\ 
 
 HISTORICAI- SU^^i'LEMENTARY READING 
 
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 t: 
 
 TH K 
 
 Story of our Country 
 
 By MRS. LEWIS F. MONROE 
 
 i 
 
 ^73 
 
 BOSTON 
 LEE AND SHEPARD Publishers 
 
 10 Milk Street next "Old South Meeting House " 
 
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 1 
 
Class £ J7 i 
 
 Book 
 
 Copyright I^^ 
 
 COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 
 
Pooahontas and her Attendants bringing Corn to tlae Settlement. 
 (See rings 71.) 
 
THE 
 
 Story of Our Country. 
 
 MRS. LEWIS B. MONROE„ 
 
 BOSTON 
 LEE AND SHEPARD Publishers 
 
" The greatest glo7'y of a free-born people 
 Is to transmit that freedom to their children" 
 
 Copyright, 1876, by Lockwood, Brooks & Co. 
 Copyright, 1904, by Mrs. Lewis B. Monroe. 
 
 The Storv of Our Country. 
 
 I JC! !^ 1S04 
 
 CLASS «.XXo. Na 
 COPY BT 
 
 Notfaooti ?3wBss: 
 
 Berwick & Smith Co., Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 
 
HOW THIS STORY CAME TO BE WRITTEN. 
 
 Mother and her two children, Will and Lizzie, 
 are sitting before a bright fire in a pleasant parlor. 
 Will is twelve years old and Lizzie ten. They are 
 earnest, wide-awake children, full of fun and frolic; 
 but through all their good times, they are constantly 
 learning much that will be useful to them in after 
 life. Mother never refuses to answer their ques- 
 
6 HOW THIS STORY CAME TO BE WRITTEN. 
 
 tions ; Imt with patient love seeks to impart to them 
 the desire of finding beaut}^ and goodness every- 
 where. 
 
 What merry times, then, do Will and Lizzie have, 
 when, supper being over, they sit down before the 
 crackling logs in the open fireplace, to talk over the 
 pleasures of the day, or hear mother tell stories. 
 
 Ah! what stories has she told them! — of birds, 
 and beasts, and flowers ! Tlie wonders of fairy 
 land, too, she has often unfolded to the eager little 
 listeners. After every story, whether of child-life, 
 bird-life, or fairy-land, she is greeted by the ques- 
 tion, *' Is it true, mother?" 
 
 The delight with which Will and Lizzie always 
 hear the answer, " Yes, it is all true 1 " has led 
 mother to tell them 
 
 The Story of Our Country. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 COLUMBUS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. Four Hundred Years Ago, 9 
 
 II. A Brave Voyage, and What Came of it, .... 20 
 
 III. What afterwards happened to Columbus, ... 29 
 
 JOHN AND SEBASTIAN CABOT. 
 
 IV. More Discoveries, 37 
 
 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 V. Trying to make Homes in America, 46 
 
 JOHN SMITH. 
 VI. A Colony with a Leader, 55 
 
 VII. A Noble Indian Girl, 68 
 
 THE PILGRIMS. 
 
 VIII. The Home of Freedom, 79 
 
 ROGER WILLIAMS. 
 IX. Alone in the Woods, 97 
 
 X. More Colonies, 107 
 
 WILLIAM PENN. 
 XI. A Friend to the Indians, 114 
 
 XII. The Pequod War, 124 
 
 7 
 
8 CONTENTS. 
 
 KING PHILIP. 
 
 CIIArxER VAGE 
 
 XIII. King Philip's Wak, lL>ri 
 
 XIV. King Georgk's War, 142 
 
 BENJAMIN FRANKLIR. 
 XV. "IIow A Poor Boy became a Famois Man, . . 147 
 XVI. What happened to an English General, . . . 157 
 
 THE ACADIANS. 
 XVII. Driven into Exile 167 
 
 XVIII. The French and Indian War. - . 172 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 
 XTX. Washington's Boyhood, 179 
 
 XX. Anger at the Mother Country 185 
 
 XXI. Stirring Tuies in Boston, 193 
 
 XXII. The Quarrel Increases, 200 
 
 KXllI. The Revolutionary War, 210 
 
 XXIV. The War goes on, 224 
 
 XXV. The American Cause more Hopeful, ..... 232 
 
 MARION. 
 XXVI. The War at the South, 241 
 
 BENEDICT ARNOLD. 
 XXVII. A Traitor, 252 
 
 XXVIII. Victory at Last, 259 
 
 XXIX. The Ship of State, 269 
 
The Story of our Country. 
 I. 
 
 FOUR HUNDRED YEARS AGO. 
 
 Mother. — If we could be up in a balloon high 
 enoiig'h to see the world beneath us, how do you 
 think it would look? 
 
 Will. — Like a great ball, of course. 
 
 Mother. — Now, if we could imagine ourselves to 
 be living four hundred years ago, and up in a bal- 
 loon, we should see very many more people on one 
 side of the globe than on the other. We should 
 find crowds of people in Europe, Asia, and the 
 northern part of Africa; but we should find ver} 
 few people on tlie other side of the globe ; that is 
 in North and South America. 
 
 Lizzie. — What should we see in America ? 
 
 Mother. — We should see great forests and vast 
 plains, or prairies. These prairies were covered 
 with waving grass and beautiful flowers. Herds 
 
 9 
 
10 THE STOKY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 of buffaloes were sporting here. We should see, 
 too, beautiful lakes and rivers, and troops of deer 
 feeding along their banks. In the dark forests we 
 should see foxes, wolves, and panthers. 
 
 Lizzie, — Were there any bears ? 
 
 Mother. — Yes, there were bears, and other wild 
 animals ; for there were so few people in America 
 then that the animals were not driven from their 
 wild haunts. 
 
 But let us see ! If we had lived four hundred 
 years ago, we should have known nothing about 
 balloons ; we should not have known even that the 
 world was round. 
 
 Will. — Why, mother, you do not mean to say 
 that people were so stupid as not to know that the 
 world is round ! 
 
 Mother. — I do, indeed. For hundreds of years 
 people had wondered what shape the earth could 
 be. It was generally thought to be flat. In the fif- 
 teenth century there were many in every country 
 of Europe who thought that the world might he 
 round, and, if it were round, that there might be 
 countries on the other side which they had never 
 heard about. 
 
 Will. — I don't see why captains and sailors had 
 never come to other lands when they were cruising 
 about. 
 
FOUR HUNDRED YEARS AGO. 11 
 
 Mother. — Ships were not built so strong in 
 those days as they are now. Navigators — that is, 
 people who follow the sea — had never dared to 
 sail very far from the land. So they discovered 
 only a few islands in their voyages. 
 
 England was a great power even then, and owned 
 many ships. These ships sometimes went to Hol- 
 land, or, still farther, to Russia, through the Baltic 
 Sea. They oftener Avent south, along the western 
 
 Ships of the Fifteenth Century. 
 
 coast of France, and through the Straits of Gibral- 
 tar, into the Mediterranean Sea. A few ships had 
 ventured still farther south, cruising along the 
 western coast of Africa. But they had never gone 
 far enough to learn the shape of Africa. Still less 
 did they imagine that they might go around its 
 
12 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 southern point, and thus find a passage by water to 
 the great countries of Asia. 
 
 Will. — I tell you what ! If I had been a navi- 
 gator in those days, guess I would not have been 
 afraid to cruise along till I found out the way to 
 Asia ! 
 
 Mother. — And if you had been such a brave 
 navigator. Will, as to have dared to double the 
 Cape of Good Hope, America might not have been 
 discovered to-day. 
 
 Lizzie. — Why, mother ! I don't see how that 
 could be. 
 
 Mother. — You know I told you just now that 
 most of the ships went into the Mediterranean, 
 The reason was, that all the countries of Europe 
 carried on trade with India, the richest country of 
 Asia. But it took a long time to get anything to 
 or from that distant place ; for, after the ships had 
 reached the eastern ports of the Mediterranean, 
 then all the merchandise had to be carried to the 
 Red Sea on the backs of camels. There the goods 
 were again shipped for India. This Avas a very ex- 
 pensive way of trading; and in every country the 
 merchants were saying, " Is there no easier way to 
 get to India ? " 
 
 About this time there was a little child born in 
 Genoa, Italy. His grandfather and many of his 
 
FOUR HUNDRED YEARS AGO. 13 
 
 Loaded Camel. 
 
 uncles had followed the sea. As this little boy, 
 whose name was Christopher, grew older — 
 
 Will. — Do you mean Christopher Columbus ? 
 
 Mother. — Yes, I am talking about Christopher 
 Columbus when lie was a little boy ; and I began 
 to say that when his uncles were home from sea, he 
 heard them tell wonderful stories about the great 
 ocean. He used to wish he were a man, so that he 
 could go to sea, too. And, sure enough, when he 
 became older, he did go, and made many voyages 
 between the different ports in the Mediterranean 
 Sea. Wherever he went, he always tried to learn 
 something new. He was never ashamed to ask 
 questions of those who were older than himself, or 
 of those who had seen more of the world. And as 
 he was so often at the large cities where the mer- 
 chants were receiving goods from the East, he, of 
 course, heard a great deal about a shorter passage 
 to India. 
 
14 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 At one time it so happened that the ship in which 
 Columbus was sailing took fire. Columbus leaped 
 overboard, and by the aid of an oar, which was 
 floating in the water, he swam to the shore, a dis- 
 tance of six miles. 
 
 Will. — Six miles ! I say, not many men could 
 swim six miles. Was he all alone then on an 
 island, like Robinson Crusoe ? 
 
 Mother. — No; he found himself in Portugal. He 
 had a brother at Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. 
 This brother, named Bartolomeo, earned his living 
 by making maps and charts. Columbus went to 
 see him. 
 
 After this, Columbus married the daughter of a 
 sea captain. His wife's father owned a great many 
 charts and nautical instruments, such as Columbus 
 had never seen ; so that he had a chance to learn 
 still more about the sea. 
 
 Lizzie. — But, mother, what did Columbus do for 
 a living in Portugal ? 
 
 Mother. — He made maps and charts. Then, 
 too, he often went on voyages to Africa. When 
 far out at sea, he would lie on the deck watching 
 the stars, and thinking of Him who made them. 
 He wondered if the stars were worlds. Then he 
 thought of our own world, and wondered if it were 
 round or flat. " If it is round," said he, " then we 
 
FOUR HUNDRED YEARS AGO. 15 
 
 might reach India by sailing west. Everybody 
 says that all Europe needs a shorter passage to 
 India. When men needed to venture on the seas 
 farther than they had before dared to do, did not 
 God give them the compass, to tell them which 
 way they were going? And will He not show 
 men the shorter route to India, if the time has 
 come when they need it? If the earth were 
 round, we could sail about it, and carry what is good 
 and useful in one country to all other countries. 
 Thus mankind would be made wiser, better, and 
 happier, if they could be sure that the world is 
 round. I know it must be round." 
 
 After tliis, Columbus never doubted that if he 
 were to sail west from Europe, he should come to 
 India. The thought haunted him so, day and night, 
 that he determined to see if he could not get his 
 government to fit out some vessels for a voyage 
 of discovery. " If there are new lands discovered," 
 he said, " the flag of my native country shall be the 
 first to float over them." So he went to Genoa and 
 asked for aid. It was refused him, and he was 
 laughed at for his folly. 
 
 Then he got permission to go before the King 
 of Portugal. He showed the king his charts, and 
 explained to him why he believed the earth was 
 round. 
 
16 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Will. — I hope this king was sensible, and let 
 him have some ships. 
 
 Mother. — No ; on the contrary, the king' said, 
 "The man is mad! Hasn't everybody always be- 
 lieved that the world was flat? And does this poor 
 fellow know more than everybody else ? " 
 
 Will. — "Poor fellow!" Humph! He knew 
 more than the king! 
 
 Mother. — Columbus was somewhat discouraged 
 by the king's refusal, and for a time he felt that per- 
 haps God had not chosen him to show people that 
 the earth was round. His good wife died, too ; and 
 he was left all alone in the world Avith his little boy, 
 Diego, whom he took with him wherever he went. 
 
 '' I will leave Portugal, and go to Spain," he said. 
 So he started on foot, with little Diego by his side 
 to travel to that country. He had spent what little 
 money he had while trying to get a hearing with 
 the King of Portugal. He was hungry, tired, and 
 foot-sore, and was anxious about little Diego. 
 
 Lizzie. — I know good Columbus cared more for 
 his little boy than he did for himself 
 
 Mother. — I think so, too; and he must have 
 said to himself, " Will God let my little boy die 
 with hunger ? " But at last he came to a monas- 
 tery, where some good men lived who took pleasure 
 in caring for tired travellers. 
 
FOUR HUNDRED YEARS AGO. 
 
 11 
 
 One of these men, Juan Perez, took pity on Co- 
 lumbus. He said, " This noble-looking man is no 
 common beggar ! " He not only gave him and his 
 little boy food, clothing, and shelter, but he became 
 
 the best friend Co- 
 
 lumbus had ever 
 known. Of course 
 Columbus told him 
 all his history, and 
 
 Columbus with. Diego begging at the Monastery. 
 
 how sure he was that he could find India, if he 
 could only have vessels enough. He also told 
 him how the King of Portugal had refused to aid 
 him. 
 
 Juan Perez said, ''How do you know but that 
 our good King Ferdinand and his noble Queen 
 Isabella may be willing to listen to you?" 
 2 
 
18 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 " But," said Columbus, " I have no one to lielp me 
 get a hearing at their court." 
 
 Juan Perez talked over the grand scheme of Co- 
 lumbus with the wisest navigators he knew. And 
 when he found they believed that Columbus was 
 right, he made up his mind that he would see what 
 he himself could do to introduce Columbus to the 
 king and queen. Now, it so happened that Juan 
 Perez was a minister, or priest ; and at one time 
 the queen had sent for him, to talk with her about 
 heavenly things. So he was not a stranger to the 
 queen. He wrote a letter to Isabella, begging her 
 to let him come and see her. 
 
 She consented ; and Perez told her all about Co- 
 lumbus, — how noble and good he was, — and then 
 asked her if his friend might come and tell his story 
 for himself. 
 
 Lizzie. — 0, I hope Isabella let him come ! 
 
 Mother, — Yes ; Columbus was allowed to go 
 before the king and queen, and tell what great 
 things he hoped to do for the world. 
 
 King Ferdinand was not very friendly to Colum- 
 bus ; and said there was no money to spare for such 
 an enterprise. But Isabella believed in him, and 
 said, " He shall have the money, even if I have to 
 part with all my jewels ! " 
 
 Will. — Good for Isabella ! She thought more 
 
FOUR HUNDRED YEARS AGO. 19 
 
 of helping Columbus than she did of making a great 
 show with her jewels. 
 
 Mother. — Isabella was worthy of being a queen, 
 for she was always doing good. But she little 
 thought how much good she was doing, when she. 
 gave orders to have vessels fitted out for Columbus. 
 
 Will. — I guess that made Columbus a happy 
 man ! 
 
 Mother. — Yes, indeed. For ten years he had 
 been trying to get help from the different govern- 
 ments. 
 
 Lizzie. — Ten years ! Poor man ! I wonder he 
 did not get discouraged. 
 
 Mother. — Great men are not easily discouraged. 
 
20 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 II. 
 
 A BRAVE VOYAGE, AND WHAT CAME OF IT. 
 
 Will. — I want to know whether little Diego 
 went with his father on his great voyage. 
 
 Mother. — No ; Diego was a little boy no longer. 
 He was now twenty years old. The queen felt so 
 kindly towards Columbus that she asked him if he 
 would allow Diego to become a page to her little 
 boy. Of course Columbus was very grateful to 
 Isabella for this; for it was a great honor to 
 Diego to have the king and queen trust the little 
 prince with him. 
 
 Will. — If I bad been Diego, I should much 
 rather have gone to sea with my father, than to 
 have staid in the king's palace all the time. 
 
 Mother. — Diego may have felt so, too; but 
 probably Columbus thought it would be for his 
 son's advantage to have such good friends as the 
 King and Queen of Spain might be to him. 
 
 So he bade good-by to Diego, and went to Palos, 
 on the western coast of Spain, to oversee the fitting 
 up of his ships. 
 
A BRAVE VOYAGE, AND WHAT CAME OF IT. 21 
 
 Will. — How many did he have ? 
 
 Mother. — Three; one large and two smaller ones. 
 It took three months to get them ready to sail ; for 
 they stowed away provisions enough to last a whole 
 year ; and it was difficult to find sailors who were 
 willing to start off on such an uncertain enterprise. 
 " If we go, we shall never come back," they said. 
 
 But finally the crews were found, and the ships 
 were ready to start. 
 
 Will. — • Of course Columbus went in the largest 
 ship — didn't he ? 
 
 Mother. ■ — Yes ; he took command of the Santa 
 Maria. And one Friday morning in August, 1492. 
 Columbus and liis officers, having first asked God 
 to bless and guide them, set sail, directing their 
 course west from Spain. 
 
 When night came on, and they lost sight of land, 
 they began to realize what dangers were before 
 them. 
 
 " What fools Ave were to come ! " said the sailors. 
 '' Here we are, sailing off into the darknesj', we 
 know not where. Even Columbus himself does not 
 know ! " 
 
 But the next morning, when the bright sun rose 
 over the waters, they felt less afraid, and said, "Per- 
 haps we may find a wonderful country." 
 
 After they had been sailing about five weeks, 
 
22 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 they saw a large tree or mast floating on the water. 
 This gave them all new hope, and they said, " We 
 shall surely see land soon." 
 
 But in two weeks after this, a fearful storm came 
 on, which terrified the crews so much that they 
 said, " God is not pleased with us. Columbus must 
 turn back.'' But the storm cleared away, and soon 
 after this, all on board the ships were thrilled with 
 joy as they heard the cry, " Land ! land ! '" 
 
 Lizzie. — 0, mother ! 
 
 Will. — Guess the sailors did not think they had 
 been fools then ! 
 
 Mother. — Columbus was so overjoyed that he 
 caused the anthem, " Glory to God in the highest ! " 
 to be sung in all the ships. 
 
 But, alas ! as they drew near the supposed land, 
 it proved to be only a thick cloud in the horizon. 
 
 After this, the sailors were more discouraged 
 than ever. " Shall a hundred and twenty of us 
 throw away our lives for the sake of one man who 
 has lost his senses?" said they. ''No! let us seize 
 Columbus, and throw him overboard ! " 
 
 But Columbus was not afraid of the men. He 
 went amongst them, and said, " My brave men, I 
 know we are coming to a glorious land — a land 
 where we may find more beautiful treasures than 
 we ever dreamed of. Shall we all turn cowards? 
 
A BRAVE VOYAGE, AND WHAT CAME OF IT. 23 
 
 What immortal honor will that sailor have who 
 first spies land ! And if honor be not enough for 
 him, then shall he have a purse of gold." 
 
 This gave the sailors 
 fresh hope and courage. 
 And at two o'clock in 
 the morning, October 
 12, seventy-one days 
 after they had left 
 Spain, they were again 
 all startled with joy. 
 
 A gun was fired from one of the ships, and they 
 
 heard the cry, " Land ! land ! land ! " 
 
 As soon as the light enabled them to see, they 
 
 found themselves near a beautiful island. The air 
 
 Arrival of Columbus's Fleet. 
 
24 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 was filled with a delicious fragrance from unknown 
 flowers. They saw trees laden with fruit, such as 
 they had never seen before. Strange, bright birds 
 were flitting in and out of the shady groves. 
 
 Columbus and all his men were enchanted. " One 
 would like to live in a place like this forever," said 
 they. 
 
 Soon they saw crowds of half-clothed natives run- 
 ning along the shore. 
 
 '' Who are those people ? " asked the sailors of 
 Columbus. 
 
 *' They must be Indians," said he. For Columbus 
 thought they had reached India. 
 
 Will, ■ — Well, there ! now I know why the red 
 men of America are called Indians. 
 
