; if you had to decide many matters for yourself and decide quickly ; if you had constant share in the destruction of human life — in short, if your circumstances were like those of the children of the frontier! Well! they grow up just that way. As the children grow, and the Indians' raids cease for a time, the clearings — ''farms" they are begin- ning to be called — become more comfortable homes. There are in the villages a few frame dwellings, for lumber can easily be brought "down-stream"; and many large log houses. Orchards planted by the first settlers are now bearing fruit, and other fruits and vegetables flourish; but you will notice that still the fields of maize are planted not very 33 near the houses; for the tall stalks furnish hiding- places for the Indians and the Indians have not vanished from their old hunting grounds, although the animals they hunted have! There are clergymen and school teachers in these frontier communities, who have great influence on the life of the people. Rough log meeting-houses and rougher log schools are springing up everywhere. But the school books are few indeed; a Bible or a Testa- ment, a primer, a spelling book and a small arithme- tic. That is all. But from these poor schools have come some of the greatest of Americans. Do you think it was mostly the school training or the training of the frontier that made them great ? The children of the frontier are the children of pioneers, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of pioneers. We see them standing in their "clear- ings," gazing wistfully out over the golden path to the sunset. For always they hear as did their fa- thers, the Voice of the West, calling, caUing, from mountain and forest and prairie. They cannot re- sist it. Some day they will arise and follow, and themselves become pioneers to a new frontier. Just watch and see if it is not so ! 34 CHAPTER FOURTH ''How very diverse in character and manners, in enterprise and expectation ivere tJie pioneers who subdued the wilderness of the Old Northwest! But —when all had Jinitedin a common cause, when the weak were uplifted by the strong, when the bad were improved by contact with the good, when intelli- gence triu7nphed over ignorance— what a race of giants were they!'' ARE you not rather tired of Indians and their unending barbarities and cruelties? The pioneers of the down-stream days were— utterly weary and almost discouraged, for the utmost foresight and coolness and desperate darmg, seemed to count for nothing. Always on the long trails leading from the Great Lakes to the Ohio river were bands of stealthy, quick-moving, quiet-footed savages, whose burning and killing and tortures laid waste and desolate the fair homes of the settlers. One day there came into the mind of a young frontiersman in Kentucky a plan which would, if successfully carried out, put an end to Indian raids from the North. 35 To carry out his plan, he himself, with as many followers as he could muster, went on the warpath ! His wise plans and his magnificent courage and endurance won the day and resulted in stopping the Indian horrors and in giving to the United States the great territory which we now call the Old Northwest — the country lying west of the Allegha- nies and stretching northward from the Ohio river to the Great Lakes, and westward to the Mississippi. When it came into the possession of the United States it was exceedingly new — untrodden forest and prairie — but rich and fertile beyond compare. Let us take a bird's-eye view of things in the spring following the settlement of all questions re- garding the opening of this great country now "reaching out to those who will first voutsafe to possesse, inhabite and till it!" What do we see? Not a solitary man here and there, setting out for the wilderness to carve out of it a home for himself and his children; nor a few pack trains tinkling along over the Wilderness Road; not only canoes and square-end scows drift- ing down-stream, but — from New England and New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia — in short from almost every state in the Union, are streams of people, walking, on horse- back, or in creaking Canastota wagons ; there are long strings of pack horses, and flat boats and all other kinds of boats by hundreds — all eagerly "go- ing West" to the new land of promise. In the wagons and the boats are many, rhany happy-hearted children — they do well to be hopeful and happy, for never has there been a more glorious opportunity to gain and to be all that life offers. We are interested in all these children, but most eager to see some who are setting out from New England. Do you remember Experience and Preserved, and the other children of the Mayflower days? But these are Mayflower days too, and these high- spirited boys and girls are the great-great — how 36 many greats ?— grandchildren of Experience and the rest ! There are roads in New England now ! and upon them in all kinds of queer-looking vehicles, and on foot, we see these new pioneers gathering to the place of starting. They have more possessions than our first friends had, and the long wagons in which they set out are heavily loaded. This Ohio Com- pany has sent word ahead and when they reach the Youghiogheny (this dreadful looking name sounded to the children like Yohogani) river there awaiting them is a long barge built for them and named the Mayflower. The Company go aboard, their baggage is put on, and the new Mayflower is swiftly propelled down the river, which is swollen and turbulent from the spring rains; it gHdes into the Monongahela; and then into the beautiful Ohio— and makes rapid pro- gress to the mouth of the Muskingum ; which they reach early in the morning. It is a foggy spring morning and what do you think is the very first object the children see through the mists? A stockade fort! Fort Harmar, it is. But happily, they do not see any Indians, and presently they land on a lovely spot. These pioneers are real New Englanders, and we are not surprised at their quickness and energy. Log cabins go up; ground is cleared, corn is planted and a stockade— called Campus Martins! —is built for security in case any Indians should appear. So was begun the first American settlement in the Old Northwest, and the next time you visit the city of Marietta, and see its churches and the col- lege, just remember these first comers and their energetic leader. But do you not wonder why it was that such crowds of home-makers poured into this new coun- try to ''inhabite and till it?" When there was still so much unoccupied land nearer home. 37 You remember that our pioneers up to this time have had to fight all their own battles. Each man for himself or each little community for itself. But in the Northwest Territory, Uncle Sam promised his help — when it came to fighting In- dians. This partly accounts for the great rush of set- tlers; another reason was the cheapness and splen- did fertility of the land, but there was still another cause, and this accounts for the very large number of educated and refined people who very soon emi- grated to this far-western country — really farther distant, if you keep in mind the difficulties of reach- ing it, than the Philippines are now! It was this way — when the Northwest Territory became a part of the public lands of the United States, Congress made laws by which it should be governed. Two or three of these laws are specially interest- ing to us, for we remember the three objects of our first pioneers to New England : Christian homes, free education and the right to worship God accord- ing to their conscience. Listen then to these laws: Every person shall have the right to worship as he believes best. In every Congressional town- ship of thirty-six sections of land one section (six hundred and forty acres) shall be reserved "for the maintenance of common schools within the said township." Do you wonder that New Englanders flocked to this country? These were some of the laws of what is called "The Ordinance of 1787," and from the time it was passed it has been the custom in the West to set apart for educational purposes one thirty-sixth of all the public land, so that now every Western state in the Union has a magnificent school fund. In the Old Northwest the result of the sale of this thirty-sixth part means nearly twenty million 38 dollars for the fine education of its children; in addition to this each state was given one entire township — a little more than twenty-three thousand acres — for the founding and support of a state uni- versity. This is what the old "Ordinance" says : Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education should forever he en- couraged. We do not want to forget that the five noble states of the Old Northwest with all their splendid opportunity and with all that they mean for America came to us through the brains and daring and courage of that young Kentucky frontiersman —George Rogers Clark, the Pioneer on the War- path ! 