 Mother. — Yes, Columbus thought he had at last 
 got an answer to the merchants' question, " How 
 shall we find an easier passage to India ? " 
 
 Lizzie. — But he was not quite right — was he, 
 mother ? 
 
 Mother. — No ; and probably he himself knew 
 that he had not reached the trading part of India. 
 He evidently thought he had found a portion of 
 India that was unclaimed by any sovereign. For, 
 with his heart full of gratitude to Isabella, Avithout 
 whose favor he never could have made the great 
 discovery, he was anxious to claim the new-found 
 
A BRAVE VOYAGE, AND WHAT CAME OF IT. 25 
 
 land for her. So, as soon as the morning sun gikled 
 the eastern waters, boats were lowered from the 
 ships. Then, midst the sound of martial music 
 and the firing of guns, the three commanders were 
 rowed to land. 
 
 Columbus first stepped on the beach. Filled 
 with awe and gratitude to God, he stooped and 
 kissed the ground, wetting it with his tears. 
 Then, rising and drawing his sword, he unfurled 
 the royal banner, and took possession of the new- 
 found land in the name of the crown of Spain. 
 
 Lizzie. — 0, how thankful Ferdinand and Isabella 
 must have been to Columbus ! 
 
 Will. — 1 want to know what the natives did. 
 Were they afraid? 
 
 Mother. — No ; when they saw the ships, they 
 supposed them to be great birds coming to them 
 from Heaven. 
 
 Lizzie. — They must have thought the sails were 
 the birds' wings. 
 
 Mother. — And when they saw Columbus and 
 his officers step on shore, they thought they were 
 gods. They bowed themselves to the ground. 
 They kissed Columbus's feet. Then they brought 
 the best of everything they had to the new 
 comers. 
 
 Will. — What did they bring? 
 
26 THE STOEY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Mother. — They brought beautiful flowers ; and 
 gave them bananas and honeycomb to eat. They 
 spread fresh palm-leaves on the ground for them 
 to lie down on. They made their little children 
 come and kiss them. They showed them beautiful 
 springs of water. Then they invited them by signs 
 to their little houses, which were huts or wigwams. 
 In short, these poor, simple natives did everything 
 in their power to show that they were glad to see 
 the strangers. 
 
 Lizzie. — I hope Columbus treated them well. 
 
 Mother. — Yes. One day a sailor was unkind to 
 one of the natives. Columbus was very angry. He 
 invited the Indian on board his ship, and gave him 
 beads and other trinkets. Then he let him go back 
 to the shore. The sailors watched him through a 
 spy-glass, to see what he would do. 
 
 Will. — What did he do ? 
 
 Mother. — He put on all the finery which Colum- 
 bus had given him. Then he strutted up and down 
 the shore, to show himself off to the other natives. 
 
 Now look on your maps, and find where Columbus 
 first landed. He called the island San Salvador. 
 
 Will. — Why, that is in the mouth of the Gulf 
 of Mexico — one of the West Indies — isn't it? 
 
 Mother. — Yes ; and can you not tell now, Lizzie, 
 why those islands are called the West Indies ? 
 
A BRAVE VOYAGE, AND WHAT CAME OP IT. 27 
 
 Lizzie. — 0, I see I Columbus thought at first he 
 had found India. 
 
 The Voyage of Columbus. 
 
 Mother. — Yes ; and India is sometimes called 
 the East Indies. 
 
 Lizzie. — And the country Columbus found by 
 sailing west from Spain they called the West 
 Indies. 
 
28 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Mother. — You are quite right. Look once more 
 on the map, and find the other islands discovered 
 by Columbus. They are Conception, Ferdinand and 
 Isabella, Exuma, Cuba, and Hayti. He must have 
 liked the looks of Hayti, for when he reached here, 
 he took to pieces his largest ship, the Santa Maria, 
 and built a fort, calling the island Hispaniola, or 
 Little Spain. 
 
 He cruised about the islands for three months, 
 and then went back to Spain, taking some of the 
 natives with him. 
 
WHAT AFTERWARDS HAPPENED TO COLUMBUS. 29 
 
 III. 
 
 WHAT AFTERWARDS HAPPENED TO COLUMBUS. 
 
 Will. — We want to hear more about Columbus, 
 and how he was treated when he got back to Spain. 
 
 Mother. — I wish I could tell you as dehghtfnl 
 things about liis life as you heard in our last talk; 
 but I must tell you the truth, though it is not always 
 pleasant to hear. 
 
 When Columbus first reached Spain, ten weeks 
 after he left Hayti, or Hispaniola, he was received 
 with a great deal of attention. The king and queen 
 and all the court people heard him tell his adven- 
 tures with as much interest as you listen to me. 
 The king appointed him governor of Hispaniola, 
 and placed him in command of seventeen ships 
 and fifteen hundred men, to go back and make 
 other discoveries. His brother Bartolomeo went 
 with him. 
 
 Lizzie. — I am sure, mother, he had good luck. 
 
 Mother. — So he had, up to this point ; but after 
 this everything seemed to go against him. It 
 was not so easy for Columbus to manage fifteen 
 
30 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 hundred men as one hundred and twenty. Many 
 of the men were envious because they had never 
 made great discoveries. Then, too, they thought 
 they should find gold and precious stones lying 
 about on the ground as common as pebbles ; be- 
 cause they saw that the natives whom Columbus 
 brought back wore rich jewels on their necks. 
 
 Will. — They were not very bright to think so, 
 any how. They might have known that the Indi- 
 ans wouldn't care anything about gold, if it was as 
 plenty as dust. They would n't think any more of 
 it than they would of common stones in the street. 
 
 Mother. — You are perfectly right, Will. And 
 you will always find that men value things just in 
 proportion as the things are hard to get. But 
 these foolish men did not think of this. They 
 wanted to become rich without working ; and be- 
 cause they found they could not do this, they hated 
 Columbus, and said he was a traitor and a liar. 
 They even tried to take his life. 
 
 Will. — Then they were meaner than the sailors 
 who wanted to throw him overboard ; for they were 
 afraid for their own lives. But these men were 
 already in the beautiful new country. 
 
 Mother. — Yes, Will ; and when Columbus, after 
 trying for three years, found it was impossible to 
 satisfy them in any way, he made up his mind 
 
WHAT AFTERWARDS HAPPENED TO COLUMBUS. 31 
 
 to go back to Spain, first having discovered the 
 Windward Islands, Jamaica, and Porto Rico. He 
 also founded a colony in Hispaniola, and left it in 
 command of his brother Bartolomeo. 
 
 Lizzie. — Wasn't the king glad to see Columbus 
 this time ? 
 
 Mother. — Not so glad as before. The men who 
 returned with him said untrue things about him. 
 And then, too, the king expected he would have 
 made greater discoveries on this voyage than on 
 the first. 
 
 Will. — Perhaps Ferdinand thought that as he 
 let him have ten times as many men, he ought to 
 have discovered just so many more new countries 
 to pay for it. 
 
 Mother. — Perhaps so. The king does not seem 
 to have lost confidence in him entirely, though his 
 coolness hurt Columbus very much. Isabella still 
 believed in him ; and it was through her influence 
 that money was raised for another voyage. 
 
 He remained in Spain about two years, and then 
 returned across the Atlantic, this time with six ships. 
 Instead of going directly back to the West Indies, 
 he bore farther south, till he reached the mouth of 
 the Orinoco. 
 
 Lizzie. — I remember that river. It is in South 
 America. 
 
32 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRy. 
 
 Mother. — Yes. And when Columbus saw what 
 a wonderful river it was, and what beautiful flowers 
 and magnificent trees grew along its banks, and 
 what bright-plumed birds were in the trees, he 
 said, '^ This must be the river that flows through 
 the Garden of Eden ! " 
 
 His health was then very poor; so he went to 
 Hispaniola to rest. But the poor man had any- 
 thing but rest there. He found great confusion 
 on the island. Every one wanted to please him- 
 self, and would not mind Bartolomeo, who was lieu- 
 tenant governor in Columbus's absence. 
 
 King Ferdinand heard of the troubles in Hispan- 
 iola, and sent over an officer to inquire into affairs 
 there. But the officer, before making any inquiries, 
 arrested Columbus and his brother, and put them 
 in chains. 
 
 Lizzie. — 0, how cruel ! 
 
 Mother. — Columbus was thrown into prison, 
 where he was confined many weary months. 
 
 One day he asked of an officer who came to lead 
 him from his cell, " Are you taking me to death ? " 
 
 " Your excellency is to be conducted to Spain," 
 was the answer. 
 
 Will. — Columbus taken to Spain ! 
 
 Mother. — Yes, and in chains. The officers on 
 board the ship were ashamed of the insults heaped 
 
WHAT AFTERWARDS HAPPENED TO COLUMBUS. 33 
 
 upon him. They felt their own littleness in the 
 presence of this brave discoverer — this greatest 
 man of the age. They offered to free him from his 
 chains. But Columbus said, sadly and proudly, — 
 
 " No ! I will wear them as a memento of the 
 gratitude of princes ! "' 
 
 Lizzie. — But, mother, what was the king think- 
 ing of? Columbus on this voyage had discovered 
 the continent of South America. 
 
 Mother. — The king seems to have thought little 
 of this. It is true that when Columbus arrived in 
 Spain, the king gave orders to have him immedi- 
 ately released. But Ferdinand was dissatisfied, and 
 appointed another man governor of Hispaniola. 
 
 Lizzie. — Didn't Isabella do something for Colum- 
 bus then ? 
 
 Mother. — The noble queen never lost faith in 
 him ; and when she first saw him after his arrest, 
 she felt so much pity for him that she wept. 
 
 Will. — I believe in Isabella ! 
 
 Mother. — Her generous sympathy did much 
 towards reviving the courage of Columbus. She 
 again fitted him out for a voyage at her own ex- 
 pense, taking money which she liad intended to 
 use at the wedding of her daughter Isabella. And 
 Columbus started off on his third voyage. 
 
 This time he was in command of only four ships 
 3 
 
34 THE STOEY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 and one hundred and fifty men. His object was to 
 search for a passage through tlie Gulf of Mexico. 
 He stopped at Hispaniola, but was refused admis- 
 sion to the island. After cruising about for two 
 years on the south coast of the gulf, he was driven 
 by famine and other hardships back to Spain. 
 
 Isabella, his best friend, was dead. He was now 
 seventy years old, poor, and out of health. He had 
 no home to go to, and had scarcely money enough 
 to pay for a lodging. 
 
 '' The king knows it all, but does not care," he 
 said to himself. 
 
 But through all his misfortunes, Columbus never 
 lost his trust in God. 
 
 '*' Into thy hands, Lord, do I commit my spirit," 
 were his last words. 
 
 Thus this greatest of discoverers died in poverty, 
 and almost alone. For a long time scarcely any one 
 knew where his body was laid. But after seven 
 years the king felt ashamed not to have noticed 
 his death. So he caused a maible tomb to be 
 erected over his remains, with tlie words inscribed 
 upon it, " To Castile and Leon Columbus gave a 
 New World." 
 
 Lizzie. — Doesn't Spain own very much land in 
 America now ? 
 
 Will. — Not much, and I am glad of it. 
 
WHAT AFTEEWAEDS HAPPENED TO COLUMBUS. 35 
 
 MoTHEE. — No; Spain now owns but two of the. 
 West India islands, though she formerly owned a 
 large part of South America. Will says he is glad 
 Spain does not own much on this continent, since, 
 through her ingratitude to Columbus, she threw 
 away her chance of owning the whole of it, or at 
 least of laying claim to it. 
 
 I am glad, too, that Spain did not get a stronger 
 foothold on this continent ; but not for the same 
 reasons as yours, Will. If the Spaniards had ruled 
 here, we, the descendants of the Puritans, might not 
 have enjoyed such privileges as we now enjoy. 
 
 At another time I shall tell you how the other 
 countries of Europe began to lay claim to American 
 soil. Before we close this talk, you will be inter- 
 ested to know that the remains of Columbus having 
 been twice removed from their resting-place, were 
 finally conveyed with great pomp to the cathedral 
 of Havana, Avhere they now repose. 
 
 Will. — I want to know why our country was n't 
 named after Columbus. It seems to me that it 
 ought to have been. 
 
 MoTHEE. — It does seem so ; and the poet must 
 have thought so when he wrote, — 
 
 " Hail, Columbia, happy land ! " 
 
 This country was called America in honor of 
 
36 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Americus Vespucius, who sailed across the ocean 
 seven years after Columbus's great discoveries. 
 
 Will. — I don't think it was fair, to honor Amer- 
 icus Yespucius more than Columbus. It was no 
 great feat to follow in another man's footsteps. 
 
 Mother. — So I think. All the world knows that 
 Columbus was the greater hero of the two. 
 
 Lizzie. — Mother, I want to know what became of 
 Diego. Was he alive when Columbus died ? 
 
 Mother. — Yes. He afterwards claimed from the 
 king the rights that had been granted and then 
 taken from his father. He thus became Governor 
 of Hispaniola. He soon after married the daughter 
 of a duke. He seems to have had a quiet life, quite 
 unlike the daring, enterprising life his father had 
 lived. 
 
MORE DISCOVERIES. 37 
 
 IV. 
 
 MORE DISCOVERIES. 
 
 Mother. — We have seen that Spain was the first 
 European country that laid claim to the lands this 
 side of the Atlantic. But while the Spanish flag 
 was flying in the West Indies, the kings of the 
 other countries in Europe were saying, " Would 
 that Columbus had been a subject of ours ! " 
 
 Will. — 1 wonder if Columbus would have met 
 with no better luck, if he had done as much for 
 some other king. 
 
 Mother. — We cannot know that ; but I do know 
 that the next adventurer who went across the sea 
 to claim land for his king, died also a poor, forgotten 
 man. 
 
 Lizzie. — Why, mother, who was that ? 
 
 Mother. — His name was John Cabot. He, too, 
 was born in Italy, but he had gone to live in Eng- 
 land. As Columbus had proved that the world was 
 round, it was not difficult for John Cabot to get 
 leave of the King of England to go across the seas 
 to discover other new lands. 
 
38 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 " Columbus did not find the main land of India — 
 only the islands this side of it," said Cabot. " Who 
 knows but that I can discover the trading part of 
 India ! " 
 
 So John Cabot and his three sons, in the year 
 1497, started off in a single vessel to try their for- 
 tunes in the western Avorld. After they had been 
 sailing a month, they reached the northern part of 
 the continent of North America. 
 
 Lizzie. — In 1497 ? Why, that was one year be- 
 fore Columbus discovered South America. 
 
 Will. — But five years after he had proved that 
 there was land across the water. 
 
 Mother. — The Cabots really discovered the main 
 land of America before Columbus did. But I feel 
 we must give all the honor to Columbus. Later dis- 
 coverers were cheered on by what they knew had 
 been done by other men. Columbus, calm and brave, 
 relied only on the voice of God in his own heart. 
 
 Will. — Did the Cabots stay long on the conti- 
 nent ? 
 
 Mother. — No, they did not. The}^ sailed along 
 the coast far enougli to be convinced that they had 
 found a continent ; then, as they Avere getting short 
 of provisions, they returned to England. 
 
 ''We did not find India,'" they said to the king,- 
 •' but we think we found China." 
 
MORE DISCOVERIES. 
 
 39 
 
 This pleased the English king, Henry VII., very 
 much ; and he said, " Go back again with six large 
 ships, and find other lands." 
 
 But John Cabot died soon after this. So the 
 
 %|4 
 
 Cabot's Ships among the Icebergs. 
 
 most enterprising of his sons, Sebastian Cabot, 
 made the voyage. 
 
 " We shall surely now find the shorter passage to 
 India," said Henry VII. 
 
40 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Sebastian Cabot sailed to the far north, enduring 
 great hardships amongst the icebergs. Then he 
 sailed along the coast as far south as Florida. He 
 landed upon the continent in several places, and 
 planted the English flag. 
 
 " This is the most immense country the world 
 ever dreamed of ! " said Sebastian. 
 
 Will. — It seems to me Sebastian Cabot must 
 have had a strange sort of feeling when he was 
 putting those flags along the coast. Just think ! 
 All that great country, and no white man ever 
 there before ! 
 
 Lizzie. — Don't you believe ho was afraid ? 
 
 Will. — Afraid? No! What was there to be 
 afraid of? Only wild animals. And of course his 
 gun would keep those off". I know what I should 
 have kept thinking, if I had been Sebastian Cabot. 
 
 Mother. — Well, what ? 
 
 Will. — I should have said to myself, " What 
 will Henry VII. say when I get back to England, 
 and tell him of this great country?" 
 
 Mother. — When Henry VII. was told that Se- 
 bastian had not found India, he was vexed, and said, 
 " The voyage was a failure." 
 
 Will. — I didn't know before that kings could 
 be so stupid. 
 
 Mother. — One reason why the English king was 
 
MORE DISCOVERIES. 41 
 
 disappointed, was because Portugal had become 
 famous in discoveries tlirough Vasco da Gama. 
 This man, fitted out by the Portuguese govern- 
 ment, had reached India by the Cape of Good 
 Hope. And all Europe was rejoicing that the 
 passage to India by water had been found. 
 
 Lizzie. — Didn't Sebastian Cabot fare any better 
 than Columbus ? 
 
 Mother. — Not in the treatment he received from 
 Henry VII. Upon that king's death, Sebastian was 
 called to Spain by Ferdinand. 
 
 Will. — Ah, ha ! I guess Ferdinand began to 
 think he had n't made out of Columbus all that he 
 might have done. 
 
 Mother. — Perhaps so. At any rate, he always 
 treated Sebastian Cabot with honor. He made him 
 Pilot Major of Spain ; and no ship was allowed to 
 sail to the West Indies that Cabot had not examined 
 and approved. 
 
 Lizzie. — Didn't Sebastian Cabot ever goto Amer- 
 ica again ? 
 
 Mother. — Yes ; his voyage was not a very suc- 
 cessful one, however. 
 
 Sebastian Cabot was second only to Columbus 
 among the many adventurers who crossed the At- 
 lantic. He braved dangers and hardships not for 
 his own sake. Like Columbus, he hoped thereby 
 
42 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 to benefit the world. He lived to be an old man ; 
 but to the last he was full of enthusiasm about the 
 new-found world. 
 
 In the latter part of his life he returned to Eng- 
 land. Queen Mary was then upon tlie throne. 
 Under her patronage a party of discoverers were 
 about to start off for America. Sebastian Cabot 
 rejoiced at this almost as much as if he were going 
 himself. 
 
 " I am too old to go," he said. " I may not live 
 to hear you tell your adventures. But my heart 
 goes with you." 
 
 On the eve of their sailing he went on board their 
 ship, and gave each one of the crew a handsome 
 sum of money. Then, going on shore, he invited 
 the whole ship's company to a supper. After the 
 supper they had a dance ; and the dear old man, 
 then eighty-one years old, got up and joined in 
 the merry-making. His heart grew young at the 
 thought that other men might make still greater 
 discoveries than he had done. 
 
 Will. — He was better off than Columbus ; for 
 he had no money to treat his friends with, if he had 
 wanted to. 
 
 Mother. — True. Queen Mary provided Sebas- 
 tian Cabot with a comfortable living. But England 
 did not then realize all that he had done. Her 
 
MORE DISCOVERIES. 48 
 
 queens and kings, however little they may have 
 done, are mouldering- to-day under gorgeous monu- 
 ments ; but no one knows the burial-place of him 
 who gave England a continent. 
 
 Will. — I should think every king in Europe 
 would have wanted to own land in America. 
 Didn't any other kings send ships over to make 
 discoveries? 
 
 Mother. — The King of France was the next to 
 lay claim to a part of the continent. Seven years 
 after the discoveries by the Cabots, a number of 
 humble fishermen from the northern part of France 
 went to Newfoundland, and established a success- 
 ful fishing trade. And thirty-seven years after 
 the English flags were planted on the coast, the 
 French flag was flying over the country we now 
 call Canada. 
 
 Lizzie. — Then there were only three kings own- 
 ing land in America, 
 
 Mother. — True ; the kings of England, France, 
 and Spain. For a number of years after the time 
 we are now talking of, France owned Canada. 
 England owned the country along the coast, and 
 for some distance inland, between Canada and 
 Florida. Spain claimed the West Indies, and all 
 the country around the Gulf of Mexico. 
 
 Will. — It must have been good fun to go over 
 
44 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 to a new country and explore, and see what one 
 could find. I suppose that is how America got to 
 be so full of people afterwards. I should have 
 liked it, I tell you ! — to follow up the rivers that 
 you knew were not on the maps, and climb the 
 mountains, to see what kind of a country it was ! 
 And then I should like to hunt for gold and pre- 
 cious stones, and get acquainted with the Indians. 
 
 Mother. — Ah, my boy ! you little know the hard- 
 ships one has to suffer in going to a new country ! 
 T shall try to give you an idea of it in telling you of 
 the first settlements. 
 
 Lizzie. — Well, mother, did the people go over 
 to America because they thought they would like 
 there just what Will says he would like ? 
 
 Mother. — There seem to have been three dif- 
 ferent reasons why people went over from Europe 
 to America. Columbus and several navigators after 
 him went to find a western passage to the East In- 
 dies. When a passage had been found to India by 
 going around Africa, then the cry was, " Let us go 
 to America for gold ! " 
 
 But it is a singular fact that no comfortable 
 homes were established in America till people 
 went — not for discovery, not for gold, but for 
 freedom — freedom to have such governments as 
 the people needed, and freedom to worship God. 
 
MORE DISCOVERIES. 45 
 
 Lizzie. — Didn't the people have freedom in 
 Europe ? 
 
 Mother. — They did not have such freedom as we 
 have in this country. Only kings and nobles were 
 rich there ; they lived lives of ease, and were sup- 
 ported by the poor people, who had to work hard 
 all the time, and then did not have enough to eat. 
 
 Will. — What ! these poor people had to give 
 their money to the rich ? I would not stand that ! 
 
 Mother. — That is the way kings have been sup- 
 ported. But when people heard that there was a 
 beautiful great country across the waters, they be- 
 gan to say, " Wouldn't it be better to go and try our 
 fortunes there, rather than to stay here, where we 
 know we shall be poor and half starved all our 
 days ? " So America began to grow. 
 
 Crossing the Ocean. 
 
46 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 V. 
 
 TRYING TO MAKE HOMES IN AMERICA. 
 
 Mother. — About one hundred years after Amer- 
 ica was discovered, there was a very wise queen on 
 the throne of England, whose name was Elizabeth. 
 She seemed always anxious to do what seemed for 
 the glory of her country. She had thought a great 
 deal about America. She said to herself, " Who 
 knows but these lands in America may bring 
 wealth to my people ? " So when one of her 
 favorites, Sir Walter Raleigh — handsome, kind, 
 and brave Sir Walter Raleigh — asked if he might 
 try to make homes for the English people in Amer- 
 ica, Elizabeth was very glad. She gave him the 
 privilege of fitting out ships, and sending such 
 things as were needed to make people comfortable 
 in their new homes. 
 
 Raleigh loved and honored his queen. For her 
 sake he was anxious to do everything in his power 
 for the good of England. This is one reason why 
 he was interested in settling America. He said, 
 " America would be a precious jewel in the crown 
 
TRYING TO MAKE HOMES IN AMERICA. 
 
 4? 
 
 of our queen, if it could be settled and made pros- 
 perous by her English subjects. I will work for 
 this. I will use my money to fit out ships. I will 
 do all I can to attract people to America." 
 
 And Sir Walter Raleigh had more to do with 
 colonizing this country than any other man. Still, 
 all the settlements made by the people he sent 
 over were failures. 
 
 Will. — I don't see why, if they had provisions 
 — that is, if they did not go too far north. 
 
 Mother. — They did not go too far north, nor too 
 
48 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 far south. They landed in a pleasant season of the 
 year. But one great cause of their troubles was, 
 that they were not kind to the natives. At one 
 time these first settlers came to a little Indian 
 town. They missed a silver cup. Of course they 
 knew some Indian had taken it. And what do you 
 suppose the white people did in return ? 
 
 Lizzie. — I guess they tried to find out which 
 Indian had stolen it, and then punished him. 
 
 Mother. — No ; they at once set fire to the whole 
 town, and burned it to the ground ; and then they 
 set fire to their fields of corn. 
 
 Will. — But, mother, what was Raleigh doing ? 
 I thought you said he was a good man. 
 
 Mother. — He was a good man, one who was 
 always kind to others. But he w^as not with the 
 settlers. Queen Elizabeth thought so much of him, 
 she could not spare him from England. 
 
 Lizzie, — What did the Indians do, when they saw 
 their town burned down ? 
 
 Mother. — They only went aAvay to find another 
 place to live in. But they never forgot this cruelty. 
 They said to themselves, '^ We know now that these 
 pale-faced strangers are cruel. We cannot trust 
 them." 
 
 These first settlers did not stay long after this. 
 They went back to England. But they gave such 
 
TRYING TO MAKE HOMES IN AMERICA. 49 
 
 glowing accounts of the country — of its fine soil, 
 its beautiful trees, and its rich fruits — that Queen 
 Elizabeth was very much pleased. And she said, 
 " This place shall be named Virginia, in honor of 
 me." For Elizabeth was called the Virgin Queen. 
 
 Lizzie. — I guess Raleigh was happy when he 
 saw how pleased the queen was. 
 
 Will. — If these people liked the country so 
 well, why didn't they go back to it? 
 
 Mother. — Some of them did go back ; and a 
 great many others went with them. The most of 
 these never left America again. 
 
 Lizzie. — Wliy, mother, I thought you said the 
 settlement was a failure. How could it be if some 
 really staid in Virginia? 
 
 Mother. — This is the saddest part of my story 
 to-night. About a hundred of the last settlers, 
 men, women, and children, finding that their pro- 
 visions were giving out, begged their governor to 
 go back to England and get more supplies. 
 
 " I must not go and leave you," said the gov- 
 ernor ; " I must stay here to help you." 
 
 " But," said the settlers, " if you stay here, we 
 shall all starve. It is better that you should go 
 back for more provisions." 
 
 So the governor returned to England, leaving 
 with the settlers his own daughter and her baby 
 4 
 
50 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 girl, — the first white child born in America, — little 
 Virginia Dare. 
 
 " We are glad the governor leaves his daughter 
 and his little grandchild amongst us," they said ; 
 " we know he will come back quickly to help us." 
 
 Will. — Well, didn't he? 
 
 Mother. — Yes ; but he was delayed. And when 
 the ships got back to America, not a single white 
 person could be found. It was never known 
 whether they went to live with the Indians, or 
 whether they starved to death. 
 
 So, Lizzie, you see I was right in saying that 
 many of the settlers did not return to England, and 
 yet the Virginia settlement was a failure. 
 
 Lizzie. — I see now. It was very sad. 
 
 Will. — I should think Raleigh would have felt 
 bad about it. 
 
 Mother. — He did; and it is said he sent out 
 companies of men five different times, hoping they 
 might find the missing ones. But the poor settlers 
 were never heard of again. 
 
 Will. — I thought you said Raleigh had more to 
 do with colonizing America than any other man. I 
 don't see that he really did much. 
 
 Mother. — He did not succeed in giving any last- 
 ing homes to the European people, it is true ; but 
 those whom he sent over brought back three things 
 
TRYING TO MAKE HOMES IN AMERICA. 51 
 
 which had a great influence on both countries after- 
 wards. 
 
 First, potatoes had never been seen in Europe 
 till Raleigh caused them to be brought over. 
 There had been terrible famines in Europe before 
 this. But since people have found how easily po- 
 tatoes can be raised, the poor have not suffered so 
 much for want of food. 
 
 In the next place, Raleigh brought over tobacco 
 from America. 
 
 Will. — Why, did not people ever use tobacco 
 till then? 
 
 Mother. — Never in Europe. The English learned 
 the habit of smoking from the Indians, and at first it 
 seemed quite a strange thing in England. 
 
 One day Raleigh was smoking. His servant 
 came into the room, and as he had never seen 
 any one smoke before, he was very much fright- 
 ened. He thought his master was on fire. He 
 rushed out of the room, seized a bucket of water, 
 and running back, threw it over Sir Walter. 
 
 Lizzie. — That is what you would want to do to 
 Will, if you saw him smoking — isn't it, mother?" 
 
 Mother. — I hope there will never be any occa- 
 sion to try it. 
 
 Will. — What was the third thing you were 
 going to speak of? 
 
52 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Mother. — This is not so easy to tell you about ; 
 and yet it was more important than either of the 
 other two. We might say that the third thing 
 Raleigh brought to England was " good news from 
 America." For every time a ship returned, all the 
 people on board would tell what a lovely country 
 America was ! how easy it was to raise corn ! and 
 what great tracts of land one could get to own just 
 by sailing over there ! 
 
 No poor man could own land in Europe. And to 
 know that there were millions of acres of land in 
 America which no one was using, made many want 
 to go there. Before Raleigh's day it was a great 
 affair to sail across the Atlantic. But Raleigh sent 
 out so many ships, and they came back so quickly, 
 that people said, '' It is not such a difficult thing to 
 go to America, after all. We Avill go and see the 
 country ; and if we do not like it, we can come back 
 in a little while." 
 
 So we can see that Raleigh opened the way, and 
 made it easy for other settlers to go to America. 
 
 Will. — I don't see why none of those sent over 
 by Raleigh had good luck. 
 
 Mother. — It was because there were no men 
 among them fit to be leaders. We always find 
 that aay great enterprise will fail, if there be not 
 one man engaged in it who can think and plan for 
 the rest. 
 
TRYING TO MAKE HOMES IN AMERICA. 53 
 
 Can you tell me now what place in the United 
 States will always remind you of Sir Walter 
 Raleigh ? 
 
 Will. — I suppose you mean Raleigh, the capi- 
 tal of North Carolina. 
 
 Mother, — Yes ; this city was named for Sir 
 Walter Raleigli, and it is built on the very spot 
 where those poor emigrants lived Avho were never 
 heard of alter their governor went back to England. 
 
 AViLL. — You said a moment ago that the settlers 
 landed in Virginia. Now you say they were at 
 Raleigh in North Carolina. 
 
 Mother. — I see why you arc puzzled. Virginia 
 once included North and South Carolina, which 
 were afterwards made into separate states. 
 
 Lizzie, — But, mother, I want to know what be- 
 came of Raleigh. Was Queen Elizabeth displeased 
 because he could not make the people stay in 
 America ? 
 
 Mother. — The queen was very angry with him 
 at one time, but not for that reason. He married 
 a lady without asking Elizabeth if he might. This 
 vexed her so much that she caused him to be put 
 into prison. She pardoned him afterwards ; but Sir 
 Walter was never again a favorite at court. And 
 during the reign of the next sovereign, James I., 
 Raleigh was beheaded, after having been im- 
 
54 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 prisoned in the Tower of London for thirteen 
 years. When we were in London we saw the 
 little cell in which Raleigh spent so many lonely 
 years. And we were sorry that so good and brave 
 a man — one who took so much interest in settling 
 our country — should have had such a gloomv end. 
 
A COLONY WITH A LEADER. 55 
 
 VI. 
 
 A COLONY WITH A LEADER. 
 
 Will. — Mother, I want to hear how the next 
 settlement in America succeeded. Was it long 
 after Raleigh gave up trying to colonize Virginia? 
 
 Mother. — It was about eighteen years before 
 any more people tried to colonize. Do you re- 
 member why the first settlement was a failure? 
 
 Will. — You said it was because there was no 
 man fit to be a leader. 
 
 Mother. — Then if I tell you that the next settle- 
 ment was a success, you will know it was because 
 there was one man who could think and plan for 
 the rest. 
 
 Lizzie. — Now I guess we are going to hear some- 
 thing interesting ! 
 
 Will. — Because we are going to hear about a 
 smart man. 
 
 Mother. — Yes ; I am going to tell you about a 
 brave man. His name was Captain John Smith. 
 
 Will. — Captain ! Was he a navigator, too ? 
 
 Mother. — No ; he was at one time a soldier in 
 
56 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Austria ; and when lie was promoted for good ser- 
 vice and bravery, he became captain. He was born 
 in England. His parents were intelligent and kind 
 people. As soon as he was old enough to read, he 
 was anxious to travel. His father died when he 
 was only thirteen years old ; and soon after, he 
 started off to see the world. 
 
 I should like to tell you how he went on foot 
 through the different countries of Europe, and what 
 strange adventures he had ; but there is so much 
 to tell you about him in connection with our own 
 country, that I must hurry on to that. 
 
 When Smith was about twenty-five years old, he 
 got tired of travelling in Europe, and he thought 
 he would go home to England. At that time there 
 were a number of people who were thinking of go- 
 ing over to America. Smith happened to meet the 
 man who was getting up the party. His hame was 
 Gosnold. 
 
 Lizzie. — Gosnold ! What a funny name ! 
 
 Mother. — This Gosnold had been in America ; 
 and Smith was very much interested in hearing 
 him tell what he had seen there. Of course Cap- 
 tain John Smith, who could not rest till he had seen 
 the principal countries of Europe, felt he must go 
 and see America, too. 
 
 Nearly a year was spent in getting ready for the 
 
A COLONY WITH A LEADER. 57 
 
 expedition. And in December, 1606, three ships 
 set out from England for America. 
 
 Can you tell me, Lizzie, how long this was after 
 Columbus made his first discoveries in America ? 
 
 Lizzie. — Let me see. Columbus made his first 
 discovery in 1492. From 1492 to 1592 is one 
 hundred years ; and from 1592 to 1606 is fourteen 
 years. 
 
 Will. — So the first real settlement in America 
 was made one hundred and fourteen years after it 
 was discovered. 
 
 Mother. — You are right. And can you tell me 
 who was King of England when Raleigh died ? 
 
 Will. — I guess I shall not forget that. It was 
 James I. And I shall always be vexed whenever 
 I hear any one speak of him ; because he gave 
 orders to have poor Raleigh's head cut off! 
 
 Mother. — While Captain Smith and others were 
 fitting out their ships, Raleigh was in prison, await- 
 ing his death. So now you know who was king 
 during this next American settlement. 
 
 Will. — James I. ! Humph ! Then I know things 
 did not go just right with the settlers. 
 
 Mother. — If James T. had been a different kind 
 of man, he might have made things much pleasanter 
 for them. He said to himself, '' Now these people 
 who are going to America are all my subjects. 
 
58 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 I must do something that shall make tliem feel my 
 power, even when they are across the wide ocean." 
 So he made plans for governing the settlers, and 
 put the papers containing them into a box, which 
 was not to be opened till they reached America. 
 The names of the men who were to take charge of 
 the new government were not even made known. 
 
 Will. — Then I'm sure they got into trouble. 
 For if any little quarrel came up, who was to 
 settle it ? 
 
 Mother. — You are quite right. There were hard 
 times on the voyage over. Their minister, Rev. Mr. 
 Hunt, a gentle, good man, tried to smooth matters, 
 and then the quarrelsome ones turned upon him. 
 Captain Smith tried to defend Mr. Hunt, by saying 
 he was right and they were wrong. What did they 
 do, then, but take Captain Smith and put him in 
 chains ! They kept him confined till they reached 
 America. But when they found his name was in 
 the box as one of those who were to govern, they 
 let him go. 
 
 Lizzie. — - What did Smith do, mother, when he 
 was free ? 
 
 Will, — I know what I would have done. I 
 Would have written to England and made a com- 
 plaint. 
 
 Mother. — Then vou would not have been such 
 
A COLONY WITH A LEADEE. 59 
 
 a help to the colony as Smith was. He did not stop 
 to think of his own wrongs at all, but went rig'lit to 
 work to make the settlers comfortable. 
 
 Lizzie. ^ — -Where did they land, mother? Just 
 where the other poor settlers landed, who were 
 never heard of again ? 
 
 Mother. — They intended to land at the same 
 place — Roanoke Island. Perhaps they thought 
 they might find traces of their other countrymen. 
 But a severe storm came on, so that the ships were 
 driven as far north as Chesapeake Bay. The storm 
 proved a blessing ; for they had a much better 
 place than the other settlers had had. Here they 
 anchored, and a large party went on shore to ex- 
 plore. Soon they met five Indians, who were so 
 frightened that they started to run. But the cap- 
 tain of one of the ships told the Indians by signs 
 that they felt very kindly towards them. So they 
 were not afraid any more, but invited the party to 
 go and visit their little town. 
 
 Will. — That is what I should like to see — an 
 Indian town. 
 
 Mother. — The Indians treated the party as 
 generously as they knew how to do. They gave 
 them corn-cake, and tobacco and pipes ; then enter- 
 tained them with a dance. This meant that they 
 were very glad indeed to see the white people. 
 
60 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 After the party returned to their ships, they left 
 Chesapeake Bay, sailing up a river which flows into 
 its southern part. 
 
 Take your map, and see if you can find the river. 
 
 Will. — I see it — James River. I suppose they 
 called it after that mean king, James I. 
 
 Mother. — It was the month of May. The woods 
 on either side of the river were full of singing birds. 
 The air was fragrant with spring blossoms ; and the 
 hills were beautiful with fresh verdure. The little 
 company of emigrants were enchanted. 
 
 After sailing up James River about forty miles, 
 they came to a peninsula. This site was so lovely, 
 commanding so fine a view of the river and sur- 
 rounding country, that they chose the spot for tlieir 
 settlement. They named this place after their king, 
 too. Look again on the map and find it. 
 
 Lizzie. — I see it. You must mean Jamestown. 
 
 Mother. — Yes. After landing, the men whose 
 names were in the box formed themselves into a 
 government, and chose a president. 
 
 Will. — I hope they chose Smith. 
 
 Mother. — On the contrary they left him out of 
 their government altogether. 
 
 Lizzie. — Did Smith want to go back to England 
 then ? 
 
 Mother. — No, indeed. He showed the same 
 
A COLONY WITH A LEADER. 61 
 
 manly spirit he did before, when they treated him 
 so unfairly. He went right to work for the good of 
 all, as if nothing had happened. 
 
 Of course the thing to be done now was to clear 
 away the forests, and get materials for building. 
 At first, it being a novelty, every man went to 
 work with a good Avill. But soon many of the set- 
 tlers got tired of this, like children who get tired 
 of building block houses ; so they left off working, 
 and wondered if there was not an easier way to 
 get along. 
 
 Smith, who had seen so much of the world, knew 
 that the only way to have a successful settlement 
 was through hard work. He did all he could to 
 inspire the rest with courage and hope. He divided 
 the work, and made plans for the little town they 
 were commencing. 
 
 Will. ■ — • Didn't Captain Smith go and get ac- 
 quainted with the Indians ? 
 
 Mother. — Yes, indeed. But he did not go far 
 away from the settlers during the first summer. 
 He was afraid they would leave off building. And 
 if they did so, how could they live through the com- 
 ing winter ? 
 
 But cold weather came on, and Smith saw* that 
 there were houses enough for the settlement. The 
 ships that brought them over had gone back to 
 
62 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 England. Their provisions were nearly gorip,., and 
 they did not know where to get more. 
 
 Lizzie. — Why didn't they go into the fields^ and 
 get corn and such things ? 
 
 Mother. — They had no fields of corn. You must 
 remember they had to clear away the forests before 
 they could get a place even to build houses upon. 
 
 Will. — And that took so much time, they didn't 
 have a chance to plant. 
 
 Mother. — That is so. And if it had not been for 
 Smith, they would all have starved. 
 
 Will. — I think I know how he got something for 
 them to eat ! He went to the Indians. 
 
 Mother. — You have guessed right. Smith said 
 to himself, '' These Indians must have plenty to eat. 
 They must have provisions laid up to last till spring. 
 Perhaps I can get them to open a trade with our 
 settlement, and thus obtain all we need." So, in 
 company with several men, he started up a river 
 that flows into the James, quite near Jamestown. 
 See if you can find it. 
 
 Lizzie. — I see the name — Chickahominy. 
 