39 CHAPTER FIFTH ''Major Long's expedition up the Platte brought hack the ' important fact ' that the ' whole division of North America drained by the Missouri and the Platte and their tributaries between the meridian of the fnouth of the Platte and the Rockies is almost entirely unfit for cultivation, and therefore uninhabitable for an agricultural people! ' ' ' WE shall see presently whether Major Long was correct in his judgment! But it is certainly a fact that the pioneers of the Long Trail are not home-builders. What then are they? We shall soon find out if we follow a group of young men of the frontier who are about to set out for the Northwest. They start up — up? — the Mis- sissippi in a very queer looking boat which has oars and a sail and a tracking line. But the last we knew, the boats would go only down-stream — What has happened? No, it is not that water has be- gun to run up hill, but that this queer boat is so contrived that it can be pushed up-stream, against the current. It is slow and "awfully" hard work, though, to get it up. The sun blazes down in these summer days on the heads of the crew bent over the setting poles, 40 and in the winter icy winds cut them, but they are a hardy set of men and notwithstanding the heat or the cold steadily trudge the walking-boards from mornmg till night, and day after day, until they come at length to shallower water which will not float the boat; they change now to the "canoe of the north." It is thirty feet long and made of birch bark; or, where no birch bark can be found, of sun dried buflfalo hides. There are sometimes rapids in the river, and the boat must be carried around then through a dense forest. Presently the water is too shallow for the big canoes; then the little Indian canoes take up the trail and carry the travelers far, far into the solitudes of the unknown country. Finally they reach the last tiny silver thread of the water trail. What now? They obtain from the Indians a dog *'travois"; or, as we should call it from its appearance, a pole frame. The Indians of the Northwest make much use of this queer vehicle ; often one may see a great copper kettle lashed to the poles and in the kettle are piled babies, moccasins, puppies and other property. In the winter, and when hitched to a proper sledge six dogs can draw a thousand pounds over the snow. The travois carries our pioneers' burdens until the trails are lost in the forest ; after this each man car- ries his own pack on his own back. They have traveled three thousand miles on the Long Trail! Now that they are in the wild forests you see v/hat they are— trappers and fur traders. Presently they will come down the trail with a load of rich furs, which then will be sold in St. Louis for a very large sum of money. These pioneers bring back with the furs some fine stories, to which the children listen as delight- edly as the boys and girls of the Yadkin listened to the stories of Daniel Boone. Some of their best tales are of a land they call "Oregon" ; the eager child listeners long remember 41 these stories. They will recall them perhaps in the days when they shall be crossing the Rockies to "settle" in Oregon! The trappers wander far in search of the richest furs; one of them follows a trail to the south and discovers a fine old city in the midst of Spanish gardens. This discovery leads to the use of another Indian trail. Keel-boats and canoes, the bateau, the bull-boat and "corvelles" will not do here, for this is a dry country; so for many a year we see trains of pack horses or mules following the Long Trail to Santa Fe. The horses give way after a time to the big, white covered wagon. There are sometimes in one com- pany one hundred wagons, two hundred men and eight hundred oxen. The wagons travel in two parallel columns with a space of thirty feet between the columns. The loose animals are driven along in this space. Scouts are always on the lookout for parties of Indians, and give quick warning in case any are seen. The trainmaster gives a signal, the oxen are halted, the head and rear wagons of the two columns turn in toward each other and the caravan, loaded mostly with bales of cotton stuffs, becomes a fortification. It takes ten weeks — often longer — to travel the Long Trail. The caravan makes two trips a year, going out in the spring and returning in the fall. There is one trail that follows the path to the sun- set. While the fur traders' boats traveled northwest- ward, and the Santa Fe pack horses and wagon teams trailed southwest, a man in California one day found some yellow grains in the sands of a river. The finding of such yellow grains never fails to throw the whole world into a fever of excitement. Now the Long Trail seems to grow shorter and to lose its perils, — when there is the prospect of win- ning a fortune in gold at the end of it ! 42 There is a wild, wild rush to the gold mines. People brave the dangers of the plains, the Indians, the great American desert, the fevers of the Isth- mus of Panama, and the perils of the voyage around Cape Horn, in their desire to reach the gold fields. Do you remember old King Midas, whose touch turned everything — even his food — to gold, so that he was in danger of dying of starvation? The miners are in danger of the same thing. Gold have they in plenty, but no bread ! They are not like the trappers, whose rifles provide them with food. The miners must be fed! How? and by whom? All supplies are nearly three thousand miles away. This is the reason for the great pack trains over the westward trail, and never were there any pack trains like these! A good pack-master did not hesitate at anything; whatever the miners .wanted he succeeded in "pack- ing" to them. They "packed" cookstoves, and at least one piano. They made a sort of a wooden sling for it and hung it between four mules — two in front and two be- hind! The piano reached the mining camp unin- jured, though it cost a thousand dollars to get it there. Wood was packed to the camps ; and hay, boxes and trunks and even packages of glassware and cases of eggs ! The outfitting and freighting points became cities after awhile — Lewiston, Walla Walla, Portland and Denver. You cannot fancy who was first on the ground where Denver is now. But you remember that the children of pioneers often become pioneers ? Daniel Boone's son became a pioneer; so did his grandson, and his grandson was the first man to camp where Denver is now, at least so they say! But packing trains could not supply the demand for this enormous overland trade; the wonderful 43 ''pony express" and the still more wonderfully man- aged stage coach routes took the next places on the Long Trail. The coaches required one thousand horses, five hundred mules, and seven hundred men to carry them over the Long Trail, and passengers, horses and men had a hard time of it. They had to face blizzards, cut their way through snowdrifts, the swollen mountain streams had to be crossed, they went through deserts and over moun- tains^but all this seemed as nothing in comparison with the horrors of an Indian attack. You have seen many pictures of these attacks so you know just what they were like. The stage coach found the trail too long and be- gan to shorten distances and lay out straight lines. They saved a thousand miles on the old water- ways. The mines and this tremendous trade between east and west swallowed up the home-makers for a time; and "the frontiers" took a long leap west- ward. We hear about California, Oregon, Idaho and Montana now. Between them and Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio, and the old Northwest are thousands of miles! But people at this time are getting over the notion that the immense stretches of the great country toward the sunset are unfit for cultivation, and if we could be near enough, we should hear much talk about "going West." Once more we see the father and the mother and the children start out — pioneers in home-making on the prairies. They cross the Alleghanies by rail now! Cross Ohio — in very uncomfortable railway cars, — in such other vehicles as they may be able to get, or on foot; passing beyond the little cluster of buildings which have since grown into Chicago, they cross the Mississippi — pass on to the black mud of the prair- ies — and here we shall have our last look at the Long Trail. 44 Do you see that fleet of white-sailed "prairie schooners"? They wind through the waves and billows of tall grasses, streaming westward along the trail — across Illinois, across Iowa, across the Missouri river — westward still. There are children in the white-topped wagons; happy, healthy little faces look out from every pos- sible peephole; other children are gathering flowers among the grasses ; they need not fear being left be- hind, for those plodding oxen are not at all like a lightning express. But they do need to be watch- ful of the always dreaded Indians. There is one thought in the heart of the fathers — a better chance for the babies ! — one hope in the hearts of the mothers ! — else they would not have left the fair country which they expect never to see again. They will win the ''chance" ! Of this we feel sure — for the spirit of the true pioneer never gives in. And so we leave them, eagerly pressing on — over the Long Trail. 45 CHAPTER SIXTH "// was on February 12, 1829, that Philip Evans Thomas called together twe?ity-five of the leading spirits of Baltimore. Comme7it of the time says that he seemed touched with the spirit of prophecy as he spoke of that enterprise which was to cast aside the mou7itains, to unite the streams, and to discover ;^H what there might be in that mysterious land, the West — the West which was west of the Alleghanies and in or near the Mississippi Valley. Beyond the Mississippi,of course , the mind of man might not go!