 Mother. — Smith went up the Chickahominy as 
 far as he could in his barge. Then he left it, and 
 went higher up the river in a canoe, with only two 
 Englishmen, and two Indians who promised to show 
 the wav to their town. 
 
A COLONY WITH A LEADEE. 63 
 
 After sailing about twenty miles, he left his canoe 
 with the men, and in company with one of his Indian 
 guides, went on shore to shoot game. 
 
 Indian Canoe. 
 
 He had been gone but a little while, when two or 
 three hundred Indians, with their cruel chief, sur- 
 prised the men in the canoe. 
 
 " Shoot them ! Kill them ! " yelled out the chief. 
 Upon that the Indians let their arrows fly till the 
 two men were dead, stuck full of arrows. 
 
 Lizzie. — 0, how glad I am that Captain Smith 
 had left the canoe ! 
 
 Mother. — The Indians saw by the boot-tracks 
 on the shore that there were more men in the 
 company. So they started off in the direction 
 Smith had gone. 
 
 Smith saw them coming, and knew by their 
 horrid yells that they meant to kill him. 
 
 " If I appear frightened, it is all over with me," 
 said he to himself. 
 
 So he bound his Indian guide to his arm for a 
 shield, and looked carefully at his fire-arms, which 
 he always carried loaded. As soon as the Indians 
 
64 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 came near, he fired ofi" his gun so rapidly that he 
 killed three Indians and wonnded several others. 
 The Indians had never heard a gun before, and 
 they were so frightened they did not dare go near 
 Smith. Keeping his eye on the Indians, he tried 
 to make his way back to the canoe. But the first 
 thing he knew he Avas up to his waist in a bog. 
 Even then they did not dare come near him till he 
 threw away his fire-arms. 
 
 Will. — I don't see why he did that. 
 
 Mother. — Because he was almost dead with cold. 
 
 Lizzie. — What did the Indians do then ? 
 
 Mother. — They drew Smith out of the freezing 
 mud, and carried him to a fire, and carefully rubbed 
 his stitFened limbs. As soon as he could speak, he 
 asked to see their chief 
 
 Smith had in his pocket a ver}' pretty ivory com- 
 pass. He gave this to the chief, and showed him 
 how the little needle always pointed to the north. 
 The Indian was amazed. 
 
 Soon after this they marched him to a large 
 Indian settlement. He was led by six great sav- 
 ages. When they got to the Indian town, they fed 
 him so generously that he suspected they were go- 
 ing to fatten him and then eat him ; for he knew 
 that savages did sometimes eat people. 
 
 Will. — I should think he would have been too 
 much frightened to eat. 
 
A COLONY WITH A LEADER. 
 
 6^ 
 
 MoTTiETi. — Smith never lost his courage. After he 
 had becii with the Indians a few days, he found they 
 Avei-e making- great preparations to attack Jamestown. 
 They came co jiln. f^r advice and help. 
 
 John Smith and the Indians. 
 
 Will. — Now I know why they did not kill him ! 
 
 Mother. — He was glad enough that they had 
 spared his life thus far, for he was again able to be 
 of service to the settlers. He told the Indians that 
 5 
 
66 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 it was a very dangerous thing for them to try to 
 destroy Jamestown, that every man there had guns 
 and swords, and that there was a great fort filled 
 with loaded cannon. This frightened them so much 
 that they gave up all thoughts of attacking James- 
 town. 
 
 Soon after this they led Smith around to show 
 him off to the different tribes near the three rivers 
 which flow into Chesapeake Bay, north of the James. 
 See if you can find these rivers on the map, 
 
 Lizzie. — There is the James ; and next comes 
 York River. 
 
 Will. — The river north of that is the Rappahan- 
 nock, and the next is the Potomac. 
 
 Mother, — Very good. So, you see. Smith had a 
 chance to become acquainted with the country. 
 
 Will. — With the Indians, too. And that is Avhat 
 he wanted. 
 
 Mother. — The Indians were as curious to under- 
 stand Smith as he was to know them. Did the 
 Great Spirit send him to bless them, or was he the 
 messenger of evil ? One day he puzzled them veiy 
 much. He took a piece of birch bark and wrote a 
 message on it, and then sent it by some of the In- 
 dians to Jamestown, Could this white man make 
 chips talk ? What would he do next ? Should 
 they treat him as a friend or a foe. They danced 
 
A COLONY WITH A LEADER, 
 
 67 
 
 around him to please him. They made hideous 
 yells to frighten him. Finally, they led him before 
 Powhatan, who was king of the tribes in that part 
 of the country. 
 
 An Indian Village. 
 
G8 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 vn. 
 
 A NOBLE INDIAN GIRL. 
 
 Mother. — Powhatan was a tall, noble-looking 
 savage. When Smith came before him, he was 
 seated on a wooden throne. Ho wore a great robe 
 of raccoon skins, and on his head a coronet of 
 feathers. He was surrounded with attendants — 
 Indian men and women, painted red, black, or white, 
 and wearing strange-looking ornaments. Some of 
 them had rings in their noses. 
 
 The whole crowd gave a shout wlien Smith 
 entered. One, who seemed to be queen, came and 
 washed his feet, and Aviped them with feathers. 
 
 After they had feasted him generously, the In- 
 dians had a long talk with Powhatan, as to what 
 should be done with him. 
 
 Lizzie. — 0, I liope they didn't kill him ! 
 
 Mother. ■ — Among the strange-looking groups. 
 Smith saw a beautiful young Indian girl. From 
 the number of attendants about her, he judged her 
 to be a princess. This was Pocahontas, the king's 
 daughter. She seemed to know what the Indians 
 
A NOBLE INDIAN GIRL. 69 
 
 were talking about ; for her dark eyes looked anx- 
 iously first at Smith and then at her father. 
 
 At last it was decided that Smith should be killed. 
 Two large stones were placed before Powhatan. 
 Smith was dragged to the spot, and his head was 
 laid upon the stones. The great club of one of the 
 cruel chiefs was raised, to beat out Smith's brains ; 
 when Pocahontas, leaping through the crowd, threw 
 herself before Smith, and clasping his head in her 
 arms, cried out, — 
 
 " Kill me ! kill me ! He shall not die ! " 
 Powhatan's face showed at first surprise, then 
 anger, then tenderness. The chief's great club 
 fell to tlie ground. 
 
 ^' Let him live ! " said Powhatan. 
 And so the little colony at Jamestown was again 
 saved. 
 
 Will. — That's what I call a noble girl ! 
 Lizzie. — Did Smith have a chance to talk with 
 her after that ? 
 
 Mother. — 0, yes. He took a great deal of pleas- 
 ure in making little things for Pocahontas to wear, 
 such as strings of beads, bells, and copper orna- 
 ments. 
 
 Pocahontas had a brother, a fine, manly fellow, 
 who also took a ftmcy to Smith, and did many kind 
 things for him. 
 
70 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY, 
 
 Lizzie. — I am glad some one treated him well at 
 last. It seems as if he had met with nothing but 
 hard treatment ever since he left England. 
 
 Mother. — For several days Powhatan was un- 
 decided what he should do with Smith. Finally he 
 tried to frighten him by having two hundred Indians 
 howl around him in the most direful manner. Then 
 he said, — 
 
 '' We are now friends. Go back to Jamestown. 
 Send me two guns and a grindstone, and I will give 
 you much land, and love you as my own son." 
 
 Smith did not believe him. He expected every 
 moment to be killed. But he reached Jamestown 
 in safety at last. 
 
 The grindstone was too heavy to send back. But 
 he gave the Indian guides a great many little pres- 
 ents for Powhatan and Pocahontas, which pleased 
 them more than the grindstone would have done. 
 
 Lizzie. — 0, mother ! didn't he see Pocahontas 
 any more ? 
 
 Mother. — Yes, indeed. Pocahontas was always 
 a true friend to Smith. Not long after this, she 
 found that the Indians were again intending to 
 make an attack on Jamestown ; and she hastened 
 alone through the woods, on a dark and stormy 
 night, to warn Smith of the danger. 
 
 Will. — Then she saved the colony a second time. 
 
A NOBLE INDIAN GIRL. 71 
 
 Mother. — I think that is true. And I am quite 
 sure she saved it at still another time. 
 
 During the winter, after Smith had been so long 
 witli the Indians, the poor settlers suffered much 
 from hunger. 
 
 " I will carry them food," said Pocahontas. And 
 every four or five days, all winter long, Pocahon- 
 tas, with her attendants, walked over the snow and 
 ice, carrying baskets of provisions to the starving 
 people. 
 
 Will. — 1 hope the settlers began to find that 
 Smith was their best friend ! 
 
 Mother. — I am sorry to say that they found fault 
 with him because he did no more for them. They 
 were very much vexed because he did not encour- 
 age them to give up planting and building, and 
 search for gold. 
 
 At last they said, " We loill dig for gold. We will 
 send a vessel to England full of gold dust ; and then 
 our friends will see what we are doing." 
 
 When the ship which they loaded arrived in Eng- 
 land, its cargo proved to be nothing but glittering 
 dirt. 
 
 Soon after this, Smith had still harder times. 
 More people came over from England. But they 
 were not real workers. They Avere such people as 
 England was glad to get rid of 
 
72 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Will. — That was enough to discourage any man. 
 
 Mother. — Smith kept on working for the colony; 
 trying to rouse the idle, and have each one work for 
 the public good. 
 
 After a while the wives and daughters of many 
 of the settlers came out to them. 
 
 Lizzie. — Perhaps that made the men go to work ; 
 for they would be ashamed not to have decent homes 
 for their families. 
 
 Mother. — They did much better after this. The 
 houses began to look home-like, and soon they bnilt 
 a little church. But in the mean time Smith met 
 with an accident. Some gunpowder exploded, and 
 injured him so much that he was obliged to go back 
 to England, — there being no surgeons in America 
 who could dress his wounds properly. 
 
 Lizzie. — 0, mother ! was that the only pay he got? 
 
 Mother. — If we look at it in one way, we might 
 say it was ; for he did not own a foot of land in 
 America, — not even the house which he had built 
 with his own hands. But Smith's conscience told 
 him he had done the best he could. And the world 
 has ever since thanked him for doing what he did 
 for America. He was, in fact, the first man who suc- 
 ceeded in establishing a colony in this country. 
 
 Columbus discovered America. The Cabots dis- 
 covered that portion of America best fitted for colo- 
 
A NOBLE INDIAN GIRL. 
 
 73 
 
 nization, and claimed it for England. Sir Walter 
 Raleigh gave to the world the desire to colonize 
 America. But Captain John Smith, by hard laboi- 
 and much self-sacrifice, first established homes h 
 America. 
 
 Lizzie. — I guess Pocahontas was sorry to hav^ 
 
 Smith go away ! 
 
 Mother. — She must have been very sorry. 
 After Smith left the colony, she had much to dt 
 with its history. A party of the settlers Avent back 
 into the country to forage — that is, to pick up food, 
 or anything else that would be of use to them. 
 After stealing everything they could lay hands to, 
 they saw Pocahontas coming ; and they said, " Let 
 us carry her off ! We will make the old king buy 
 her back." So they carried off Pocahontas, and 
 sent word to Powhatan that he could not have his 
 daughter unless he would pay a large sum for her. 
 
 Will. — To think of treating Pocahontas lik3 that, 
 after all she had done for the colony ! 
 
 Mother. — Powhatan was enraged at the insult ; 
 and he said, " I will never buy her back ! I will 
 fight for her ! " And many of the Indians became 
 enemies to the English. 
 
 But just at that time a young Englishman, named 
 John Rolfe, took a great iancy to Pocahontas. And 
 Pocahontas liked him very much. So they were 
 
74 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 married. Powhatan was pleased at tbis ; and he 
 never allowed any of his tribe to be unkind to the 
 English afterwards. 
 
 Lizzie. — Did Pocahontas live in a wigwam after 
 she was married, or did she live in a house like 
 ours ? 
 
 Mother. — She did not live in a wigwam any 
 longer. And when she was twenty-one, she went 
 to England with her husband, and saw the king and 
 queen. 
 
 Indian Wigwam. 
 
 Everybody showed her a great deal of attention. 
 I think Smith had something to do with this. For 
 when he heard Pocahontas was coming to England, 
 he wrote a letter to the queen, telling her how much 
 good Pocahontas had done to the colonists, and 
 begging the queen to be very kind to her. He 
 also said that it would make the Indians in America 
 feel kindly towards the English, if they should hear 
 
A NOBLE INDIAN GIRL. 75 
 
 that Powhatan's daughter had been treated like a 
 princess. 
 
 But true, brave, noble, devoted Pocahontas re- 
 mained as simple as when she roved in the forests 
 around her father's hut. 
 
 Will. — I don't believe she forgot Smith, either. 
 
 Mother, — She had heard that he was dead; when 
 one day he was suddenly presented to her ! 
 
 Now, you know people at court must be very 
 ceremonious — that is, they must bow just so, and 
 speak to each other in just such a way, or they are 
 called rude. 
 
 When Pocahontas saw Smith, she forgot all about 
 court manners ; and, rushing across the room, she 
 flung her arms around him, and called him "father!" 
 
 She felt hurt when Smith told her that such free- 
 dom might do for the wild forests of America, but 
 not for the English court. She turned away from 
 him, hid her face in her hands, and did not speak 
 for two hours. 
 
 Then she said, " You were not afraid to come to 
 my father's country, and cause fear in him and all 
 his people but me ! And fear you hei'e that I should 
 call you father? I tell you, then, I will! And you 
 shall call me child ! And so I will be forever and 
 ever your countryman ! " 
 
 Will. — I should almost know Pocahontas would 
 talk like that. 
 
76 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Lizzie, — Did she like living in England? 
 
 Mother. — I think she could not have enjoyed 
 giving up her native freedom. And then the climate 
 did not agree with her. 
 
 Her husband was just going back to America with 
 her, when she died, leaving a beautiful little boy. 
 This little boy staid in England till he had received 
 a good education ; then he went to Virginia, and 
 became a rich man. It is said that some of tlie first 
 families in Virginia are descended from him. 
 
 Lizzie. — Since you told us about Columbus, I 
 have thought he could not have discovered Amer- 
 ica if it hadn't been for Isabella. Smith could not 
 have colonized America if it hadn't been for Poca- 
 hontas. 
 
 Mother. — I think we may safely say that. Poca- 
 hontas was just the friend Smith needed. Isabella 
 herself could not have been to Smith what Pocahon. 
 tas was. 
 
 Will. — And Pocahontas could not have helped 
 Columbus as Isabella did ; because she was not rich. 
 
 Mother. — You are quite right. And we may 
 learn from this that God gives to earnest souls just 
 the help they need to carry out his plans. 
 
 Will. — Did Smith ever go back to America ? 
 
 Mother. — It seems as if the settling of America 
 vvas what he loved and cared for more than any- 
 
A NOBLE INDIAN GIRL. 77 
 
 thing else in the world, for he had no family. And 
 as soon as his health was better, he was again busy 
 in his chosen work. 
 
 He did not go back to Jamestown, although the 
 settlement there did not prosper for a number of 
 years after he left it. But he explored the land in 
 what we call New England. He made maps of it, 
 and also of the country between New England and 
 Virginia. He wrote books, describing the climate, 
 soil, and appearance of the country. He told of the 
 advantages there were in going to a lai'go country 
 where each one could have land of his own, and 
 grow rich if he was willing to work. And people 
 M'^ere more anxious than ever to go to America. 
 
 Smith did not live to be an old man. He died in 
 London in the year 1631. 
 
 Will. — That was twenty-six years after he 
 w^ent to Jamestown. So he must have been fifty- 
 two years old. 
 
 Mother. — I am glad to see you remember our 
 talks so well. 
 
 What colony was first settled, Lizzie, and who 
 was the father of it ? 
 
 Lizzie. — Virginia was the first, and Smith settled 
 it. If the settlement was not a very happy one, it 
 was because there were so many men in it who 
 didn't like to work. 
 
78 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Mother. — I had almost forgotten to tell you 
 another bad result of the idleness of the first set- 
 tlers. 
 
 In 1619, a Dutch ship arrived at Jamestown, land- 
 ing twenty negroes. " Here ! " said the Dutchmen 
 to the Virginia planters ; " you are in want of work- 
 ers. Buy these slaves, and you will have no trouble 
 in raising corn and tobacco." 
 
 The negroes were bought and set to work, with 
 the fear of the whip-lash on their backs if they dared 
 to be idle. In this way slavery was brought to 
 this country, 
 
 Lizzie. — Couldn't the poor negroes have any 
 land of their own ? 
 
 Mother. — No ; they were bought and sold with 
 the land. 
 
 Lizzie. — That wasn't right. So I am sure the 
 Virginia colony would have to suffer for it some 
 time. 
 
THE HOME OF FREEDOM. 79 
 
 VIII. 
 
 THE HOME OF FREEDOM. 
 
 Mother. — Before saying much about the settle- 
 ment at Plymouth, I must go back and tell you why 
 these people wanted to come to America. 
 
 Will. — You said the first settlement in America 
 did not succeed because there was no man fit to be 
 a leader. Are you not going to tell us about some 
 smart man among those who went to Plymouth ? 
 
 Mother. — I am going to tell you something 
 about a great man, though he was not one of the 
 settlers. 
 
 You know, when we were talking about Colum- 
 bus, we said that God let him believe that the world 
 was round, and made him feel sure that there was 
 another continent, because all Europe needed to 
 know it, 
 
 Lizzie. — Yes ; the merchants wanted to find an 
 easier road to India. 
 
 Will. — The Portuguese navigator got the start, 
 though, and found the way to India by doubling 
 the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
80 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY, 
 
 Mother. — All Europe would soon after need to 
 know that there were homes to be found in Amer- 
 ica, and for a reason a thousand times more impor- 
 tant than that for finding a passage to India. 
 
 You must know that the governments in Europe 
 were very strict. That is, they gave the people 
 very little freedom, — especially the poor people. 
 
 Will. — I remember you said a poor man there 
 could not own any land. 
 
 Mother. — The discovery of America made a 
 great change all over the world. It was wonderful 
 news to learn that there was a great country across 
 the ocean. It was like opening a window in a dark 
 and crowded room, so that sunshine and fresh air 
 could come in. Everybody was thinking and talk- 
 ing about it ; and thinking and talking make men's 
 minds grow. It was just before this time, too, that 
 printing was first used. 
 
 Lizzie. — Why, mother ! didn't people have books 
 to read before then ? 
 
 Mother. — They had only books that were written 
 by hand. These were costly ; and of course but very 
 fow could afibrd to own them. The common people 
 could not have read them either, if they had owned 
 them. But now they were beginning to read and 
 to think for themselves. 
 
 I told you just now that the European govern- 
 
THE HOME OF FREEDOM. 81 
 
 ments did not give the people much freedom. One 
 proof of this is, that men were not allowed to wor- 
 ship God each in his own way. Every man had to 
 pay something- out of his small earnings to support 
 the same kind of church, and say, I believe so and 
 so. And if he did not do this, he was punished 
 by law. 
 
 Will. — I don't think that was fair ! 
 
 Mother. — When people began to think lor them- 
 selves, they saw it was not fair. But it was a very 
 dangerous thing for a man to say so. 
 
 About this time there was a very bold, brave man 
 in Germany, named Martin Luther, Avho dared to 
 say, " Every man must think for himself No man 
 can think for him ! " 
 
 Martin Lutiier was like a lion among men. He 
 would say what he believed, even if he knew it 
 would cost him liis life to say it. 
 
 Lizzie. — Was Martin Luther among the Plymouth 
 settlers ? 
 
 Mother. — 0, no, dear child. He died before the 
 fii'st settlement at Jamestown. The reason I am 
 telling you about him is, that he had something to 
 do with the coming of the settlers to Plymouth. 
 
 Martin Luther loved music. He wrote beautiful 
 hymns for the people to sing. These grand old 
 hymns, that were first sung in Germany, echoed 
 6 
 
82 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 from country to country, till all Europe was quiver- 
 ing with their music. People sang about freedom 
 before they dared to talk about it. Thus music was 
 a mighty weapon against the tyranny of kings. 
 