*' BUT we have seen that beyond the Mississippi, the minds of men and their bodies as well — did go! And going beyond the Mississippi meant many things — it meant for one thing quicken- ing movement. No one may now linger by the way ! And it must be in this Western spirit that we tell our story of the driving of the golden nail. It came about in this way — the east needed the products of the west — the west needed the products of the east, and the people of east and west needed to like one another better. Generally speaking, the way to like another better is to know him better. You see it had been very difficult to "go visiting" by ''packing" or prairie schooner or even by the pony express ! Besides these reasons there was the great West between the Mississippi and the Rockies to be civiHzed and Christianized. The time came when some minds and brains of the go-ahead kind thought out a plan to ''cast aside mountains and to unite streams" from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. And now we are going to see the real Pioneer of America ! He has a task before him. He must climb moun- tains for seven thousand feet or more; he must cross a great expanse thirteen hundred miles wide, which until a very few years ago was marked on the map "unexplored desert." It was not very well known even at this time, and in one long, long stretch of nearly seven hundred miles, there was only one white man to be found. But — of course — all along the route from Omaha westward there were the fiercest Indians. They saw a curious thing one day ; motionless on their horses they watch — to see what the strange objects may be. Flags they know and chains they know — but what are those queer three-legged creatures which some fearless young men are placing here and there over the prairie ? They do not know either that following behind these young engineers are an army of workers who will lay a path for the iron feet of a "horse," swifter than the mustang, stronger than the buffalo ! In the way of this army are many obstacles and dangers, but the Indians are the worst of them all. The most terrible happenings in the "Last of the Mohicans" do not begin to equal the horrors in the path of the pioneer. But the work went on. Ground was broken at Omaha in 1864; two years later the "railhead" had gone ahead two hundred and sixty miles, but by the end of 1867, a locomotive could run more than five 47 , hundred miles out on the prairies ! As the Union Pacific men pressed westward, the Central Pacific men pushed eastward. They crossed the Sierras and laid the rails in the Utah desert. The subsidies promised by Congress were far larger for moun- tainous than for level country, and as the two armies of workmen drew near together each tried hard to gain the prize — the Central men on their slope, and the Union men on the western side of the Rockies. "Where metals meet metals" — Congress had said should be the joining point, and in April, 1869, they meet, at Promontory Point, near Ogden, Utah. Let us see what happened a few days afterward, on the tenth of May. The rival armies of workers were drawn up on either side of the tracks. There was also a group of officers and invited guests who had come over the road to be present at its joining. The spike of gold to show the completion of transportation be- tween East and West was driven home by a New England minister of the Gospel — himself worthy to be a "pioneer" — who then offered prayer. A mo- ment later the news was flashed by the telegraph east and west, and in Chicago, Buffalo and New York public thanksgivings were proclaimed. You remember the pack train and the white- topped wagons trailing down to Santa Fe? There came a time when some people thought a railroad on the old trail might be worth while. But others thought there would never be enough people along the line to justify it. Even after courage- ous surveyors had staked out a line along the Arkansas River to the Rocky Mountains there was much doubt about building the road. Considering what we know now, it seems rather comical to think of what happened just at this time. Can you not see a line of wagons trailing along by this staked out line? This time we do not receive smiles from gay little children ! Far from it, for, peering from the wagons with most anxious faces are a commit- tee of directors who have come out to see whether the road will "pay." They do not see much but prairie grass ! but they have learned one thing from former experience — that corn will grow on prairie grass land, so they pluck up heart, trail home again, and advise the building of the road. Then they ''hustle," and shortly complete the road. You can imagine a great many things that were overcome, but you may not think of one ob- stacle in the way — not one either, but many thou- sands. What were they? Buffalo — great herds of them — streaming across the track in such numbers that they actually stopped the trains. But men of the frontier are equal to a trifle like this! They simply add to the usual parts of a locomotive a kind of steam gun, and now notice the order of things — first, herds of the great clumsy beasts mov- ing stolidly across the track ; second, an approaching train, whose whistles and roars affected the animals no more than would a fly; with the cow-catcher right upon — or under them — they pay no heed; the ''triggers" of the guns are pulled and steam pours forth in scalding clouds, result — a furious stampede of the buffalo. We would notice this railroad because of its ef- fect on the old haunts of the buffalo and the Indian war-whoop. People coming out soon found that corn and other things would grow on these prairies, and the home-making pioneers began to arrive by tens, by hundreds, by thousands. "A magician's wand had waved over the country ; the magician came over the rails of the Santa Fe road." But no railroad is, as a pioneer, the equal of the "Great Northern." Let us stop for a moment in North Dakota — two hundred years and more, and two thousand miles away from our first little friends. Experience and Preserved ! 49 up here the air sparkles, the sky is cloudless, and miles upon miles of brown, grassy prairie stretch out to the horizon. This whole region is going to be a great wheat country, presently, and into it are pouring thou- sands of home-seekers. They are going to "possesse and inhabite and till" — how many ? — acres that have never felt a plow ; to make new towns, and to fill the empty places, as we have seen their fathers do before them, as they trailed across the Mississippi before the railroad came. Before the railroad came! Their fathers would gasp for breath could they see the way their children "hustle" now. Let us see how these successors to the ox team and the prairie schooner of the Overland Trail are carr}dng into another century the story of the pio- neers. We see five long passenger trains filled with men, women and children — mostly from the Middle West, — and six freight trains follow, filled with their household goods. Besides the household goods each family is al- lowed to bring to the new country farming tools and ten head of live stock. Until their horriestead claims are located, freight cars are side tracked and the families live in them, as houses. These are rather more comfortable than the upturned roots of a tree ! But they have horses and wagons, so they soon trail out to their claims and build shacks or sod houses. The next day the settler begins to break ground for spring wheat ! They have come to give their children "a chance,'* for land costs too much in the old home to start out their children with farms. So here they are — pioneers^ building up homes as did their fathers. But they need not wait for schools and churches as did their fathers. 50 This is the order of events in a "Great Northern" town : the railroad tracks, the grain elevator, a rail- road station and telegraph office; several banks, a "store" and the "main street," which, running out on the prairie, is still only a trail. Closely following are the school house and the church. Next are business blocks of brick or stone, and pavements. Presently there are waterworks and a lighting plant, and all these "improvements" are only a year or two behind the settler when the rail- road is the Pioneer ! 51 CHAPTER SEVENTH ''Let Christianity have full play in America, in her schools and in her legislature, in her business and in her politics, in her homes and in her churches, and there will be developed a fine Americanism, and there is not hi7tg finer than a fine Americanism!'' WE have certainly found, have we not ? that the pioneer goes ahead into hard places, know- ing that through his courage and forti- tude and resolute will, life will be fuller of opportu- nity to those who come after him. Ever since we saw the Pilgrim Fathers land on Plymouth Rock we have followed these courageous men as they went out into the wilderness that their children might grow up strong in character, sturdy "captains of their souls," and free and independent in body and in mind. But now in this twentieth century there happens a strange thing. The crowds we see are not going out into the country ! but along many roads are hur- rying away from their country homes into the cities. And at the same time there are coming over the sea great ocean "liners" from Europe, bringing 52 hundreds of thousands of immigrants; and the larger number of these newcomers also are finding their way to the cities. So the cities are becoming terribly crowded; and the more crowded, the greater is the cost of living in them; so that even the people who come from comfortable houses, set in the midst of God's own world of life-giving air and sunshine, of beauty of trees and grass and flowers, where food is plentiful and the children have "roume" to grow up — are many times crowded into small, dark rooms, where the sunshine never enters and where there is never any fresh air. This terrible crowding, the darkness and the poor food and no place to play, bring sickness and misery to thousands and thousands of children; and very many frail little babies open their eyes for just a few days on this hopeless world about them — then the spark of life dies out. There are other dreadful things in the cities and towns. Suppose you lived in a dark little crowded room, and were kept for long hours at work too hard for you — no time to play, scarcely time to sleep, with the poorest kind of food. Would you skip and laugh and make funny, bright little speeches just because they will bubble up all the time? And would you be honest and kind and good? No; you would be too weak and dull and stupid; too tired out to think about being good — perhaps too hungry to be honest. There are thou- sands of little children who in these crowded places grow up in this way. Even if they are not at work there is only the street in which to spend the time, and you cannot even imagine the forlornness of living in the street. Some streets are themselves the cause of the sick- ness and wretchedness. A "bird's-eye view" to-day would show us these sorrowful things scattered — like big black blots — over our land from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific 53 — O, dear, dear, you say, this is too dreadful and too hopeless. "From the Atlantic to the Pacific !" That is awfully far! But wait a moment ! Think of that day the May- flower landed at Plymouth. In all the long way westward from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific, there was not a white man's house, not a farm, nor a school, nor a church, nor a Bible, but everywhere on the endless way toward the sunset were mighty forests, and high mountains, swamps, and burning plain and scorching desert and savage beasts and more savage men — all to be conquered, if homes are to be made. One tree at a time, one mountain at a time, and the Indians, one by one. And they have been conquered! by the Pioneer, with his axe and rifle and his stout heart. We need now tzventieth century pioneers who will go ahead as the old pioneer did and with brains, courage and resolution equal to his, open the way in overcoming these new obstacles for those who will follow him. The twentieth century pioneer goes boldly for- ward into these dark places; he knows that city conditions are likely to continue for a long time to come; so of course it is the business of good citi- zens to make the city the right kind of a place for children to grow up in. Little children must play. It would be a queer nation where the children did not play — worse than Puritan times, for there was then at least plenty of outdoor and interesting work to be done. At all events, this pioneer of play is going to make a tremendous difference in the char- acters of children who must grow up in the city. The twentieth century pioneer thinks that the sickness and misery of thousands of these children may be prevented; and not only their sickness, but their stupidity and ignorance, and much of their wrong-doing. And he is going on ahead to show how it may be done. He does not carry an axe and rifle — he is much more likely to have a microscope 54 and some queerly-shaped bottles— but he is as strong and courageous as the old pioneer and much more gentle and kind. He is willing to give up his life for those he is trying to save from suffering. Some day you may read stories of the days when the yellow fever filled the land with terror. You will read of doctors and nurses who went to the stricken cities to fight the fever. But the twentieth century pioneer believed that it could be prevented. It needed courage to go ahead and point out the way • nevertheless this pioneer went straight ahead and lost his life in doing so; but the fear and terror of yellow fever have now forever passed away. There is another sickness worse than yellow fever which is taking away the life and strength of thou- sands of children; the pioneers are showing us how to prevent it and they tell us that after awhile tuber- culosis will disappear "from the Atlantic to the Pa- cific" as have the old tangled wildernesses. Our new sort of pioneer is trying to get air and sunshine into those horrible "dark rooms —or rather he is battering away at the ramshackle old tenements until they disappear, and where they and the blind alleys that lead to them are now, there will soon be the sunniest and breeziest play-ground imaginable; and there is no question about it--sun- shine and fresh air do help people to do right, and the awful dark and airless rooms almost compel them to do wrong. And v/hile this pioneer is pulling down the old houses, he is also showing how new ones should be built • in them air can find its way to all the rooms and it will be fresh and wholesome air because an- other noble pioneer has "blazed a trail ' to show how cities may be made and kept clean. A twentieth century pioneer— a Society having hosts of members— is forging ahead to show how to free from the bondage of hard labor those thousands of little children of whom we spoke a moment ago. 55 Watch this pioneer! He is going to accompHsh great things. There is a pioneer — a man, not a society — who is doing a wonderful thing. He lives up in the cold country of the northwest, where a while ago we saw the home makers rush in by tens of thousands ''to inhabite and till" the rich prairie land. The soil is rich, and almost everything will grow in it, and in the long days of the hot summer come to perfection. Knowing this, the happy possessors of farms planted liberally and set out orchards and sowed great stretches of alfalfa. There were high hopes and bright prospects. All these were dashed to pieces when the thermometer fell to 50 degrees or so below zero, and remained there until small fruits and orchards and alfalfa and high hopes were all alike frozen to death. A boy growing up on a farm saw these disheart- ening things happen many times, and set himself to learn from nature how to save the homes of the northwest. He is a man now, and he has learned how to conquer not only the intense cold, but drouth, and blasting winds, and plant diseases. What were the obstacles of the old pioneers — a few Indians and some trees of the forest — compared with these foes ! His great discovery will lead to homes of health and prosperity in Canada as well as America, and when you shall go over the new railroad to spend a summer on Hudson Bay, doubtless you will pass on your way happy homes and schools and churches, apple orchards and alfalfa fields, and at Port Nelson luxuriate in strawberries and cream, all made pos- sible by this pioneer's devotion to the well-being of his fellow-men. To this well-being he is giving his life, risking it often in his search after knowledge. An old saying is, "He who makes two blades of grass grow where one grew before, is a benefac- 56 tor," — one who does good. What can we say then, of a twentieth century pioneer who is making — not two — but countless millions of blades of grass, and orchards of fruit, and miles of wheat — grow where none grew before! and has thereby made happy Christian homes a possibility for thousands of fami- lies? There is another splendid twentieth century pio- neer. Probably you know his name ! If you do not, lots of boys and girls do. And when they grow to be men and women — strong, resolute Christian men and women, doing the right with all their might, they will bless the man who went ahead to show how to save, not to ruin, boys and girls who had be- gun to "go wrong." For many and many a year countless people have been "putting an enemy in their mouth to steal away their brains" — not only their brains, but their hearts too, as their unhappy children know. In the nineteenth century, and even in the eight- eenth, people tried hard to rout this enemy, but the twentieth century pioneers are using new wea- pons. They are taking temptation out of the way ; but they are also training boys and girls in self- control, so that if temptation appear, they shall not yield to it. It will help mightily in taking out those black blots to conquer this enemy. The old pioneers believed in out-door work — good, honest work — for their children. The new pioneers believe in it too — tremendously — but they have not "all out-doors" to offer as the Mayflower people had. But there are more ways than one of doing things — so these pioneers think. If there is not enough "garden" for each child having the right to use it, to work a tiny plot all summer, why then several children must in turn dig and plant. How eagerly the first one works ! How intense his interest when his "seeds come up" and grow and blossom ; and most of all when the baby vegetables appear — but how bitter the disappointment should 57 it so happen that before his "crop" is ripe, he must give up the plot to that httle chap who is most anx- iously awaiting his "turn !" But you notice this, that while the boy has had his garden, he has learned lots of interesting things, and not once has the "cop" on the beat had to speak to him ! It was not a twentieth century pioneer who first helped to make possible the lessening of the suffer- ings of animals — though it is perhaps a twentieth century idea to add to their enjoyment of life ; but there are multitudes of people still who seem not to care when helpless creatures suffer, notwithstand- ing that long ago there was One who taught "the art of being kind" to terrified little lambs lost on the mountain side, and to animals that had helplessly fallen in a ditch. I wonder if here may not be your opportunity to "pioneer" ! Do you remember the schools of the Puritan children? The log building, the rough seats, the little "horn-books," the stern and "awfully cross" teacher, with his large assortment of birch rods? The harsh words, the severe punishment, the tears? How times have changed ! Now, all over the country, even in the "black spots," are bright and sunny school rooms, with pic- tures and flowers and singing birds and tables and chairs just the right height for the little bodies who use them. The teachers are kind and gentle. There are plays and merry music, and merry-eyed chil- dren — blue eyes and black, brown eyes and gray, but all alike sparkling — not sober and sad like the eyes of the Puritan children. That lovely picture on the wall, of Christ blessing the little children tells us the reason for the change. Perhaps you have noticed in our story that as we have moved along from our great-great-great-great- grandfathers, the children have had more and more happiness in their lives, for people have been learn- 58 ing that the reHgion of Jesus Christ is not harsh and cruel, but loving and gentle and always kind, like Christ himself. This we know — the black spots will all come out some day, for the Golden Rule must win. Then in- deed, "from the Atlantic to the Pacific" our land will be bright and breezy and sunny, good to live in. In the meantime many things need to be done, and, as on the old frontier, men and women strong and courageous must go ahead to show how to do them. So, though we must say good-by to the chil- dren of the old frontier, for the old frontier is gone, yet there will still be new "frontiers," — new and hard obstacles to be overcome for the betterment of those who shall follow; and perhaps some day — who knows? — you will be found ' ' Conquering, holding, daring, venturing, As you go the unknown ways. Pioneers — O Pioneers ! ' ' 59 K ^S^B^^^ffi i The Leader's Supplement i Mh ;:^^^D 3^^^^^^S^^^^ ^^ ^^ ^ — ^=^^^^^^ ?