 Lizzie. — I like to hear you talk about it, mother, 
 because your voice is so deep, and you look so 
 earnest ; but I cannot quite understand you. 
 
 Will. — I do. Mother means that the people 
 were all singing of freedom before the kings knew 
 what they were about. 
 
 Mother. — Thank you, Will, You are right. 
 
 Sitting here by the pleasant fire, and hearing 
 only our own low voices, it is an easy thing to 
 say, '' Every man must worship God in his own 
 way." But this thought from Heaven made every 
 king in Europe tremble on his throne. It was the 
 cause of the most horrible wars. 
 
 Europe was not large enough for this mighty 
 thought to grow in. People began to say, '■• We 
 cannot think, — we cannot breathe freely here. We 
 must have more room." 
 
 Will. — Now I see the whole of it ! Of course 
 the kings were not willing that the people should 
 think as they pleased ; and so folks said, " If we 
 can't think about God as we want to here, we will 
 go where we can. We will go to America ! " 
 
 Mother. — That is it. So, you see, the time had 
 
THE HOME OP FREEDOM. 83 
 
 come when it was really necessary that the people 
 of Europe should know of a place like America. 
 
 Will. — Then the discovery of this country did 
 more good than just finding a passage to India 
 would have done. 
 
 Mother. — Far more. Columbus little knew what 
 great good was coming to the world through the 
 mighty feeling in his heart Avhich impelled him to 
 his discoveries. 
 
 Lizzie. — I can see why people should have liked 
 to go to America : it was a new place, and people 
 like to see new places. 
 
 But do you think the settlers Avho came to Plym- 
 outh would have been treated very badly if they had 
 staid in Europe ? 
 
 Mother. — I cannot begin to tell you how cruelly 
 people were treated who dared to believe in God in 
 their own Avay. They were hunted like wild beasts. 
 Many were banished from their country forever. 
 Many were burned to death. In France alone, one 
 hundred thousand people were put to death for be- 
 lieving what the}' thought was right. 
 
 Will. — A hundred thousand ! How could it be? 
 
 Mother. — There was a cruel king in Prance at 
 that time. His mother was a very wicked woman. 
 And then there was a duke who was also very cruel. 
 These three, who had most to do with the govern- 
 
84 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 ment, thought no more of killing men and women 
 than you would of killing flies. And they said, 
 " What business has any one to think differently 
 •from kings and queens ! We will show people Avhat 
 they ought to believe ! " 
 
 So they had a party, and invited thousands of peo- 
 ple to come to it. It was a great affair, for it was 
 to celebrate the marriage of a prince. And just as 
 everybody was having a good tin^e, the Avord was 
 given, " Kill ! Kill ! " 
 
 This was the beginning of one of the most terri- 
 ble times the world ever knew, A hundred thou- 
 sand men, women, and children were put to death. 
 
 And all this was for believing in God as they 
 thought right. 
 
 Will. — 0, how angry the people must have been 
 all over Europe ! 
 
 Mother. — And instead of believing just what the 
 kings said they must, there were larger numbers 
 than before who said, " We will think for our- 
 selves ! " 
 
 This horrible affair in France occurred over a 
 hundred years before people began to come to 
 America to live. But after this a great many per- 
 sons in England were burned to death for worship- 
 ping God in their own way. And the Plymouth set- 
 tlers, who could not meet together to talk about 
 
THE HOME OF P^REEDOM. 85 
 
 God without being disturbed, did not know but 
 they would be hunted down or driven from their 
 country. 
 
 They said, " We would rather live in huts in 
 America, and have quiet talks about God, than 
 stay here." 
 
 So you see tlie hundred men, women, and chil- 
 dren who left England in the ship Mayflower did 
 not come to America to make discoveries, or to hunt 
 for gold. They came to worship God in freedom. 
 
 Lizzie. — 0, it must have been hard for the little 
 children who Avere with them ! Was it very cold 
 weather when they started ? 
 
 Mother. — They left England in September, 1620. 
 
 Will. — That was fourteen years after Captain 
 John Smith left for Virginia. 
 
 Mother. — When the Pilgrims first left their 
 homes the weather was pleasant and warm. The 
 gardens were full of flowers ; the hills were green ; 
 the birds were singing. 
 
 After the Mayflower had been tossing on the 
 stormy ocean for sixty-three days, the Pilgrims 
 were told they had reached their new homes. 
 The little company crowded on deck, full of hope ; 
 for they had heard pleasant things of America. 
 
 0, how bare and bleak everything looked ! No 
 green fields, no blossoming meadows. The hills 
 
'gtJ THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 were covered with snow. The leafless branches 
 of the trees were encased in ice, through which 
 the winter winds moaned. The rocky coast, as far 
 as the eye could see, was white with frost. Even 
 the sunshine remained behind the clouds, as if to 
 make the picture colorless and bare. 
 
 Lizzie. — 0, mother ! Didn't the}^ all want to go 
 Dack to England ? 
 
 Mother. — No. " This shall be the home of Free- 
 dom ! " they said. '' Here we can worship God." 
 And they joined in singing a hymn — one of the 
 hymns that Martin Luther had taught the people. 
 
 Will. — I don't believe these folks had any quar- 
 relling on the way over. 
 
 Mother. — They did not. And before they went 
 on shore they signed a paper, saying each would 
 work for the good of all. They also chose one of 
 their number for a governor, — one whom they all 
 loved, and were willing to obey. His name was 
 John Carver. 
 
 When they lowered their little boat to go on 
 shore, they found that it needed repairs. It had 
 served as a sleeping berth on the voyage over. 
 They had to wait seventeen days before it was fit 
 to use. Li the mean time sixteen of the men put 
 themselves under the command of Captain Stan- 
 dish, and reached the shore by wading through the 
 
THE HOME OF FREEDOM. 87 
 
 icy water. This gave them severe colds, from which 
 some of them never recovered. 
 
 Will. — I don't see why they needed a captain. 
 
 Mother. — They had heard of the Indians. And 
 in case of attack, they knew they must have one 
 man to look to for orders. 
 
 Will. — That shows they were more sensible 
 than the men at Jamestown, who were always 
 quarrelling because every one wanted to be cap- 
 tain. 
 
 Mother. — When the little boat was ready, a 
 number of the men again started to hunt up and 
 down the coast for a good harbor. It was snowing 
 fast. The spray from the waves froze upon them, 
 so that they had on coats of ice. 
 
 After exploring the coast in different directions, 
 they landed and made a fire, staying on shore 
 through the night. The next morning, just at day- 
 break, they heard the horrid yell of the Indians. 
 And soon the air about them was full of arrows. 
 But no one was hurt. Thankful for this, they 
 started off again, in their little shallop, to search 
 for a good harbor for the Mayflower. 
 
 As the day wore on the storm increased. The 
 snow and sleet so blinded them that it was difficult 
 to get a glimpse of the land. Their little boat rose 
 and fell like a feather on the foaming waves. Soon 
 
THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY, 
 
 Pilgrims seeking a Harbor in tbe 
 Storm. 
 
 their rudder broke. 
 Then their mast was 
 split in pieces, and 
 the sail went over- 
 board. Night came 
 on. " We are lost ! " 
 cried tliey ; and each 
 thought of the dear 
 
 ones in the Mayflower, who were anxiously waiting 
 
 for them. 
 
 But just then they found themselves in a little 
 
 bay, where they were sheltered from the fury of the 
 
 storm. The war-whoops of the Indians were still 
 
 heard in the distance. 
 
 " Let us thank God for his care ! " said the Pil- 
 
THE HOME OF FREEDOM, 89 
 
 grims. " Ho has saved us from the dangers of the 
 storm ; He will guard us from the savages." And 
 so He did. 
 
 Numb with cold, and almost perishing with hun- 
 ger, they landed and built a fire. 
 
 By the light of the next morning they saw that 
 they were on an island at the entrance of a good 
 harbor, where the MayfloAver could be safely moored. 
 
 Lizzie. — How singular ! When the Jamestown 
 settlers were trying to land, a storm drove them 
 into a good deal better place than they expected 
 to find. 
 
 Will. — It drove them into Chesapeake Bay, 
 near James River. 
 
 Mother. — And the storm which the Pilgrims 
 met drove them into what we now call Plymouth 
 Harbor. 
 
 Overcome by cold and fatigue, they were glad to 
 rest during the next day, which Avas Sunday. On 
 Monday morning they again started to explore the 
 harbor, and find the best landing-place. 
 
 They soon came to a large rock by the shore, 
 Avhich seemed to invite them to stop. Here they 
 moored their little boat. 
 
 And on the 22d of December, 1620, these stout- 
 hearted, earnest men stood upon the shores of Plym- 
 outh, and thanked God for Freedom. 
 
90 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Lizzie. — And they were glad they had found a 
 good place to make homes for the mothers and the 
 little cliildren — were they not, mother ? 
 
 Mother. — Indeed they were. They explored 
 the country a little, and found that the forests were 
 partly cleared away. They found beautiful springs 
 of water. They also found a heap of corn. 
 
 " We will go back now to the Mayflower," they 
 said, " and tell our friends we have found a good 
 place for a settlement." 
 
 What do you think had happened while they were 
 gone ? A dear little baby boy had been born. He 
 was named Peregrine White. This was the first 
 English child born in New England ; and he lived 
 to be over eighty years old. 
 
 Will. — It must have been a good deal easier to 
 make a settlement here, than if no forests had been 
 cleared away. 
 
 Mother. — That is true ; although they had many 
 hard times during the winter that followed, and were 
 in constant fear that the Indians would drive them 
 away. 
 
 Lizzie. — I don't see how they kept the little chil- 
 dren warm till they got houses built. 
 
 Mother. — Fortunately the Mayflower did not go 
 back to England till April. So the women and chil- 
 dren had comfortable quarters on board till the huts 
 
THE HOME OF FREEDOM. 91 
 
 were ready for them. But the climate was very 
 hard upon all the little company. They had never 
 felt such severe cold in England. And when spring 
 came, half their number had died. Among these 
 was their good governor, John Carver. 
 
 Lizzie. — 0, what a hard time they must have 
 had ! I pity them more than I did the other set- 
 tlers, because there were so many mothei's and little 
 children. They were such good people, too ! I 
 wish they had gone farther south ; then they would 
 not have suffered so with the cold. 
 
 Mother. — They intended to go a little farther 
 south. They meant to land at the mouth of Hudson 
 River. 
 
 Will. — I suppose they had learned about the 
 place from Smith's maps. 
 
 Mother. — They had learned, too, that some Dutch 
 settlers had already landed there, and liked the place 
 much. But they were never sorry that they chose 
 Plymouth for their landing-place. 
 
 Will. — I want to know if they went and got ac- 
 quainted with the Indians, as Smith did. 
 
 Mother. — After they had been at Plymouth about 
 six months, an Indian one day walked boldly into 
 town, saying, " Welcome, English ! Welcome, Eng- 
 lish ! " 
 
 Lizzie. — That is strange ! I thought tlie Indians 
 could not speak our language. 
 
92 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Mother. — This one had learned a little Englisli 
 from some fisherman on the coast of Maine. The 
 settlers received him very kindly. They learned 
 from him that many Indians had formerly lived at 
 Plymouth, but a terrible pestilence had swept them 
 from the land. They also learned that Massasoit, 
 the king of all the tribes in the neighborhood, was 
 near by, and that he wanted to open friendly rela- 
 tions with the settlers. 
 
 In a few days they were again surprised by a 
 ^i,3it from Massasoit himself, accompanied by sixty 
 of his followers. 
 
 Will. — Sixty Indians ! Why, there were not so 
 many settlers as that ! 
 
 Mother. — It was an anxious time for the little 
 band of Pilgrims. Massasoit did not come at once 
 into town, but was stationed on a hill Avithin sight. 
 The governor sent word that he sliould be glad 
 to talk with the Indian king. He also sent him 
 some presents, — two knives, a copper chain with 
 a jewel in it, some " strong water " or whiskey, a 
 quantity of biscuit, and some butter. This kind- 
 ness assured Massasoit that the settlers would do 
 him no liarm. So, accompanied by a few followers 
 who had laid aside their bows and arrows, ho ap- 
 proached the little town. The settlers received 
 him with as much pomp and ceremon}' as it was 
 
THE HOME OF FREEDOM. 93 
 
 in their power to do. Captain Standish, with six 
 musketeers, went out to meet him. 
 
 Massasoit allowed himself to be conducted to an 
 unfinished house, in which were placed a green rug 
 and three or four cushions. Soon the governor 
 advanced, attended by a few soldiers, two of whom 
 made a great flourish with a drum and trumpet. 
 Refreshments were then served ; after which a 
 treaty was agreed upon, in which Massasoit prom- 
 ised to be a good friend to the English, and to help 
 them in case tliey were attacked. In return the 
 governor promised friendliness on the part of the 
 English. 
 
 This treaty was of great use to the English in 
 many ways. It was kept sacred for over fifty 
 years. 
 
 Lizzie. — Then I am sure there were some good- 
 hearted Indians. 
 
 Mother. — The colony gradually increased in num- 
 bers. In a year from the time they landed another 
 party of emigrants came over from England. But 
 this was a great drawback to the success Of the 
 colony during the next winter. 
 
 Lizzie. — Why, I should think they would have 
 been glad to see more English people ! 
 
 Mother. — So they were, at first. But these last 
 settlers had no provisions ; and the first comers had 
 
94 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 to share all their food with them. Such was their 
 trust in God they did not complain, but gave cheer- 
 fully to the strangers. 
 
 Will. — Couldn't they get corn from those In- 
 dians who were so kind to them ? 
 
 Mother. — No ; these Indians were very poor, 
 and, like themselves, did not know one day where 
 they would get anything to eat the next. 
 
 Lizzie. — Why ! Were the Pilgrims so poor as 
 that ? 
 
 Mother. — At one time they had so little corn 
 that each family could have but a single pint. 
 When this was parched and given around, they 
 could allow but five kernels at a time to each 
 person. After this they had no corn at all. And 
 for months you would have seen nothing on the 
 best table among them but a lobster, or a bit of 
 fish, and a pitcher of water. 
 
 It was four years before they had any cattle ; so, 
 during all that time, they had but little meat. They 
 did not go without bread, however, after the second 
 winter. 
 
 Lizzie. ■ — If they had no cows or goats, then the 
 little boys and girls could have no milk ! 
 
 Mother. — I had not thought of that. 
 
 Will. — And, of course, they could get no butter 
 nor cheese. 
 
THE HOME OF FREEDOM. 95 
 
 Lizzie. — I guess they were glad when summer 
 came, for then they could get berries. 
 
 Will. — They could shoot birds, too, and catch 
 fish in the streams. 
 
 Did they have good luck in planting ? If they 
 had no cattle, it must have been hard work to get 
 the ground ready. 
 
 Mother. — They did not have all the corn they 
 needed during the first two years. Instead of each 
 man's planting for himself, all worked in common. 
 That is, they worked together, and then divided the 
 corn equally. 
 
 Will. — I don't think I should have liked that. 
 If I were willing to work more hours than another 
 man, I should feel as if I ought to have more corn. 
 
 Mother. — So some of the Pilgrims thought after 
 working in this way for two years. 
 
 As soon as each man had his own little plof. of 
 ground to plant, everybody became interested to 
 see how much corn he could raise. The conse- 
 quence was, that they not only raised enough for 
 themselves, but they had some to sell to the Indians, 
 and to the fishermen who came near the coast. 
 
 Will. — I don't see why the Indians wanted to 
 buy. I should think they could have raised corn of 
 their own. 
 
 Mother. — So they could. But the Indian loves 
 
96 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 to rove and hunt better than to cultivate the 
 ground. And if he can buy corn with the furs 
 he gets in the chase he is glad. 
 
 Will. — The settlers must have felt encouraged, 
 if they could raise corn enough to buy furs with. 
 If they got more furs than they needed, they could 
 send them over to Europe and get money for them. 
 
 Lizzie. — But how could they send them, when 
 there were no ships going back ? 
 
 Mother. — Soon after this there were more ships 
 going and coming across the Atlantic. Though the 
 settlers suffered so much, they kept up good cour- 
 age, and Avrote back such pleasant accounts to their 
 English friends, that more people came over. " We 
 are happy," they wrote. " We have given up many 
 home comforts that we had in England ; but wo can 
 worship God in our own way. What more can we 
 ask ? " 
 
ALONE IN THE WOODS. 97 
 
 IX. 
 
 ALONE IN THE WOODS. 
 
 Mother. — In 1629, — nine years after the May- 
 flower came over, — one hundred people arrived, 
 and made another settlement at Salem. And one 
 year later, fifteen hundred settlers came. Many of 
 them were highly educated. Before they started 
 they chose John Winthrop for their governor. He 
 was a very kind, unselfish man. He loved Old Eng- 
 land ; yet he felt indignant that kings should meddle 
 with what he thought about God. 
 
 Among the people who came over with him were 
 some who had lived in such rich homes, that they 
 would have been discouraged at the prospect of 
 living in the miserable little houses of the new 
 country, if it had not been for his cheering 
 words. 
 
 Lizzie. — Did all these people go and live with 
 the Plymouth settlers ? 
 
 Mother. — No; they landed first at Salem. After- 
 wards some of them settled at Boston, some at 
 Charlestown, and some at other places along Massa- 
 7 
 
98 THE STORY OF OUK COUNTEY. 
 
 chusetts Bay ; so that they were called the Massa- 
 chusetts Bay Colony. 
 
 Lizzie. — The Plymouth settlers must have been 
 glad to know there were so many more people from 
 England in the country. They could go and see 
 them sometimes. 
 
 Will. — And trade with them, as they did with 
 the Indians. 
 
 Mother. — It was really so. Then, too, each 
 colony chose a few men and sent them to Boston, 
 to talk over what was for the best good of all. 
 
 This was the beginning of civil government in 
 America. The whole were governed by a few men, 
 and these men were chosen by the people themselves. 
 
 Will. — The Pilgrims must have liked that better 
 than to be governed by a king they hadn't chosen, 
 and perhaps didn't like. Besides, a king stays a 
 king as long as he lives ; and if he is a bad man, 
 the people can't help themselves. But if a gov- 
 ernor doesn't do the right thing, why, the people 
 can choose a better man. 
 
 Lizzie. — A governor would let people think as 
 they liked. 
 
 Will. — Of course. The people wouldn't choose 
 a man who would not do that. 
 
 Mother. — Well, now I am going to tell you 
 something that will surprise you very much. 
 
ALONE IN THE WOODS. 99 
 
 Lizzie. — What is it ? 
 
 Mother. — The first dispute the Pilgrims had 
 was about letting every man think as he liked 
 about serving God. 
 
 Will. — Why, they came over to this country, 
 because they wanted every man to do that ! 
 
 Mother. — Certainly they did. I will tell you 
 how the trouble began, 
 
 A little while after the company had settled in 
 Salem, a very good young man came over from 
 England and landed at that place. His name was 
 Roger Williams. He was only thirty years old ; but 
 he was a fine scholar and a true gentleman. By 
 that I mean he was always making others happy, 
 wherever he went. This Roger Williams was a 
 minister ; and he left England because he was not 
 allowed to preach what he thought was right. 
 
 Lizzie. — Then I should think the Pilgrims would 
 have liked him. 
 
 Mother. — So they did, until they found that he 
 did not believe just as they did. You see, by this 
 time, a great many people were coming over from 
 England. Some liked to go to church, and were 
 willing to pay to help support it ; while others did 
 not care to go, and were not willing to pay any 
 money for it. 
 
 Will. — I suppose they wanted their money for 
 other things. 
 
 LofC. 
 
100 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Mother. — No doubt. They were already start- 
 ing schools, and perhaps some felt more interested 
 in them. But, at any rate, the laws of Massachu- 
 setts said, " Every man must go to church. Every 
 man must give something to support the church." 
 
 Will. — Then if the laws said so, the men that 
 made the laws must have all believed alike about it. 
 
 Mother. — The few men who came over from 
 Europe at first did all think alike. But you can 
 see that when people came over by thousands, there 
 must have been many who did not think as the Pil- 
 grims did. 
 
 When Roger Williams saw that they punished 
 people for not going to church, he said, " Your laws 
 are wrong ! It is right to punish a man for stealing, 
 but not for staying awa}^ from church.'"' 
 
 The Pilgrims did not see it so ; and they said, 
 " You must not teach our children such wicked 
 notions as these. Men who will not go to church 
 are not fit to take part in the government. We 
 want no such men here. But Roger Williams was 
 firm. He said, " I left my native land because I 
 could not speak the truth as I saw it. You may 
 banish me from the country ; you may take my life ; 
 but you shall not take away my freedom ! " Yet 
 all this time he was so kind-hearted, that those who 
 lived near him loved him. They even chose him for 
 
ALONE IN THE WOODS. • 101 
 
 minister at Salem. But when the people at Boston 
 heard of it, they were very indignant ; and they 
 sent word to Salem that Boger Williams was a very 
 unsafe man for a preacher. " He is trying to over- 
 throw our government/' they said. 
 
 To this Roger Williams replied, '' I am not try- 
 ing to overthrow your government ; I am trying 
 to prevent you from doing that yourselves. Your 
 laws are not wise, if they do not provide for the 
 good of all. I believe that God has chosen this 
 great country to be an asylum for the poor and 
 oppressed of all lands. And how can that place 
 be home to a man where he cannot enjoy his 
 religion ? " 
 
 Will. — Did the Pilgrims agree with him then? 
 
 Mother. — No ; and the people of Boston, where 
 the courts were held, were so indignant at the 
 Salem people for making Boger Williams their 
 minister, that they took away a large tract of land 
 belonging to them. They also declared that the 
 Salem settlement should no longer be under their 
 protection. 
 
 This made the Salem people sorry for what they 
 had done. So they wrote a letter to the governor 
 at Boston, and said so. 
 
 Will. — ■ Then the Salem people were cowards. 
 
 Mother. — At last Roger Williams had no friend 
 
102 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 left who believed in him. Even his wife, Mary, 
 thought he was wrong. 
 
 "If I cannot stay here and believe and say what 
 I think is right, I will go to another part of the 
 country," said Roger Williams, 
 
 But the people at Boston heard of this, and 
 determined to send him out of the country alto- 
 gether. 
 
 Will. ■ — He must have been a smart man, if they 
 were as afraid of him as that ! 
 
 Mother, — He was ; and too wise a man to be 
 caught. For when the officers went into his house 
 to arrest him and put him on board a ship that was 
 just ready to sail for England, he was gone, no one 
 knew where, 
 
 Lizzie, — Did his wife go with him ? 
 
 Mother. — No ; and it was fortunate she did not ; 
 for durino- the next three and a half months he was 
 wandering through the snowy forests, often without 
 food, and with no shelter but a hollow tree. 
 
 Lizzie. — 0, that was too bad ! 
 
 Will. — I didn't think the Pilgrims could treat a 
 man so — an honest man, too ! Wh}^, I think he 
 was the truest, best man of them all. Of course 
 he was not going to help them make a government 
 like the one they had left in England. 
 
 MOTIJISR. — No, indeed ! And his heart was so 
 
ALONE IN THE WOODS. 
 
 103 
 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 large that he 
 thought not only 
 of the good of 
 
 BogerWiUiams searching for a Sleep, ^j^^^^ already in 
 ing-place in the "Wilderness. _ "^ 
 
 America, but he 
 thought of the millions that might come from all 
 lands in the future. But if Roger Williams was 
 homeless, he was not without friends. 
 
 Will. — Then I know who would be kind to 
 him, — the Indians ! 
 
 Mother. — You are right. He found a welcome 
 in every Indian hut Avhich he entered. He was no 
 stranger to the red men. He had often visited 
 
104 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 their IoavI}^ homes, and had learned something of 
 their language. After a Avhile he came to Massa- 
 soit's humble dwelling ; and the kind-hearted king, 
 who had before promised friendliness to the Eng- 
 lish, now gladly opened his door to the homeless 
 man, and showed him a generous hospitality. 
 
 At another time Roger Williams visited some 
 Indians farther south, called the Narragansetts ; and 
 their chief, Canonicus, usually thought to be a very 
 cruel Indian, loved him as his own son. 
 
 Will. — Did Roger Williams stay long among 
 the Indians ? 
 
 Mother. — Not long. He was anxious to start a 
 little colony somewhere out of Massachusetts, and 
 have a government which would not meddle with 
 the churches at all. Just then lie received a letter 
 from Governor Winthrop, which surprised him very 
 much. 
 
 Lizzie. — Who was Governor Winthrop ? 
 
 Will. — Why, I remember ; he was governor of 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Mother. — You are right. His letter gave Roger 
 Williams the unexpected hint to go to Narragansett 
 Bay and settle, as no Englishman had as yet any 
 claim to the land. 
 
 Roger Williams took tliis advice. By that time 
 five old friends had joined him, saying they wanted 
 
ALONE IN THE WOODS. 105 
 
 to help him make a neAv settlement. So, in June of 
 1636, — sixteen years after the Pilgrims first landed 
 at Plymouth, — Roger Williams and his five friends 
 got into a canoe, and paddled down a little stream 
 that flows into Narragansett Bay. They stopped at 
 the head of the bay, at a place that seemed to be a 
 pleasant spot for a settlement. 
 
 " The providence of God has cared for me, and 
 led me hither ; therefore I Avill name the place 
 Providence," said he. And it has been called 
 Providence ever since. 
 
 Lizzie. — Why, that is the capital of Rhode 
 Island ! 
 
 MoTHEE. — And now you know who founded 
 Rhode Island. This land belonged then to the 
 Narragansett Indians. But when their chief, Ca- 
 nonicus, found that his white friend, whom he loved 
 so dearly, was going to settle there, he made hiin a 
 present of a large tract. 
 
 Lizzie. — What could he do with so much land ? 
 
 Mother. — ■ Roger Williams had been there but a 
 little while, when many others joined him from the 
 different settlements. And some came from Eng- 
 land to Rhode Island, having heard that the most 
 freedom could be found there. 
 
 Roger Williams gave his land away freely to 
 those who were not able to buy it for themselves. 
 
106 THE STOKY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 So that he had only as much left for himself as the 
 humblest stranger among them. 
 
 Lizzie. — Did he always live in Rhode Island after 
 that ? 
 
 Mother. — Always. But he visited England in a 
 few years, to get a charter for the colony. 
 
 Lizzie. — What do you mean by a charter ? 
 
 Mother. — It was a paper from the King of Eng- 
 land, saying that his people in America might 
 govern themselves and choose their own ofiicers. 
 The Massachusetts colony had such a charter ; and 
 Roger Williams was glad to receive one for Rhode 
 Island, too. 
 
 Nothing better shows us what a good man he 
 was, than the fact that he always loved and spoke 
 well of the Massachusetts Bay colony, even after 
 they had driven him from his home into the wilder- 
 ness. 
 
 He lived to be seventy-seven years old ; and died 
 as he had lived, beloved of many. 
 
MORE COLONIES. 107 
 
 MORE COLONIES. 
 
 Mother. — Tell me the names of the colonies you 
 have already heard about. 
 
 Lizzie. — Virginia, Massachusetts, and Rhode 
 Island. 
 
 Will. — Didn't you tell us tliat some Dutch peo- 
 ple went to New York ? 
 
 Mother. — Yes. When it was found that the 
 English had not discovered the north-west passage 
 to India, the government of the Netherlands — 
 or Holland pnd Belgium ^ — ^said, '' Perhaps we can 
 find it. We ought to, if any one can; for we own 
 more ships than all the rest of Europe." 
 
 So they fitted out a large ship, and gave the com- 
 mand of it to Henr}^ Hudson. 
 
 Lizzie. — Now I know where the Hudson River 
 got its name. 
 
 Mother. — I see you are guessing out my story. 
 Six years before the Puritans landed in Massa- 
 chusetts, Hudson sailed up the beautiful river 
 which is called after him ; and he was disappointed 
 when his vessel could go no farther. 
 
108 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Will. — He knew then that lie hadn't found the 
 way to India. 
 
 Mother. — Yes; and this was such a disappoint- 
 ment to Holland, that he was not sent again. But 
 a great many Dutch people came to America after 
 this, and settled in what we now call New York and 
 New Jersey. 
 
 Lizzie. — That makes two more settlements. So 
 we now know of five colonies. 
 
 Mother. — The Dutch did not come over for the 
 same reason that the Puritans did. They were 
 mostly traders. They bought furs of the natives, 
 and sent them back to Europe. They put up the 
 Dutch flag at first, thus showing that they claimed 
 the country for Holland. But afterwards some of 
 their governors did not treat them well ; so they 
 were glad to pull down the Dutch flag, and live 
 under the English flag. 
 
 Have you noticed that all the people who came 
 over to America settled along the coast? 
 
 Will. — Of course. They could not get far into 
 the country on account of the forests. 
 
 Mother. — You are right. If you will look at 
 your maps, and follow along the coast, it will be 
 easy for you to tell me the names of the Thirteen 
 Colonies that were first settled. Begin at New 
 Hampshire. 
 
MORE COLONIES. 
 
 109 
 
 Will. — New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode 
 Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Penn- 
 sylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Caro- 
 lina, South Carolina, Georgia, — 
 
 Mother. — There, you have named thirteen. 
 
 Lizzie. — Did all the other settlers suffer as much 
 as those you have told us about ? 
 
 
 Mother. — No ; but 
 
 nearly all suffered from 
 
 h the cruelty ofthe Indians. 
 
 o'y 'r _^. ^I^y^'i^ rpj^g jg^^g^ ^j^g settlement, 
 
 Settlers Emigrating to Connec- the lesS trouble did they 
 
 *i°^*- have. 
 
 The Connecticut settlers had a hard time. About 
 
110 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 fifteen years after the Puritans landed, a large col- 
 ony of men, women and children emigrated from 
 Massachusetts to Connecticut. They started in the 
 fall of the year, driving their cattle before them. 
 Their only guide was a compass. Their bed at 
 night was the rocky hill-side. If it had not been 
 for the milk of the cattle, many little children would 
 have died ; for their march through the wilderness 
 was so much more difficult than they had expected, 
 that they did not reach Connecticut till after winter 
 had set in, and their provisions had given out. 
 
 Lizzie. — What made them go to Connecticut ? 
 
 Mother, — They had heard it was a beautiful 
 place, and that the land was made rich by a large 
 river and its branches. 
 
 "W^ILL. — That was the Connecticut River. 
 
 Mother. — In the following year a largo company 
 from England joined them. After this they had 
 less suffering. 
 
 There was one other New England colony of which 
 I must tell you. New Hampshire was settled in 
 1623 by a few English merchants, who built little 
 houses along the principal rivers. The settlement 
 did not increase so rapidly as the others. 
 
 If you will look again at your maps, beginning at 
 New Hampshire, you will find I have told you some- 
 thing about every colony till we reach Delaware. 
 
MORE COLONIES. Ill 
 
 Delaware was settled by a company from Sweden. 
 They had very little trouble with the Indians, for 
 they were protected by the surrounding colonies. 
 As the settlement increased in size, the Dutch in 
 New York became jealous, for they felt they had 
 the first claim to the land. So they drove the 
 Swedes away. 
 
 Will. — But you said that the Dutch lived under 
 the English flag after they had been in this country 
 a few years. 
 
 Mother. — This was after Delaware was taken 
 from the Swedes. So you see the little colony was 
 claimed at different times by three nations, — first 
 by Sweden, then by Holland, and finally by Eng- 
 land. 
 
 As there is nothing else very striking in its story, 
 we will pass on to Maryland, — the colony that was 
 settled with the fewest iiardships. It is a beautiful 
 spot ; and the Virginians were very anxious to in- 
 clude it within their colony. But twenty-seven 
 years after Jamestown was settled, a company of 
 Catholics sailed up the Potomac. They had been 
 sent out by Lord Baltimore, to whom the English 
 king had given a grant of land. 
 
 Lizzie. — Why did they have an easy time ? 
 
 Mother, — They arrived in the spring of the year. 
 Lord Baltimore, who was very wealthy, had pro- 
 
112 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 vided generously foi* their comfort. Their leader, 
 Calvert, was a good and wise man, who made only 
 such laws as were for the good of all. 
 
 Will. — Then he didn't punish people for not 
 thinking all alike — did he ? 
 
 Mother. — No. And this was the principal reason 
 why the Maryland settlers were happy : each man 
 was left in freedom to think for himself. 
 
 Lizzie. — Of course they would agree, if they 
 were all Catholics. 
 
 Mother. — But other people, Avho did not agree 
 with them in religion, went afterwards to Maryland, 
 and were left in perfect freedom. 
 
 Will. — You said just now that these Catholics 
 came over twenty-seven years after John Smith did. 
 Then they must have landed in 1633 ; and that was 
 three years before Roger Williams went to Rhode 
 Island. 
 
 Mother. — Can you think of a city that was named 
 after the man who sent out the Maryland settlers ? 
 
 Lizzie. — I can, — Baltimore. 
 
 Mother. — North and South Carolina were set- 
 tled by people from England, Holland, and France. 
 Many from the northern colonies joined them. 
 
 Will. — You haven't told us anything before 
 about folks coming over from France ; but I should 
 think they would have been glad to come, for you 
 
MORE COLONIES. 113 
 
 said tliat a Imiidred thousand people were killed 
 there at one time. 
 
 Mother. — You are right. There were many in 
 France who thought as the Puritans did. They were 
 called Huguenots. About fifty years after the Puri- 
 tans landed, a great many Huguenots went to what 
 we now call North and South Carolina. The first 
 settlers were very glad to have these Frenchmen 
 come, for there were many fine workmen among 
 them, — mechanics, and artists. The other countries 
 in Europe would gladly have welcomed them ; for 
 their industry and taste for the fine arts enriched 
 every place they settled in. 
 
 Will. — Did the French king give them a 
 charter ? 
 
 Mother. — No ; they had been so persecuted at 
 home, that the}^ lost all love for the French govern- 
 ment ; and they were glad to live under the English 
 flag. There was no American flag then, you know. 
 
 I am sorry to say that the Huguenots suffered 
 much during their first year or two in America. 
 But it was well that they went to the Carolinas, for 
 the climate there is much more like sunny France 
 than in the other colonies. 
 
114 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 XI. 
 
 A FRIEND TO THE INDIANS. 
 
 Will. — Can't you tell us about some other brave 
 man that had strange adventures ? 
 
 Mother. — You know there are two colonies of 
 which I have given you no account yet. I hope 
 the story of the one I am to tell you about now 
 will interest you. It was started by a man who 
 believed he could get along peaceably with the 
 Indians ; and he always did. His name was Penn ; 
 and the colony was named after him. 
 
 Will. — Penn ! Then you are going to tell us 
 about Pennsylvania ! 
 
 Mother. — Which means '' Penn's Woods." Wil- 
 liam Penn was born in London. He was a Quaker, 
 — that is, he was one of those who believe it is 
 wrong to go to war, or even to defend one's self in 
 danger, save by kindness and love. He also be- 
 lieved that all men are equal in the sight of God, — 
 that rich and poor, high and low, educated and 
 ignorant, share alike the Heavenly Father's love. 
 " Why, then," said he, '' should one do homage to a 
 king, more than to any other man?" " No," said 
 
A FRIEND TO THE INDIANS. 115 
 
 he and the other Quakers, " we will not take off our 
 hats even in the presence of nobles or kings." 
 
 This got the Quakers into trouble, — particularly 
 William Penn, whose father was an admiral in the 
 English navy, and who often attended the king's 
 court. Of course the son was known at court 
 also. 
 
 Lizzie. — Was William Penn's father a Quaker ? 
 
 Mother. — He was not ; and he was so vexed to 
 find his son would carry his Quaker manners into 
 court, that he drove him from home. He might 
 never again have noticed William, if the kind moth- 
 er had not pleaded for him. But she urged the 
 father so much to take pity on the wanderer, who 
 had no money and no place to lay his head, that 
 finally the father forgave him. 
 
 Will. — I should think the court people, too, 
 would have been vexed at Penn, if they knew why 
 he kept on his hat. 
 
 Mother. — They were very angry with him. 
 After a while he was looked upon as such an en- 
 emy to the government, that he was arrested and 
 put into prison. But this did not alter his love 
 for the Quaker faith. He afterwards travelled in 
 Holland and Germany, preaching with such ear- 
 nestness that many people who heard him became 
 Quakers. 
 
116 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Will. — Then they must have had to suffer, as 
 the Puritans did. 
 
 Mother. — Yes. 
 
 Lizzie. — I think I know what would happen 
 next: the Quakers who had to suffer would want to 
 go to America. 
 
 Mother. — That was so. William Penn did every- 
 thing in his power to help the Quakers. He wrote 
 books to show that the governments had no right to 
 trouble them if they did no real wrong. He also 
 freely said this whenever he met any of the king's 
 friends. 
 
 Will. — I shouldn't think he would have met the 
 court people after he had been arrested. 
 
 Mother. — His pleasant manners and kind, gen- 
 erous heart always made him a favorite at court in 
 spite of his views. At one time, even the king took 
 great notice of him. 
 
 Lizzie. — Perhaps William Penn thought it was a 
 good plan to make friends at court, so that he could 
 Jielp the Quakers. 
 
 Mother. — I think that was his chief reason in 
 so doing, for his own tastes were very plain and 
 simple. But when he found there could be no 
 peace lor the Quakers in Europe, he was very anx- 
 ious to be the means of providing comfortable homes 
 for them in America. 
 
A FEIEND TO THE INDIANS. 117 
 
 When Perm's father died, the king was owing 
 him a large sum of money for important military 
 services. 
 
 Will. — Then the king ought to have given the 
 money to William Penn. 
 
 Mother. — Yes, he ought. But Charles II. was a 
 very extravagant king, and never had any money to 
 spare. So when Penn offered to take, instead of 
 the money, a tract of land in America, Charles II. 
 gladly consented. And in August, 1682, William 
 Penn and a number of Quaker friends sailed for the 
 Delaware, reaching that river after a voyage of six 
 weeks. 
 
 Will. — In 1682; that was seventy-six years 
 after the Jamestown settlement. 
 
 Lizzie. — And sixty-two years after the Puritans 
 came to Plymouth. So he must have had a good 
 deal easier time than they did. 
 
 Mother. — Yes. There were already a number 
 of Quakers near the Delaware ; and when Penn 
 landed, they flocked about him and gave him a 
 hearty welcome. 
 
 A few days after this, Penn took a boat, and with 
 a few friends sailed up the river till they came to 
 a peninsula formed by the meeting of two rivers — 
 the Delaware and Schuylkill. Mooring their boat, 
 they scrambled up the river-bank. It was a sunny 
 
118 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 day in October, As they stood under the elm trees 
 on the high spot of ground which separated the two 
 streams, and looked over the country, beautiful with 
 autumn foliage, William Penn said, " I have seen 
 the finest cities of Europe, but I never saw so beau- 
 tiful a site for a city as this ! " 
 
 Will. — Then didn't ho clioose that place to set- 
 tle in? 
 
 Mother. — The land was already claimed by some 
 people who had come from Sweden. But Penn was 
 so charmed with the situation that ho bought the 
 land from the Swedes, and it soon became the prin- 
 cipal place of the settlement. 
 
 William Penn took great interest in laying out 
 and beautifying it. He said he hoped the place 
 would always be noted for the kind feeling of its 
 people. So he called it Philadelphia, which means 
 " brotherly love." 
 
 Will. — You said that Penn had no trouble with 
 the Indians. Were there many about there ? 
 
 Mother. ■ — There were nineteen tribes in and 
 around Pennsylvania. Of course William Penn had 
 never known any Indians till he came to America. 
 But he reasoned thus about them : " Is not God the 
 Father of the red man as He is of us? And should 
 we not love all his children?" 
 