^ Suggestions for the Development and Use of Pioneers CONTENTS Explanatory Notes 63 Questions on the Text 65 Suggested Programs 69 Constructive Work 7^ "Pioneer" Puzzles 7^ The "Pioneer" History Class (Advanced Work) .. 84 Search Work, Bible Studies, Helps .. 85 Recitations ^" EXPLANATORY NOTES "Pioneers" tells of home-making in the wilder- ness. The story therefore opens with our fore- fathers and foremothers of the Plymouth colony, rather than with the earlier colonists at Jamestown ; for the Pilgrims — fathers, mothers and children — came together over the sea to the new world. The men of the Jamestown settlements came alone. The story describes the advance into the wilder- ness and the estabhshment of homes. The bird's- eye view makes vivid each advancing stage of the frontier as it moves westward ; the retirement before it of savagery, and rapidly following it the coming up of the forces of industry, Christianity and educa- tion. The motto gives the essence and spirit of both map and story, and this spirit the title compresses into one ringing word. The leader therefore should study the pioneers, the men and women of the frontier, bringing out the strong qualities — courage, determination, quick- ness of action, readiness of resource, patience— which made them successful subduers of the wilder- ness ; the nobility of heart and deep affection which sent them forth to undergo for their children's sake such heavy hardships ; and the fine traits engendered in them by the obstacles they met and overcame. The leader should also show, in clear Hues, the children of the pioneers; their heritage; their en- vironment and their resolute will — strengthened by the always present necessity to overcome. 63 The leader will see and should bring out clearly that in many cases the children of the pioneers be- came themselves pioneers in a new frontier, whose hard conditions developed in their children qualities fitting them for advance in their turn, until at length the frontier reached the Western Ocean, and the spirit of the pioneers had become the Spirit of America. The leader has a splendid opportunity in the study of the frontier to help his pupils to realize their inheritance from the pioneers and the children of the pioneers. It is also his happy privilege to show how in each successive stage of advance his own and other religious denominations have aided in building up Christian character by means of church, educational, or other influence. In some instances Mission Boards have provided for the study of their special work by the insertion of a supplementary chapter in their editions of Pioneers. The leader should, in the absence of such chapter, apply to his Home Mission head- quarters for the needed material. In order to do the best work with "Pioneers," the leader should see that each member owns a copy of the book. 64 QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT I. 1. Why did the Pilgrims leave England? 2. Why were they called "Separatists"? 3. Why did they leave Holland? 4. Did they expect to make their home in such a cold country as they found? 5. What drove them out of their course? 6. Can you give any other instances of ships being driven out of their course. 7. Where did they establish their colony? 8. Name ten ships which had by this time crossed the Atlantic Ocean to America. 9. Tell the object of each one of the ten. 10. How many things did the Pilgrims learn from the Indians? II. 1. What was the object of the Puritans in coming to America ? 2. Why were they called Puritans? 3. Where did they establish towns? 4. Were the Plymouth colony and the Massachusetts colony ever united? 5. Did the Pilgrims and Puritans allow to others that liberty of conscience for which they themselves had come over sea? 6. Name three good things for which we owe a debt to the New England colonists. 7. What sources of wealth were open to the New Eng- land colonist? 8. What were important industries? 9. Name three reasons why the Indians became the enemies of the colonists. 10. What debt do we owe to the Hollanders of New Netherland ? III. 1. How far did the frontier extend at this time? 2. How had settlers reached the Yadkin river? 65 3- Can you trace a waterway from the Atlantic to the Ohio river? 4 Where was the easiest pass over the Appalachian Mountains ? 5. What ways of traveling were at this time possible to the pioneer? 6. What inducements were there to cross the mountains? 7. Who was the leader of the first party to settle in Kentucky ? 8. Describe a journey over the Wilderness Road. 9. Describe the Wilderness Road. Who made it? 10. Where was the first "American" convention of law- makers? IV. 1. What great inland waterways did the pioneers make use of in their advancement westward? 2. What advantages had water travel in the days of the down-stream men? e 3. What kinds of boats were used? 4. Mention two uses of the river raft. 5. Why was New Orleans a more desirable market than Norfolk or Baltimore for the produce of the settlers of the West? 6. Give reasons for the great hatred of the Indians to the white settler in the West. 7. Describe the means of defense against their attacks. 8. Who were the teachers of the children of the frontier? 9. Give an instance of a child of the frontier, born and brought up in a log-cabin, who became one of the greatest of Americans. 10. How much "schooling" did he have, and of what kind? V. 1. How did it come about that the Indians of the West were supplied with rifles? 2. What great tribes of Indians lived north of the Ohio river? What great tribes south of it? 3. A young Virginian, a frontiersman of Kentucky, de- vised a plan which would put an end to the attacks of the northern Indians. 66 4. What was his plan, and how did he carry it out? 5. How did it come about that there were western towns and trading stations far beyond the "Ameri- can" frontier? 6. What States do we owe to the courage and brains of George Rogers Clarke? 7. Mention some of the attractions of the Old North- west, known when the "Ordinance of 1787" was drawn up. 8. Tell of some of the reasons for the great and rapid advance of the five states of the Old Northwest. 9. Mention ten great institutions of learning in these five states. ID. What were the principal features of the "Ordinance of 1787"? VI. 1. What great addition to the territory of the United States led to the advancement of the frontier to the west side of the Mississippi River? 2. Who were the first "pioneers" on the Oregon trail? 3 What led to travel over the old Santa Fe trail? 4. What were these trails, and how had they been formed ? 5. Describe the successive means of transportation over the Oregon trail. 6. Describe a journey from St. Louis to Santa Fe in the days of the pack trains. 7. How did the trail to the West come to be used? 8. Name some pioneer missionaries who traveled over the Long Trail. 9. How many states are there now in the region covered by the Long Trail? 10. How did an emigrant train become a fort? vn. Where was the first railroad in the United States? How many miles did it cover? What was the plan for the building of an iron road across the continent? (Are iron roads built now?) 67 3- Describe the experiences of a party of surveyors mak- ing their way over the great plains. Try to think of all the obstacles to be overcome in laying the first cross-continent road. 4. How did railroads help in extending the frontier west- ward? 5. Why was it that the country developed and grew so rapidly after the railroads came? Give at least three reasons. 6. Schools were rapidly multiplied in the new country. Where did money for the buildings come from? 7. Many churches have been built also. How has the money been supplied? 8. Are the characteristics of a railroad frontier the same as those of an "axe and rifle" frontier? 9. What differences can you name? 10. Where is the "frontier" nowf VIII. 1; We find now that "whole worldes and great countreys" have been occupied by the pioneers and those who followed them; there is no longer a frontier. But there are still evils to be met and obstacles to be conquered by men and women brave enough and forceful enough to go ahead and show how to conquer them — in other words, to be pioneers. Rule a large sheet of paper in three parallel columns. 1. Make a list of unhappy conditions that need to be ^. made better. :|| 2. Make a list of the noble men and women, perhaps children — the children of pioneers are likely to be- come pioneers ! — who are overcoming these conditions. 3. In last column show how in each case the pioneer i» working in the spirft of the Bible by entering op- posite his work a verse or principle from the Bible- Look first for what you need in the words or actions of Jesus Christ Group those texts for a Bible read- ing for this concluding study of "pioneers" under the title, "The New Commandment." 