 So William Penn went among the natives with 
 
A FRIEND TO THE INDIANS. 119 
 
 the feeling that he was no better than they ; and 
 he always treated them with loving courtesy. 
 
 A few weeks after he landed, he sent v/ord to the 
 various tribes around, that he would meet them on 
 a certain day to make a treaty. At the time set, 
 crowds of the tawny-skinned natives assembled 
 mider tlie elm trees a little way north of Phila- 
 delphia. 
 
 William Penn was then thirty-eight years old, 
 graceful and fine-looking; and as he stood before 
 them in simple dress, surrounded only by a few 
 Quaker friends, every Indian heart was moved to 
 love him as he uttered these words : — 
 
 " I will not call you children, for parents some- 
 times chide their children too severely ; nor broth- 
 ers only, for brothers differ. The friendship be- 
 tween you and me I will not compare to a chain, 
 for that the rains might rust or the falling tree 
 might break. We are the same as if one man's 
 body were to be divided into two parts ; we are all 
 one flesh and blood." 
 
 Lizzie. — -The Indians must have liked that. What 
 did they say? 
 
 Mother. — They said : "We will live in love and 
 peace with William Penn and his children, as long 
 as the sun and moon shall endure." This treaty 
 never was broken. 
 
120 
 
 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Lizzie. — And that was because he really loved 
 the Indians. 
 
 Mother. — During the year following the treaty, 
 William Penn often met the Indians at their councils 
 or at their festivals. He yisited them in their 
 cabins and shared their roasted corn and hominy. 
 He laughed and frolicked with the little pappooses, 
 orjoined in the out- 
 
 door games of the 
 warriors. Some- 
 
 Penn accepting the Hospitality of the Indians 
 
 times he talked with them about religion. He 
 found that they had faith in God, whom they called 
 the Great Spirit. They believed the Great Spirit 
 made all things, and that he loved his children. No 
 
A FRIEND TO THE INDIANS. 121 
 
 Indian was afraid to die, because they full)' believed 
 that better hunting-grounds were awaiting them, 
 if they had been good Indians, — had been brave, 
 hospitable to strangers, and had never broken a 
 promise. 
 
 Lizzie. — With so many good friends around them, 
 I don't see why the Pennsylvania settlers could not 
 have had an easy time. 
 
 Mother. — As long as William Penn staid among 
 tliem, everything went along pleasantly. People 
 from other countries in Europe who were looking 
 to America heard that great freedom of thought 
 was allowed to ever)' man in Pennsylvania; and 
 also that there was no trouble with tlie Indians. 
 For these reasons the settlement grew more rapidly 
 than any of the others. 
 
 In 1683, Philadelphia consisted of three or four 
 little cottages. In two years after, there were six 
 Iiundred, also schools and a printing-press; so that in 
 tliree years Philadelphia had grown more than New 
 York city had done in half a century. 
 
 Will. — Then William Penn did not always re- 
 main in America. 
 
 Mother. — No ; he went back to England to help 
 the Quakers, many of whom were imprisoned. He 
 afterwards returned to this country, remaining only 
 two years however, when important business called 
 him again to England. 
 
122 THE STORY OF OUE COUNTRY. 
 
 After this came the most severe trials of his life. 
 His son, whom he had sent to Pennsylvania in his 
 stead, not only neglected his affairs, but disgraced 
 him by habits of dissipation. Another trouble also 
 came : a man with whom he had intrusted his money 
 matters in America, proved dishonest, and got Penn 
 in debt to a large amount, so that he had to go to 
 prison. 
 
 Lizzie. — 0, dear ! it seems as if the good men 
 always had to suffer. 
 
 Mother. — This was hard on Penn, for he was 
 then sixty-four years old. After remaining in prison 
 for many years, he was set free by the help of 
 friends. He did not live long after this, and died 
 at the age of seventy-eight. 
 
 Although terrible times frequently arose between 
 the different colonies and the natives, it is said that 
 no Quaker blood was ever shed by an Indian, — so 
 much did the red man love and honor the name of 
 William Penn. 
 
 I am sorry to say that in after years the descend- 
 ants of this good man did not show the same loving, 
 unselfish spirit which he had done in managing the 
 colony. 
 
 You have now heard something about twelve dif- 
 ferent colonies. 
 
 Will. — Georgia is the only one you have not 
 told us about. 
 
A FRIEND TO THE INDIANS. 123 
 
 Mother. — There is nothing very interesting to 
 tell about it. It was the last colony established, 
 having been settled one hundred and twenty-seven 
 years after the first settlement of Jamestown. 
 
 Will. — That must have been in 1733. 
 
 Mother. — You are right. Now please look on 
 the map and tell me again the names of the thirteen 
 colonies. 
 
124 THE STORY OF OUK COUNTRr. 
 
 XII. 
 THE PEOUOD WAR. 
 
 Will. — You said, in our last talk, that some of 
 the colonists had trouble witli the Indians. Please 
 tell us about it. 
 
 Mother. — In order to do so, we shall have to go 
 back to the time when Connecticut was first settled. 
 
 Will. — That was when the company of emi- 
 grants left Massachusetts for Connecticut, about 
 fifteen years after Plymouth was settled. 
 
 Lizzie. — Which made it about 1635. 
 
 Mother. — That is right. As soon as they had 
 finished their weary march through the wilderness, 
 before they had completed their miserable little 
 huts, they had constant attacks from the Indians. 
 
 Lizzie. — It wasn't the tribe that was so kind to 
 Roger Williams — was it ? 
 
 Will. — You mean the Narragansetts. 
 
 Mother. — It was a much larger tribe than the 
 Narragansetts, and far more fierce and cruel. They 
 were called the Pequods, and numbered seven hun- 
 dred warriors ; while the colony could only muster 
 two hundred soldiers. 
 
THE PEQUOD WAR. 125 
 
 Lizzie. — What made the Indians so cruel to the 
 whites ? 
 
 Mother. — They felt that Connecticut belonged 
 to them alone, and that the English had no right 
 there. 
 
 The Pequods had been deadly enemies of the 
 Narragansetts for a long time. But when they 
 foresaw that the English were likely to get all the 
 land into their hands, they went to Canonicus, the 
 chief of the Narragansetts, to see if he would join 
 them against the English, and kill or drive every 
 white man from the country. 
 
 This was a perilous time to the Connecticut set- 
 tlers. '* If the two tribes unite against us," said 
 they, " we must give up at once. If Ave could only 
 get Canonicus to join with us, we should be safe." 
 
 Will. — The settlers must have known how much 
 Canonicus thought of Roger Williams. Why didn't 
 they get him to go and say a good word for them ? 
 
 Mother. — That is exactly what they did do. 
 And Roger Williams showed the generosity of his 
 heart when, starting off alone in a poor canoe, he 
 hastened through a driving storm to the home of 
 Canonicus, to plead for those who had once driven 
 him into the wilderness. 
 
 The bloodthirsty chiefs of the Pequods were al- 
 ready there. For three days and three nights, Roger 
 
126 
 
 THE STOKY OP OUR COUNTRY, 
 
 Williams ate and slept with them, knowing that at 
 any moment his throat might be cut. Finally, through 
 his gentle influence, the Narragansetts decided to 
 remain friendly to the English. 
 
 Indians attacking the Settlers. 
 
 But the Connecticut 
 settlers were never for a 
 moment safe. Wherever 
 they might be, in the 
 field, around the fire- 
 place, or singing songs of worship in their little 
 churches, they were liable to be attacked by the 
 cruel Pequods. At last, the settlers could endure 
 it no longer. They must protect the homes of their 
 
THE PEQUOD WAR. 127 
 
 wives and children. And in the year 1637 began 
 the terrible Pequod war. 
 
 The English, headed by Captain John Mason, and 
 aided by the Narragansetts and a few other tribes, 
 made an attack on the principal fort of the Pequods. 
 It was just before dawn. The Indians were sleep- 
 ing. While the English soldiers were ascending 
 the hill on top of which stood the fort, a watch-dog 
 barked an alarm. The Indians awoke and hastened 
 to the fight. They numbered nearly three times as 
 many as the English, and it seemed as if they must 
 conquer. 
 
 " We must burn them ! " shouted Mason ; and he 
 threw firebrands among the light mats of the wig- 
 wams. In a few moments, the whole encampment 
 was in a blaze. Six hundred Indians — men, women, 
 and children — perished in the flames ; while only 
 two of the English had fallen in battle. 
 
 In a few days, more troops came from Massachu- 
 setts. The other Indian villages were attacked; 
 every wigwam was laid in ruins. Their chief fled, 
 and was afterwards killed by a hostile Indian. Of 
 the few Pequods remaining, some joined the Narra- 
 gansetts ; the rest were sold by the English into 
 slavery. Thus perished the tribe of the Pequods, 
 and the Connecticut settlers rejoiced in victory. 
 
 Lizzie. — But, 0, mother, how they must have 
 
128 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 felt when they thought of the Indian mothers and 
 little children that had been burned to death ! 
 
 Will. — Yes; but their own mothers and chil- 
 dren would have been killed, perhaps, if the Pe- 
 quods hadn't been destroyed. 
 
 Lizzie. — I don't believe it ! They might have 
 offered to buy the land. They might have treated 
 the Indians as William Penn did afterwards ; then 
 they wouldn't have had to be so cruel. 
 
 Mother. — There is no doubt that the Pequods 
 were more fierce and cruel than the tribes in Penn- 
 sylvania ; but I feel sure that more kindness on tlie 
 part of the white people would have brought about 
 a different treatment from the Indians. 
 
KING Philip's war. 129 
 
 XIII. 
 
 KING PHILIP'S WAR. 
 
 Will. — What other colony had quarrels with 
 the Indians ? 
 
 Mother. — The Massachusetts and Plymouth set- 
 tlements, — or we will say the Massachusetts col- 
 ony, as the two were united. 
 
 Lizzie. — Why, I thought the treaty with the 
 great Indian chief — 
 
 Will. — Massasoit — 
 
 Lizzie. — Yes ; — I thought the treaty with Mas- 
 sasoit wasn't broken for over fifty years. 
 
 Mother. — You are quite right. And it was not 
 till after his death that the troubles began. Massa- 
 soit always showed a very kind feeling toward the 
 whites. During the Indian war of 1637, he used 
 his influence to keep the different New England 
 tribes from uniting with the Pequods against the 
 English ; and it is said that this Indian chief and 
 Roger Williams had more to do than any one else 
 in saving the New England settlements from de- 
 struction by the natives. 
 9 
 
130 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY, 
 
 Massasoit frequently did things to show friendh"- 
 ness to the English. At one time he sent his two 
 sons to the court at Plymouth to receive new names. 
 
 '' My sons shall be no more called by the name 
 of their fathers," he said. "Let them receive new 
 names, that you may know I love you and yours, 
 and desire to have you feel kindly to me and mine." 
 
 So the two sons gave up their Indian names, and 
 were called Alexander and Philip. The oldest, 
 Alexander, became king of the Pokanokets when 
 Massasoit died. lie always showed the same kind 
 feeling toward the wliites that liis father had done. 
 
 Will. — Then I don't see how any trouble could 
 come. 
 
 Mother. — As the settlors in Connecticut had 
 suffered such losses at the hands of the Indians, they 
 were always watchful and suspicious lest the tribes 
 in their neighborhood should turn against them. At 
 one time thoy heard that Alexander was their en- 
 emy, and that he had asked the Narragansetts to 
 join with him in a war against the whites. 
 
 Will. — I don't believe that of a son of Massa- 
 soit. 
 
 Mother. — Without waiting to see if it were true 
 or not, Alexander was in a haughty manner ordered 
 to appear before the Plymouth court. 
 
 Lizzie. — Had they any right to order him to go, 
 mother? 
 
KING PHILIP'S WAR. 131 
 
 Mother. — Aloxander thought not, and refused to 
 go. Upon this, Captain Winslow with a force of ten 
 men was sent to arrest liini. They surprised Alex- 
 ander and his fohowers, not many miles from his 
 home at Mount Hope. Then they took away the 
 arms of the little Indian troop, and Captain Wins- 
 low, pointing a pistol at Alexander, said, " If you 
 stir, or if you refuse to go back with us, you are a 
 dead man ! " 
 
 Alexander was at first so astonished tliat he could 
 not speak. Had he deserved such treatment? Was 
 this the return for the kindness shown them by his 
 father during the last fifty years ? It was too much 
 to bear. A raging fever crept into the veins of the 
 proud king. A sudden weakness seized hiui, and 
 in faltering accents he asked if he might go home. 
 He was allowed to go ; but he died upon the way. 
 
 Will. — Well ! if the Indians didn't rise and have 
 a fight after that, then I'm mistaken. I should like 
 to know how the Massachusetts people would feel, if 
 their governor Avere treated so. I tell you what ! I 
 wouldn't blame the Pokanokets if they had driven 
 every white man out of the country. 
 
 Mother. — Upon the death of Alexander, Philip 
 became king of the Pokanokets. The thought of 
 his brother's death was like a thorn rankling in his 
 heart. It is true that he appeared at the Plyuiouth 
 
132 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 and Boston courts, and promised kindness to the 
 whites. For several years, it seemed that he meant 
 to carry out the kindly intentions of his father. But 
 every year the English wanted more and more land ; 
 so that the hunting-grounds were continually be- 
 coming smaller, and they had fewer fishing-streams 
 to depend on. 
 
 Lizzie, — That must have been hard for the poor 
 Indians, when they had once had the whole land to 
 roam over. 
 
 Mother. — Philip foresaw that if nothing were 
 done to stop the whites, the time would come when 
 his people would be driven from their birthplace. 
 Should he be a coward, and die a slave ; or should 
 he rouse his people to fight for the land of their 
 fathers? The settlers wanted them to swear that 
 they would be faithful to the king of England. 
 What did they care for a far-off" king they had 
 never seen? If the English king let his people 
 behave as the settlers had done, they did not want to 
 have anything to do with him. Besides, the whites 
 tried to force a religion upon them which they did not 
 like. They enjoyed their own religion best, which 
 they felt was given them by the Great Spirit. 
 
 All these grievances made Philip resolve to get 
 the tribes throughout New England to fight for their 
 country and their rights. 
 
KING PHILIP'S WAE. 133 
 
 An affair soon occurred which hurried Philip into 
 war before he was fully prepared. An Indian -by 
 the name of Sassamon had been educated by the 
 settlers, so that he might become a teacher among 
 his own people. He had even been through college. 
 
 Lizzie. — Why ! did they have schools and col- 
 leges then? 
 
 Mother. — Certainly. The New England settlers 
 started common schools in a very few years after 
 they came over. Harvard College was founded in 
 1636; and it was here that Sassamon got his educa- 
 tion. After this he Avas private secretary to Philip ; 
 that is, he did all his writing. 
 
 Will. — Then he must have known all about 
 Philip's affairs. 
 
 Mother. — Exactly: and that is how the trouble 
 commenced. Sassamon suddenly left him, went to 
 the governments at Plymouth and Boston, and told 
 them all about Philip's plans. 
 
 Will. — The traitor ! 
 
 Mother. — Soon after this, Sassamon was mur- 
 dered, — by whom, no one knew. But three Indians 
 were arrested by the settlers, declared guilty, and 
 put to death. One of these Indians was a particu- 
 lar friend of Philip's. 
 
 Will. — That made him angry again. 
 
 Mother. — He at once ordered his tribe to send 
 
134 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 all their Avomen and children to the Nari-agansetts 
 for safety. And soon the cry of " War ! war ! " went 
 through the New England colonies. This was in 
 June, 1675. 
 
 Philip is said to have wept when he first heard 
 that English blood had been shed by some of his 
 tribe. 
 
 Lizzie. — I suppose that was because his father's 
 treaty was broken. 
 
 Mother. — The colonists declared that the war 
 against Philip was just. 
 
 Will. — Of course. 
 
 Lizzie. — 0, dear ! war is dieadful ! I wish they 
 had not treated the Indians so, after Massasoit died. 
 
 Did Philip's people have to suffer as much as the 
 Pequods did ? 
 
 Mother. — The stories are somewhat alike ; but I 
 think King Philip's war was the sadder of the two, 
 because the Pokanokets had been such good friends 
 to the English, helping them in many ways. 
 
 Will. — Yes ; and the Pequods always hated the 
 Connecticut settlers. 
 
 Mother. — Remembering what the Connecticut 
 people had suffered, the Massachusetts colonists 
 were filled with liorror. They at once raised troops 
 to fight the Pokanokets. In a Aveek after the war 
 commenced, Philip was driven from his home at 
 
KING PHILIP'S WAR. 135 
 
 Mount Hope ; and he flew from one tribe to another, 
 to engage them to fight on his side. Soon, town 
 after town was attacked, the houses plundered, and 
 many of them set on fire. There was no rest for 
 the settlers, day or night. If the farmer went out 
 to i'eed his cattle, there was no certainty he would 
 ever come back. Even the mother with her little 
 babes was not safe, and she fled in terror from one 
 town to another. 
 
 Will. — I should think the soldiers might have 
 been on the lookout, so as to keep off the Indians. 
 
 Mother. — The Indians have a different kind of 
 warfare from the English. Instead of going in a 
 large body in open day, they would lurk behind 
 trees, or hide in muddy swamps which no white 
 man dared to enter. Then they would steal out 
 and surprise the whites. 
 
 Will. — What did the Narragansetts do ? Did 
 they join Philip? 
 
 Mother. — At first they promised to join the 
 English. But after Philip had been figiiting several 
 months, driven about from one place to another, and 
 having lost a large number of his warriors, he was 
 nearly destitute. In this condition he went to the 
 Narragansetts for safety and help. Canonchet, their 
 present chief, received him with open arms. 
 
 Will. — That didn't suit tiie English. 
 
136 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Mother. — No; and they deterrainod to strike a 
 blow tbat should ruin both chiefs at once, and put 
 an end to the war. A lai'ge body of soldiers was 
 raised in all the colonies, and sent into tlie Nar- 
 ragansett country. It was mid-winter, and the 
 swamps being frozen and leafless, the Indians could 
 not escape the English so readily as in summer. 
 Canonchet, fearful of an attack, had sent the greater 
 part of his stores, together with the old, the sick, 
 the women and children of his tribe, to a kind of 
 Island in the middle of a swamp. Here Philip and 
 himself had gathered their warriors, and had care- 
 fully built a kind of fortress, which hid the wig- 
 wams. 
 
 Lizzie. — You said Philip had sent his women and 
 children to the Narragansetts ; so I suppose some 
 of them were in the fort too. 
 
 Mother. — Yes: and the two cliiefs thought they 
 had built the fortress so strong that nothing could 
 happen to the dear ones within. But the English, 
 guided by a native who had turned traitor to Philip, 
 plunged through the snowdrifts and took the Indians 
 by surprise. Then came a fierce and cruel fight. 
 At first the English were driven back, and several 
 of their bravest officers were killed ; but soon they 
 gained ground. The Indians, driven from one post 
 of the fortress to another, fought with the fury of 
 
KING PHILIP'S WAR. 137 
 
 despair. Most of their warriors were cut to pieces ; 
 and after a long and bloody battle, Philip and Ca- 
 nonchet retreated from the fort, and fled to a forest 
 near by. 
 
 Lizzie. — And what became of the Indian mothers 
 and little children ? 
 
 Mother. — The English set fire to the forts and 
 to all of the wigwams ; and most of the old men, 
 women, and children perished in the flames. 
 
 Lizzie. — 0, mother ! I should think Philip and 
 Canonchet would wish they had died too. 
 
 Mother. — When they saw the flames, and heard 
 the cries of their helpless ones, they filled the woods 
 with yells of rage and despair. 
 
 Will. — And did the settlers believe all this was 
 right ? 
 
 Mother. — They were sorry the wigwams were 
 burned, for, being for from home, they had no roof 
 to shelter them from the winter storms. 
 
 Lizzie. — How could they stop to think of them- 
 selves, wiien all the poor Indians w^ere suffering so ! 
 
 Mother. — It is said that when the colonists saw 
 the terrible suffering they had caused, they felt 
 troubled, and some asked themselves if this was the 
 way God would have the Indians treated. 
 