68 SUBJECTS FOR BIBLE STUDIES. Texts to be read in response to roll call: I. Courage. II. Helpfulness. III. Guidance. IV. Enthusiasm. V. Patience and Endurance. VI. Diligence in Business. VII. The New Commandment. "That ye kave love, one to another." SUGGESTED PROGRAMS Chapter I. WITH AXE AND RIFLE. Tdrt First The First Pioneers, 1. Coining Over the Sea: (The story brought out by five children, named as in the story, and dressed as Dutch children.) 2. Making the New House: (As the leader tells the story, let the "sturdy pro- cession," with belongings as described, pass through the room.) 3. The Indiam Teachers: (Group of children dressed as Indians, giving the pioneer and his family instructions by pantomime. Other members should tell the meaning of the pan- tomime.) 4. Telegraphy by Mortar-Power: (Illustrate the Indian mill by object, if possible; let it be worked by Experience and the other children having "leather" (manila paper) garments drawn over their previous dress. (Should objects be impracticable, tell the story, illus- trating by pictures.) 5. Making the Fire: (Let the leader bring out the story, by questioning members.) 69 *Part Second* Liitte Puritans* 1. Indian Warfare: (Let leader tell the story.) 2. Homespun Children: (Collect pictures illustrating early Colonial life. Paste these in sections on a long horizontal strip of manila paper. Have a "personally conducted" tour of the pictures.) 3. A Puritan School: (Have an exact reproduction of a day in a Puritan School, except the punishments — "going through the motions" is all that need be done in this line.) 4. Our Debt to the New England Pioneers: (Bring out by questioning.) 5. Children of Manhattan: (Tell the story, illustrating with pictures of Knicker- bocker life.) 6. Map Game: (Have note-books or pads and pencils, allow five minutes to make list of illustrations of Chapter I. The best list to win.) 7. Pioneer Puzzle. Chapter II. SADDLE-BAGS T£Lrt First, The Great Kentucky Ttoneer* 1. The Land of the Blue Grass: (Ask some friend who is a good story-teller to visit your meeting arrayed in hunting costume, and to tell Daniel Boone's Tale of the Blue Grass.) 2. Setting Out for the Promised Land: (The small brothers and sisters of the members doubtless have among their possessions boxes of 70 wooden animals, and "toy villages'* ; with these and a sand map the "Wilderness Road" can be made a living reality to the boys and girls.) 3. The Forest Path: (Let three members quickly succeed one another in telling of the journey to Kentucky. Let members decide on the merits of the three descriptions. If desirable, place name of best story-teller on the blackboard.) 'Part Second* ^oonesborough* 1. Building a Stockade: (Have a model — if not of entire stockade at least of a blockhouse. It is worth while to go to some trouble to secure this, for the stockade fort is a dis- tinctively American bit of architecture, and has been of supreme importance in the development of the coun- try. With help of sand map and by vivid picturing make real this feature of frontier life.) 2. The Elm Tree Legislature: (Reading: Description of the ''hall" and of the "representatives." (Bring out by questioning knowledge of the laws passed.) 3. Map Game: (As in Chapter I.) 4. Pioneer Puzzle. Chapter IIL DOWN-STREAM. (See Cover.) Home Missiona.ries* "A Farewell Meeting": (This story, true in every particular, should be graphically told, and the dangers of the journey brought out.) 71 '1. An Indian Attack: (Call on the children to give quickly twelve state- ments of action from the five paragraphs devoted to the Indians.) 3. Children of the Frontier: (At previous meeting appoint five members to write one-minute sketches of character produced by the frontier conditions. Explain carefully what is meant by this.) 4. Life on the Frontier: (a) A Boy on the Frontier: (A five-minute story based on the parts of the con- cluding paragraphs of Chapter III.) (b) A Girl of the Frontier: (A five-minute story based on the facts of the con- cluding paragraphs of Chapter III.) 5. Map Game. 6. Pioneer Puzzle. Chapter IV. ON THE WARPATH. Winning the Old Northvirest: (Read first six paragraphs, sentence by sentence, in turn. You will probably have to practice this a little, but it is an excellent way to win close attention, and well worth a little trouble.) A Bird's-Eye View: (If the leader have sufficient energy and her mem- bers enough spirit, the sand map is the best way of getting the bird's-eye view; or, make a flat boat and a Canastota wagon of chairs and fill them with gay young pioneers. They must pay their fare, however, by telling correctly just what route and what vehicles they must take in order to reach their destination.) 72 "The Ordinance of 1787": 1. Advantages of the "Old Northwest." (Three members should name these and contrast with conditions in former frontiers.) 2. Education in the Old Northwest. (Show by diagram how the public land was divided for the benefit of the children of the state.) Map Game. Pioneer Puzzle. Chapter V. THE LONG TRAIL. Trappers and Fur Traders: (Illustrate the first six paragraphs of the chapter, if possible, with sand map and models of river craft and travois ; these models need be scarcely more than symbols, — mere suggestions to start the imagination; or by paper boats, or even by pictures clipped from various sources, or roughly drawn on paper. By some means make graphic the story of the river trail as you draw it forth from the members by rapid questioning.) The Oregon Trail: (Paragraphs 8 and 9 afford the leader a fine chance to tell the story of Marcus Whitman, or of Lewis and Clark.) The Old Santa Fe Trail: (This old trail in its results to the country warrants spending time and thought in its presentment.) (Make it vivid by use of the "Bird's-Eye View.") The Rush to California: (Bring out difference in character between gold- seekers and home-makers, and show that these pio- neers of commerce led to the building of cities, rather than to homes in the country.) 7Z 5- The Pony Express and the Overland Stage Route: (Make this description Hvely by reading quickly in turn sentence by sentence.) 6. "Going West"— The Pioneer Home-Maker Once More: (Write on blackboard names of states which were opened up and settled by the "prairie schooner.") (Let some members "personate" Camping Out on the Long Trail.) 7. Map Game. Chapter VI. DRIVING THE GOLDEN NAIL. 1. The Pioneer of America: (Assign to three members the story of the Union Pacific.) (Let each one tell the story. As before, let the class decide which of the three best brings in all the facts.) 2. A Magician's V/and: (By brisk questioning bring out the story of the track-laying on the old Santa Fe trail.) 3. Pioneering in North Dakota: (Read in quick succession, sentence by sentence.) 4. Map Game. 5. Pioneer Puzzle. Chapter VII. TWENTIETH CENTURY PIONEERS. I. Twentieth Century Conditions: (Bring out in animated discussion facts given in first twenty paragraphs of Chapter VIL) 74 2. Twentieth Century Pioneers: (a) The National Health Association: (Assign to members the story of the routing of yel- low fever in New Orleans and in Havana.) (Challenge your whole membership to come prepared with items showing how all countries are uniting in stamping out tuberculosis. In the'presenting of these items, keep to time limit— one minute, or thirty sec- onds, as can be allowed.) (b) Tenement House Reform and Playground As- sociation: (Show by photographs old tenements and new. Also the transformation in neighborhood and character brought about by playgrounds. The "Junior Waring Leagues" should also be reported on in this con- nection.) (c) The Child Labor League: (Have a mock Congress session in which bills on Child Labor are considered; or, appoint two com- mittees—one to bring forward the employer's side of the question, the other to champion the children— or, in some other way make clear the progress made by the League and the obstacles still to be over- come. Bring out strongly all the bad effects of this untimely hard labor.) (d) Regions of Country Made Available for Homes by Irrigation and Reclamation of Swamp Lands: (Appoint a bulletin board committee to bring out in strong headlines recent achievements and present plans in irrigation and the draining of swamps.) (e) Make much of that great triumph of the spirit of Christianity—the Juvenile Court. (Tell to what Judge Lindsay's pioneering has led in the estab- Hshment of such courts.) (f) The Temperance Movement: (Bring out expressions of opinion from all mem- bers. Show that "temperance" is self-restraint for noble ends.) 75 (g) The City Farm: (Assign to members the collection of pictures illus- trating the city farm, and window gardening; and of items describing distribution of plants from city parks, etc., etc.) (h) Efforts in Relieving and Diminishing the Suffer- ing of Animals and Adding to Their Enjoyment of Life: (Have an open parliament, for every boy and girl will be full of interest on this point and will be anxious to add some incident or observation.) (i) Kindergartens: (Illustrate by pictures; bring out strongly not only the present pleasure but the lasting benefits of the kindergarten in many ways, but especially in leading to efficiency and joy in work.) 3. Map Game. 4. Pioneer Puzzle. CONSTRUCTIVE WORK I. The "Bird's-EyeView" invites to much constructive work ; for instance : I. The Frontier, in Seven Phases (a) Wild animals of America. (b) Indian abodes; and the evolution of the American dwelling. (c) Development of travel, and in means of transporta- tion — on land and water. (d) Inventions. (e) Industrial Progress. (f ) Development of Agriculture. (g) Important Buildings. Materials needed: loose sheets of strong paper — to be tied together when finished or bound, or held in portfolio; collection of pictures corresponding with drawings on the map ; library paste. 76 Classify pictures and mount on sheets in above order ; in (a) enter locality, under pictures; (b) locality, and approximate dates; (c) dates and where possi- ble, name of inventor; (d) dates and locality where first used; (e) dates of discovery (as of coal, oil, etc.) ; (f) dates and where possible names; (g) date, use and locality. 2. America in the Making Materials as in I. Mount pictures to show the first frontier, and each succeeding one in the seven stages of development. Assign Atlantic frontier to one member or group of seven members; and the Trans- Alleghany and the succeeding frontier in the same manner, or in some other way. 3. The Frontier in American History Materials: (a) blank books; (b) loose sheets to be bound with attractive cover; [(a) will be easier; (b) offers greater opportunity for inventiveness and artis- tic sense.] Making use only of the "Bird's-Eye View" write a description of the first frontier, illustrating as pre- ferred. Bring into your story as suggested by the map, events, persons, inventions, character, as the result of fron- tier conditions strengthened by further Christian in- fluence brought in from outside. Make similar sketch of each succeeding frontier. II. Many suggestions for Constructive Work are offered in the series of programs. Other possibilities along this line will suggest themselves to the leader — and the more spontaneous, the pleasanter will be the carry- ing out. III. Pioneer Puzzles Worked Out Make attractive little booklets in which write short sketches of the subjects of the puzzles. 77 ' .. Illustrate in some unusual way. Include a small map giving trails followed by the Pioneer. IV. Progressive Maps Required: outline maps (see "Leader's Helps") blue gummed stars to indicate American settlements or forts; red, French; green, Spanish; gilt to show the Westward march of the frontier. Names of settlements and later towns and cities should be neatly written in. Also names of rivers and lakes, and a few very significant dates. V. Biographical Maps Required : outline maps, showing state boundaries ; colored crayons or pencils; colored stars. A set of these maps should be made by each mem- ber of the Pioneer History Class; to be bound in with his illustrated sketches. VI. Expansion Maps Required: outline maps showing rivers, not state lines; colored crayons and stars. Show successive acquisitions of territory. Note. In IV., V. and VI. a committee should be ap- pointed to make a large wall map to serve, if desired, as a model for the smaller outline maps. PIONEER PUZZLES No. 1 A SENSE OF RIGHT. There is much, though very quiet, excitement one day in a little house in a Puritan settlement. The mother is hurriedly gathering a small packet of parched corn and pounded venison; keeping a brave face the while, though inwardly greatly troubled and alarmed. Her children look on wonderingly. Presently their father comes in, takes the little package and his rifle, bids them all farewell, and goes quickly out into the dusk of the early winter even- 78 ing. It is bitterly cold; the sharp wind rises as the night comes on; the snow lies deep on the ground, and in the dark forest near and far sound the cries of panthers and the howling of wolves. The man wanders on and on; the cold is more and more intense; only the shelter of a hollow tree prevents his freezing to death. Soon after he left his house, officers sent by the governor of the colony, and bearing a search warrant, enter it, looking for him. These officers have instructions to arrest the man and forcibly put him on board a vessel about to sail for England. The man had warning of this intention, and for thai reason had made his escape into the forest. For long weeks he traveled, almost without shelter or food; at last he reached the house of a friendly Indian ; all Indians, in fact, were his friends, for he had always treated them with kindness and justice. The man was a minister of the Gospel; some mem- bers of his congregation followed him into the winderness ; with them he founded a colony in a beautiful place near -the sea; this settlement was to be a place of refuge for all who were oppressed in any way or who were persecuted on account of their religious opinions. The colony pros- pered and was the pioneer in allowing freedom of con- science and in promoting government by the people. When a national flag was made, one of its thirteen stripes representing the states of the Union stood for this col- ony. A prosperous city now covers the site of the first little settlement of this pioneer of religious freedom. Who was he? What was the name of his settlement and of this colony which afterward became a state? For what opin- ions was he banished, and from what colony? Pioneer Puzzle No. 2. A PIONEER IN SADDLE-BAGS. He starts from the College of New Jersey. An old gray horse which he drives before him is loaded with a 79 sack full of books. Tramp, tramp, through Maryland, through Virginia, he and the old horse travel on together. This is well enough in the comparatively open and level country, but what will they do when they reach the Alle- ghany Mountains? They cross them, climbing up and slip- ping and sliding down. They ford streams; the books often dipping in the water. While the sun is drying the books, the man and the old horse rest. They are not in doubt about the way, for a blazed trail leads on through the forest, until at last they reach the journey's end. Here the man helps to build a log church, and near it, a high school — also of logs — which later becomes a college — the first college west of the Alleghanics. He works in the fields, sometimes with rifle close at hand and a guard stationed; he helps clear the forest, and hunts elk and buffalo, as do the other pioneers. On Sundays he preaches — his rifle standing by him in the pulpit. The congregation are also armed, and in an Indian attack the preacher is the equal of any in courage and skill. He is a stern, hard. God-fearing man, and a powerful influence for good on the frontier of the South- west. Wanted: The name of the man, the present name of the college which he founded, and its location. Pioneer Puzzle No. 3. "FORMING A CIRCUIT" IN KENTUCKY. The young evangelist had now strange work. He must form his own appointments, organize his churches, and break his way through the wilderness as best he could. His record shows hov»r such work was done in those times. "In two days," he says, *T arrived at Manoah Lasley's, where I spent a few days, rested my horse, and recruited my wardrobe. I found myself at a very great loss to know how to form a circuit in that vast wilderness, and had no one to instruct me. I preached, on Sabbath day, in Father Lasley's house, and set off on Monday on my great and important enterprise. I concluded to travel five miles, as nearly as I could guess, then stop, recon- 80 noiter the neighborhood, and find some kind person who would let me preach in his log-cabin, and so on till I had performed the entire round." Soon after he had started on his route he says: "I had a long ride through a dreary country. Late in the evening I came to a little log-cabin, standing in the woods, with no stable or outbuildings of any kind. Seeing a woman in the door, I rode up and asked if I could stay all night; she seemed to think not. I paused a few mo- ments, thinking what to do. I was afraid to go any farther, lest I should havr to lie out all night. That I was afraid to do, as the weather was very cold, and there were al- ways a great mai.v ravenous wolves in the barrens. My life would be in QJinger, and there was nothing to en- courage me to stay at this place. I knew I would have to tie my hungry, tired horse to a tree, without any shelter or food. The woman was unwilling to let me stay. She was not entirely alone, but had several children, and one daughter partly grown, which inclined me to think I could stay with safety. I finally concluded to let her know who I was and what business I was on. I said to her, T am a Methodist preacher, sent by Bishop Asbury to try to form a circuit.' This information appeared to electrify her. Her countenance changed, and her eyes fairly sparkled. She stood some time without speaking, and then exclaimed, 'Has a Methodist preacher come at last? Yes, brother, you shall stay all night. Mr. Carson is not at home, but we will do the best we can for you with a glad heart.' I alighted from my horse and went into the house. The children clustered around me as if some near friend had come. After having gone through with the usual ceremonies, my next concern was to take care of my horse. Their oldest daughter, a pleasant girl, provided me with a halter, and directed me to a suitable tree where my horse could stand. I soon found I was to have a comfortable night's rest. They furnished me with plenty of good sound corn for my horse. The cabin, and what little furniture they had, was neat and clean. Supper was soon served up, just such as suited me, corn-bread, fried venison, and crop-vine tea." What was a "circuit"? Name three "circuit-riders" gi Pioneer Puzzle No. 4. A PIONEER CHURCH BELL. Twelve young men of New England joined together to establish Christian education in a certain Western state. The journey thither from New Haven occupied from four to six weeks. A certain settlement, now a famous city, was then a cluster of five or six houses. The northern half of the state was almost unbroken wilderness, and it was supposed it would always remain so, for there was little wood for houses or fencing and the soil was thought to be too rich to build roads on. Presently was heard the ringing of the first Protestant church bell in that state; soon there were Christian col- leges. The leader of the association of young men be- came known as the Father of Western Colleges. Tell the name of the state, of the association of young men, of its leader, and of the town where the church bell rang. Pioneer Puzzle No. 5. "A PIONEER HOSPITAL." The first hospital in Utah. The mining camps know it; railroads find it a blessing; the whole community makes use of it. There are two other hospitals in the state, established largely through the example of this pioneer. One day a will was made in one of the wards of this "pioneer" by a Mormon patient, leaving a large sum to his own church to found an institution similar to the one in which he had been cared for. When the Mormon hospital was ready for work, announcement was made that the best of care could be guaranteed to its patrons, because most of the nurses had been obtained from the fine training school of this "pioneer." Where is the pioneer hospital? What is its name? By what Church was it established? 82 Pioneer Puzzle No. 6. A "PIONEER" COLLEGE DORMITORY. It was made of slabs of rough hewn logs and was but one story high; there was, in fact and literally, only the ground floor, but each room in it had a window and a door. There must have been stalwart students— mentally and physically — in those compartments, for this building is said to have been in educational results the most important in the great state oi—What? To what college was it an adjunct? To whose efforts was the college due? What has been its history? Pioneer Puzzle No. 7. IN VACATION DAYS. First — A warm day in the summer vacation; the sun is hot; the city streets are dusty. Children are idling or quarreling in these streets; their efforts at amusement having been checked by the "cop." A pleasant-looking, en- ergetic young lady, who walks in a way that indicates that she finds life worth living, makes her way to some of the listless or fighting children. She talks a while in an animated way, and presently starts off in the direction of a cool-looking ivy-covered church. The children follow her, and they all troop into the church, by one door, just at the moment when a brisk young man is ushering in a group of boys through another door. There is singing, the beginning of what will be, be- fore vacation is over, beautiful and delightful music. There are Bible stories, to which the children listen with great delight. Someone who knows how tells the story of Joseph, or David perhaps, or Daniel. These tales are new to the children; they do not know, as they listen breathlessly, whether Joseph will ever get out of that well, whether the mighty giant will crush the life out of David, or how soon the lions may devour Daniel. So it is all very exciting. After an hour of stories and more singing, there is an hour of pleasant work with the hands, weaving, carving, 83 sewing — more singing, then the children go out again into the hot and dusty streets, but they have had a fine time and will surely come again to-morrow. Besides that pleasure, the brisk young man has in- vited the boys to play ball with him in the afternoon. Second— Many such groups in other churches of the same city. Third — Similar groups in other cities. Fourth — A national organization of such groups, which may become a pioneer to other nations. IVhat is this pioneer's name? In what city did the first group meet? To what organization is the plan due? A "PIONEER" HYMN. O GOD, beneath Thy guiding hand. Our exiled fathers crossed the sea; And when they trod the wintry strand. With prayer and psalm they worshipped Thee. Thou heard'st, well pleased, the song, the prayer: Thy blessing came; and still its power Shall onward, through all ages, bear The memory of that holy hour. Laws, freedom, truth, and faith in God Came with those exiles o'er the waves; And where their pilgrim feet have trod, The God they trusted guards their graves. TOPICS FOR THE "PIONEER" HISTORY CLASS. I. Discoverers. Columbus, Americus Vespucius, Cabot, Hudson, Haw- kins, Drake. II. Explorers. Balboa, Coronado, De Soto, Cartier, Champlain, Mar- quette, Joliet, La Salle, Boone, Lewis and Clark, Fremont. 84 III. Hunters and Indian Fighters. Boone, Robertson, Sevier, George Rogers Clarke, Wayne, Carson, Crockett. IV. Home-Makers. Bradford, Winthrop, Boone, Robertson, Sevier, Put- nam, the Railroad, Irrigation. V. Inventors. Franklin, Whitney, Fulton, De Witt Clinton, Howe, Morse, McCormick, Cyrus W. Field, Edison, Marconi. VI. Missionaries. Roger Williams, Doak, Cartwright, Baldwin, Whipple, Whitman, Kemper, Sheldon Jackson. VII. Tv^entieth Century Men. (Make a list and describe achievements, of men like these:) "God give us men! A time like this demands Clean minds, pure hearts, true faith, and ready hand. Men who possess opinions and a will ; Men whom desire for office does not kill; Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy; Men who have honor; men who will not lie; Tall men ; sun-crowned men ; men who live above the fog In public duty and in private thinking." SEARCH WORK What significance have the following dates? A. D. 1492 1607 1630 1777 1497 1609 1649 1781 1585 1620 1776 1783 1789 1807 1827 1862 1803 1809 1846 1865 180S 1825 1848 1869 85 RECITATIONS With Chapter; I, Part 2. "Why do I sleep amid the snows? Why do the pine boughs cover me? While dark the wind of winter blows Across the Narragansett's sea. sense of right ! O sense of right ! Whate'er my lot in life may be, Thou art to me God's inner light, And these tired feet must follow thee. Yes, still my feet must onward go, With nothing for my hope but prayer. Amid the winds, amid the snow, And trust the ravens of the air. But though alone, and grieved at heart, Bereft of human brotherhood, 1 trust the whole, and not the part. And know that Providence is good. Self-sacrifice is never lost. But bears the seed of its reward ; They who for others leave the most, For others gain the most from God. sense of right! I must obey. And hope and trust, whate'er betide ; 1 cannot always know my way. But I can always know my Guide. And so for me the winter blows Across the Narragansett's sea. And so I sleep beneath the snows, And so the pine boughs cover me." Who slept beneath the snows and whom did the pine boughs cover? 86 With Chapter VI. " I am one of the Pioneers Of North Dakota State. At Hill's request I came out West In search of real estate. "I filed along the Cut Bank Creek, Just forty miles from rail; And I started farming with a hoe Along the Minot trail. "The hardships that we did endure, From hunger and from cold, I haven't time to tell you. Or it never will be told. "To start from Minot with a load And face a northwest gale, It would break your heart, right on the start, Along the Minot trail. " The rivers they were far apart, And a well was something new. It often tickled us to find Some water in a slough. "The only fuel that we knew Was prairie hay and straw. From November until April We never had a thaw. " I often thought I'd rather be In some good warm jail, While twisting hay both night and day Along the Minot trail. ■'And when the snow would disappear The gophers would begin. They'd eat up everything we sowed. And then we'd sow again. 87 " If I could scheme some new device To kill the flicker-tail, I might stand a show with my old hoe Along the Minot trail. "The gophers we've banished, The shacks have all vanished. Except for an odd one That's used as a coop. " On each claim there's a mansion Where stockmen were ranchin' Just four years ago In the Mouse River Loop." — From "Greater America"; by permission of The Outing Publishing Company. THE FLOWER FACTORY. With Chapter VII. Lisabetta, Marianina, Fiametta, Teresina, They are winding stems of roses, one by one, one by one- Little children who have never learned to play: Teresina softly crying that her fingers ache to-day. Tiny Fiametta nodding when the twilight slips in, gray. High above the clattering street, ambulance and fire-gong beat, They sit, curling crimson petals, one by one, one by one. Lisabetta, Marianina, Fiametta, Teresina, They have never seen a rose-bush nor a dew-drop in the sun. They will dream of the vendetta, Teresina, Fiametta, Of a Black Hand and a Face behind a grating; They will dream of cotton petals, endless, crimson, suffo- cating. Never of a wild-rose thicket nor the singing of a cricket. But the ambulance will bellow through the wanness of their dreams. And their tired lids will flutter with the street's hysteric screams. Lisabetta, Marianina, Flametta, Teresina, They are winding stems of roses, one by one, one by one, Let them have a long, long play-time, Lord of Toil, when toil is done! Fill their baby hands with roses, joyous roses of the sun. — Copyright by the S. S. McClure Company. "The Mayflower." Edward Everett. "The Quaker of the Olden Time." Whittier. "Pentucket, 1708." Whittier. "The Landing of the Pilgrims." Hemans. See Words and Music in "Leaders in Conference." REFERENCE BOOKS FOR THE LEADER AND FOR THE "PIONEER" HISTORY CLASS McMaster — Primary History of the United States. Amer- ican Book Company. Earle — Home Life in Colonial Days. Houghton, Mifflin. Jenks — When America Was New. T. Y. Crowell. Baldwin — The Conquest of the Old Northwest. Amer- ican Book Company. — Makers of America. Silver, Burdett & Co. Carson — Christian America. The Brooklyn Eagle. FOR CONSTRUCTIVE WORK. Wall Outline Maps of United Stages, showing rivers and coast lines ; size 32 x 44 inches. Price, 25 cents. Post- age extra on one map, 10 cents; for each additional map, 2 cents. Maps for individual work ; size 10 x 15 inches. 1. Showing rivers and coast lines. 2. Showing state boundaries. Two cents each; $1.50 per hundred. Flag Seals for souvenirs, etc. 10 cents per box of 100. Stars, gummed, 10 cents per box of 100. Send to the Literature Department, Presbyterian Home Missions, 156 Fifth Avenue, New York City. LEADER'S NOTES LEADER'S NOTES LEADER'S NOTES LEADER'S NOTES LEADER'S NOTES LEADER'S NOTES LEADER'S NOTES LEADER'S NOTES LEADER'S NOTES LEADER'S NOTES LEADER'S NOTES V LEMy'09 jl