 Lizzie. — You said most of the women and chil- 
 dren were killed. What became of the rest? 
 
138 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Mother. — They hid themselves in a cedar swamp, 
 with nothing but evergreen boughs to shelter them 
 from the cold. They pawed up the snow to gather 
 nuts and acorns, till they sank down from weakness 
 and hunger. Thus perished the tribe of the Narra- 
 gansetts. 
 
 Lizzie. — Poor Indians ! 
 
 Will. — But what became of Canonchet? 
 
 Mother. — He would not give up, even after his 
 terrible losses. '' We will fight to the last man," he 
 said, '' rather than become slaves of the English ! " 
 
 Being pursued by the colonists, he was finally 
 taken prisoner; and when told that he was con- 
 demned to die, he said, " I like it well ! I shall die 
 before my heart is soft, or before I say anything 
 unworthy of myself ! " 
 
 Will. — And what became of Philip ? 
 
 Mother. — He was discouraged and almost bro- 
 ken-hearted by the death of Canonchet, for they 
 had loved each other tenderly. But he was not 
 quite desolate, for his wife and little son had never 
 left him. After the defeat of the Narragansetts, he 
 wanted to look once more upon his native land. So, 
 with his loved ones and a few warriors, he visited 
 Mount Hope. But 0, how changed was the home 
 of his boyhood ! Only ruin and desolation every- 
 where. 
 
KING PHILIP'S WAR. 
 
 139 
 
 But even here there was no rest for him; for the 
 settlers did not feel safe so long as they knew that 
 the king of the Pokanokets was living. Early one 
 
 King Philip visiting his Ruined Home 
 
 morning he was surprised by 
 
 the English, most of his war- v,-.^ ,i^x«na. 
 
 riors were slain, and his wife °'''^' •^/^ly^; 
 
 and son wei'e made prisoners. 
 
 The broken-hearted chief, with a few followers, fled 
 
 to a swamp where the muddy pools were hidden 
 
 from sight b}' low slirubs. 
 
 Lizzie. — 0. they wouldn't hunt down a poor 
 
 W^' 
 
140 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Indian when he was so badly off! Philip couldn't 
 do any harm now. 
 
 Mother. — As they were cut off from all the 
 necessaries of life, one of his followers said to 
 Philip, " It is no use to fight any more. Why not 
 give up to the English?" "Give up? Never!"' 
 said Philip ; and he shot the coward warrior dead at 
 his feet. 
 
 A brother of the Indian that was killed was so 
 provoked at this, that he ran over to the English and 
 told where Philip was. A party of the settlers soon 
 surrounded the swamp, Philip fought till every 
 follower was slain ; then, turning to fly, he was shot 
 dead. 
 
 Lizzie. — And his wife and little boy ? 
 
 Mother. — I don't know what became of Philip's 
 wife after she was taken prisoner ; but Pliilip's only 
 son — the little prince who was to have become 
 king of the Pokanokets • — was sold into slavery. 
 
 Will. — That was a handsome return for what 
 Massasoit did for the settlers. I tell you what I 
 think : the settlers didn't really believe the Indians 
 were men like themselves. Anyhow, they acted as 
 if they thought wliite folks were a great deal better 
 than the red men. Now if they had only believed 
 as William Penn did, — that they were men, and not 
 wild beasts, — they would not have treated them so. 
 
KING Philip's war. 141 
 
 Lizzie, — No ; for they would have thought that 
 God wanted all his children to be kind to each 
 other. 
 
 Mother. — The settlers suffered greatly through 
 the war. For fifteen months they had been exposed 
 to constant attacks from the Indians, during which 
 time they lost six hundred men. Thirteen towns 
 had been burned to the ground, and eleven partlj^ 
 so. They also got largely in debt from the expenses 
 of the war. 
 
 Lizzie. - — And the Pokanokets and Narragansetts 
 lost everything. 
 
 Will. — Think they did ! There were no such 
 tribes after this. 
 
 Mother. — True ; the end of King Philip's war, 
 in 1670, was the last that was heard of the Pokano- 
 kets or Narragansetts. 
 
142 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 KING GEORGE'S WAR. 
 
 Will. — Were there any other such terrible times 
 between the settlers and the Indians ? 
 
 Mother. — Nearly all the colonies suffered more 
 or less from the cruelties of the native tribes. 
 
 Lizzie. — Pennsylvania did not. 
 
 Mother. — No ; not while William Penn lived. 
 The colonies were engaged in another war soon 
 after King Philip's death ; but this time the trouble 
 did not begin in America. 
 
 Whenever England went to war against any na- 
 tion in Europe, it was felt in this country. 
 
 Will. — That was because there were people 
 from those nations in the colonies — wasn't it? 
 
 Mother. — Yes. At one time, England had a war 
 with Spain. Can you tell me which colonies would 
 feel it most ? 
 
 Lizzie. — I think it must have been the colonies 
 nearest the Gulf of Mexico, because the land which 
 Spain owned in America was there. 
 
 Mother. — You are right. After this war was 
 
KING George's war. 143 
 
 over, England had several quarrels with France. 
 The one I shall tell you about first was in 1744. 
 
 Lizzie. — That was a long time after the colonies 
 were settled. 
 
 Will. — Not so very long after the settling of the 
 southern colonies. 
 
 Mother. — Do you remember what France owned 
 in America? 
 
 Lizzie. — I do : Canada. 
 
 Will. — I suppose the French went over and 
 settled Canada, as the English did Virginia and the 
 other colonies. 
 
 Mother. — Yes; and some of the French settle- 
 ments were made before the English ones. Acadia, 
 for instance, now called Nova Scotia, was settled 
 before Jamestown. 
 
 Lizzie. — They must have had dreadful winters, 
 going so far north. 
 
 Mother. — It is not so cold as you might suppose 
 it to be. It is a very beautiful spot. I shall have 
 a story to tell you about Acadia, so do not forget 
 where it is. 
 
 You have learned by this time that people in 
 coming to a new country generally settle along the 
 rivers. 
 
 Will. — Of course. The land is better ; and they 
 can easily sail up the rivers from the ocean. 
 
144 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Mother. — So you can tell where the French 
 probably settled in Canada, if you will examine your 
 maps a moment. 
 
 Lizzie. — I think, along the St. Lawrence : that is 
 the largest river. 
 
 Will. — And after a while they might follow up 
 the river till they came to the great lakes, and start 
 towns there. 
 
 Mother. — They did so. They had also formed 
 settlements at Newfoundland. 
 
 The English had never disputed the right of the 
 French to Canada ; but now that England and France 
 were at war, matters were very different. 
 
 Will. — I suppose the French people in Canada 
 thought they must fight the English in the colonies ; 
 didn't they ? 
 
 Mother. — Exactly so. And England encouraged 
 her colonies to take up arms against the French. 
 She had little difficulty in doing this ; for the colo- 
 nies still dearly loved their mother-country ; and her 
 wrongs were their wrongs. 
 
 Lizzie. — It seems hard that the settlers should 
 have troubles just because the English and French 
 kings had a quarrel. They had been through such 
 dreadful times in making their homes in the first 
 place, and then in fighting the Indians, I should 
 think they would have been discouraged at the 
 thought of more fighting. 
 
KING George's war. 145 
 
 Mother. — They were often disheartened. 
 
 Will. — How was it with the Indians ? Did they 
 side with the French or English ? 
 
 Mother. — Part of the Indians sided with the 
 English, and part with the French. 
 
 Will. — Then they had Indian wars again. 
 
 Mother. — Which made the times far worse for 
 the colonists. 
 
 At one time a large number of troops was raised 
 in New England, to make an attack on the strongest 
 fort of the French. It was called Louisburg, and 
 was situated on the Island of Cape Breton, at the 
 entrance of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 
 
 Will. — I saw a fort once : there were cannons 
 looking out of every window. 
 
 Mother. — There were a great many cannons at 
 Louisburg. Take your maps and find it. 
 
 Will. — I see it. I suppose when the English 
 tried to sail past it, so as to get up the St. Law- 
 rence, the cannons in the fort would fire away at 
 them. 
 
 Mother. — Yes; and as the principal French set- 
 tlements were on that river, the English thought 
 they could not do better than to get possession of 
 this great Gate of Canada, as it was called. 
 
 Will. — I can see. Did they get it? 
 
 Mother. — Yes ; but at the end of the war, when 
 10 
 
146 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 the English and French kings were deciding what 
 each should have, it was agreed that the fortress of 
 Louisburg should be given back to France. This was 
 very provoking to the New Englanders, after they 
 had taken so much trouble and lost so many men in 
 taking the fort for their king, George II. 
 
 '^Mh ^^ 
 
 Capture of Louisburg. 
 
 Will. — I hope they let George II. do his own 
 fighting after that. 
 
 Mother. — This war, called King George's war, 
 lasted four years. After this the colonists had a few 
 years of quiet. 
 
QOW A POOR BOY BECAME A FAMOUS MAN. 147 
 
 XV. 
 
 HOW A POOR BOY BECAME A FAMOUS MAN. 
 
 Mother. — Just so surely as the needed rain and 
 sunshine come to gladden the growing trees in 
 spring-time, so surely did the men appear who 
 seemed to have been born and fitted to help Amer- 
 ica in her times of greatest danger. One of these men 
 was Benjamin Franklin, born in Boston in the year 
 1706. In his early childhood he might have been 
 seen running about the streets — a little ragged 
 fellow, as unconcerned as if making mud pies and 
 sailing toy boats by the sea-shore were all he was 
 born for. 
 
 Will. — Didn't he go to school? 
 
 Mother. — Only for a little while. His father 
 was poor, and was obliged to take him into his shop, 
 to work at eandle-making, when he was only ten 
 years old. This business was very distasteful to 
 Benjamin ; but his father kindly gave him some 
 time for play. 
 
 One of his favorite amusements was, in company 
 with his mates, to fish for minnows in a creek not 
 
148 TBDE STOEY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 far from honae ; and the mother complained bitterly 
 of the muddy boots and trousers that came home at 
 night. 
 
 One day little Ben said, "Boys, this mud is a 
 nuisance ; and I know how we can get rid of it." 
 
 "How? how?" said the boys. 
 
 " Don't you see that big pile of stones the work- 
 men have heaped up in that next lot? Come to- 
 night after dark, and we will bring the stones all 
 over here and make us a wharf" 
 
 " Hurrah ! We'll do it ! we'll do it ! " said the 
 boys. 
 
 So when night came, the boys went to work like 
 so many little ants, tugging away, sometimes two at 
 one stone. The wharf was jBnished. 
 
 The next morning, when the workmen came to 
 commence their cellar, they were surprised and very 
 angry at what had been done. They found out the 
 names of the boys, and went and complained to 
 their parents. 
 
 Lizzie. — Franklin was most to blame. 
 
 Mother. — At first he could not see that he was 
 to blame at all. " The wharf is very useful," he 
 said. 
 
 Lizzie. — Yes ; but he stole the stones to make 
 it of. 
 
 Mother. — After a while, Franklin's father con- 
 
HOW A POOR BOY BECAME A FAMOUS MAN. 149 
 
 vinced him that " that which is not honest cannot he 
 truly useful.''^ 
 
 Will. — If Franklin was to become very useful 
 to his country, I don't believe he staid very long in 
 his father's shop making candles. 
 
 Mother. — When he was twelve years old, his 
 brother James opened a printing office ; and the fa- 
 ther gladly apprenticed Benjamin to his brother, 
 for he knew Benjamin would like this business 
 better. 
 
 Lizzie. — Yes ; for he would have a chance to see 
 a good many books. 
 
 Mother. — When Franklin was fifteen years old, 
 his brother James began publishing a newspaper. 
 After a Avhile, Benjamin wrote several articles for 
 the paper himself. 
 
 " Now, if I let James know who wrote them," he 
 said, " he will not think them worth noticing. I 
 will disguise my handwriting, and put them under 
 the door after dark." 
 
 When James found the pieces, he showed them 
 to his friends ; and Franklin heard them all wonder 
 who could be their author. And when they decided 
 it must be such a one, naming a man of great learn- 
 ing, he was very much encouraged. He went on 
 writing for the paper, and did not tell his secret for 
 a long time. But when he did. James was more 
 envious than glad. 
 
150 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 After a while, some of Benjamin's writings got 
 his brother into trouble. Even at that age Franklin 
 was much interested in the j)ublic meetings ; and 
 if anything happened which he thought unjust to 
 the public, he at once spoke of it in the paper. 
 Some of his pieces were aimed at what he thought 
 was wrong in the government officers. And finally 
 the colonial assembly felt themselves so much in- 
 sulted, that James was arrested and sent to prison 
 for a month ; and he could not publish the paper 
 after this. 
 
 The paper was continued for a while in Benja- 
 min's name ; but the whole affi\ir caused James to 
 treat his brother with unkindness, and even cruelty, 
 so much so that Benjamin ran away to New York. 
 Not finding employment there, he went to Philadel- 
 phia. Imagine how funny he must have looked 
 when he arrived there. Here is his own account : — 
 
 " I was in my working-dress, my best clothes 
 being to come by sea. I was covered with dirt ; 
 my pockets were filled with shirts and stockings. 
 Fatigued with walking, rowing, and having passed 
 the night without sleep, I was extremely hungry, 
 and all my money consisted of a Dutch dollar and 
 about a shilling's worth of coppers, which I gave 
 the boatmen for my passage." 
 
 He went into a baker's shop and asked for a three- 
 
HOW A POOK BOY BECAME A FAMOUS MAN. 151 
 
 peDny loaf. " The baker gave me/' says Franklin, 
 '' three large rolls. I was surprised at receiving so 
 much, I took them, however, and having no room in 
 my pockets, I walked on with a roll under each arm, 
 eating the third. In this manner I went through 
 
 Franklin's first Appearance in Philadelphia. 
 
 Market Street to Fourth Street, and passed the 
 house of Mr. Read, the father of my future wife. 
 She was standing at the door, observed me, and 
 thought with reason that I made a very singular 
 and grotesque appearance." 
 
152 Till'] KTOIIY OF OUJi COUNTIJ.Y. 
 
 LizzTE. — Poor fellow ! 
 
 Will. — Such a boy as that wasn't long witliout 
 work, 1 know. 
 
 MoTiiKit. — lie soon found employment in a prints 
 ing-ollice, and happened to board witli the father of 
 the young lady who had lauglicd at his awkwai-d 
 looks. 
 
 P^ranklin first came into public notice when he 
 was about twenty-one. The colony of New Jersey 
 was about to issue paper money ; and the printing 
 of the bills came to Franklin's employer. The work 
 had to 1)0 (lone in New Jersey, so that it miglit be 
 carefully overlooked by the government olfiecrs. 
 They soon found out that it was Franklin who in- 
 vented ornamental designs for the bills, and who 
 contrived the (U)p[)er- plate press. '' Look here ! '' 
 said they ; " this young fellow knows more about 
 printing than his master ! He is more kind and 
 obliging too. He will get the business all into his 
 own hands l)efoi'o long." 
 
 And this proved true. He was soon in business 
 for himself, and became {)rinter for the Pennsylvania 
 colony, at the same time publishing a newspaper in 
 which he freely gave his opinions about public mat- 
 ters. The paper was so much more attractive than 
 any that had before appeared in the colonics, that it 
 soon had a long list ol" subscribers. 
 
HOW A POOR BOY JiECAME A KAMOUS MAN. 153 
 
 Will, — ITow Franklin did succeed in every- 
 thing ! 
 
 Lizzie. — T suppose that was because he did 
 everything so well. 
 
 Mother. — Most likely every one would succeed 
 if lie were as upright, industrious, [)rudent, and 
 saving as Franklin was. 
 
 As ho got older and saw that many failed in their 
 undertakings while ho succeeded, he was anxious 
 that othcirs should try his plan. ']'o lot p(;ople know 
 the secret of his success, he published an almanac 
 called " Poor Richard's Almanac." Every nund)or 
 contained wise sayings which people could easily 
 reinonib(;r, and which would l(\ad them to be pru- 
 dent and kind, lie j)ul)h'sh('d the aliuan;u: annually 
 for twenty-iive years ; and at the end of that time 
 he coUeeted all the proverbs into one book, which 
 he called " The Way to VVealtli." The wise sayings 
 in this book were so much thought ol", that they 
 were copied into the newspapers of all the colonies, 
 and were afterwards reprinted in England and 
 France. 
 
 By the time Franklin was thirty he had got his 
 business into such a prosperous condition that he 
 could afford to give a large share of his time to the 
 public good. First, he thought of his own city. 
 To wake people up to improve their minds, he 
 
154 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 started a club. This club lasted for forty years, and 
 then became the '' American Philosophical Society," 
 of which Franklin was first president. Franklin 
 also influenced the people of Philadelphia to have 
 the city paved and lighted ; to have an orderly fire 
 department; to have a public library; and to start 
 good schools and colleges. So much can one man 
 do, if he has the will. 
 
 Will. — I should think he would have been a 
 good man for governor, or something like that. 
 
 Mother. — He did hold many different offices in 
 the course of his life, as you will see. The first 
 was that of clerk to the Colonial Assembly. After- 
 wards he became postmaster. Whenever any pub- 
 lic improvement was thought of, he was one of the 
 first to be consulted. " If we can get Franklin to 
 push it, it will go," people said. 
 
 Lizzie. — But I suppose he wouldn't help unless 
 he thought it would be a good thing for the people. 
 
 Mother. — No, indeed ! And that was why every 
 one had so much confidence in him. They knew he 
 had common sense. One of his mottoes was, " A 
 man's truest good can be found in doing all the 
 good he can to others." 
 
 With all the public and private business he had 
 on his hands, liO still found time for self-improve- 
 ment. He learned the French, Spanish, and Italian 
 languages, and afterwards the Latin. 
 
HOW A POOR BOY BECAME A FAMOUS MAN. 155 
 
 After he had started many improvements in Phila- 
 delphia, he thought of the colony at large. As 
 many members of the government were Quakers, 
 nothing had been done to train soldiers; while 
 Pennsylvania was liable to be attacked by foreign 
 invaders as well as by Indians. 
 
 Lizzie. — I thought you said William Penn made 
 all the Indians about there behave well. 
 
 Mother. — So he did; but that was seventy years 
 before ; and many people had come to Pennsylvania 
 who did not understand dealing with the natives. 
 And through the influence of the French, the tribes 
 on the borders of Pennsylvania began to take ad- 
 vantage of the whites. 
 
 Will. — Did Franklin raise the soldiers? 
 
 Mother. — He went to work with his usual spirit, 
 to show people the need. Then he roused them to 
 enlist. It was not long before a large body of 
 soldiers were ready in case of attack ; and a fort 
 was built on the river below the city. 
 
 Will. — What did the Quakers say to that ? 
 
 Mother. — Though he did not get much help 
 from them, he found they were very willing that 
 other people should defend the colony. His energy 
 and common sense in this affair called forth the 
 praise and thanks of the governor and council ; and 
 after this they consulted him whenever any impor- 
 tant matter came up that concerned the colony. 
 
156 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 It was about this time that Franklin made his 
 great discoveries in electricity. 
 
 Will. — I remember a story about that. Franklin 
 had thought for a good while that lightning was the 
 same as electricity; and one day he sent up a kite, 
 pointed with wire, into a thunder-cloud, — and down 
 came the lightning rigiit into the ground. 
 
 Mother. — That was the way he came to invent 
 lightning-rods, which have saved so many houses 
 from destruction. This and other discoveries made 
 him famous all over the world ; and many colleges 
 of Europe gave him learned titles on account of it. 
 
 Lizzie. — And only think ! he never went to 
 school after he was ten years old. 
 
 Mother. — The next public service of Franklin 
 was a benefit to the whole country. The post-offices 
 had been a great expense to the government ; and 
 yet they were so poorly arranged that news trav- 
 elled very slowly. Franklin was made postmaster- 
 general of all the colonies ; and in a few years, not 
 only were all the expenses met, but there was a 
 good sum over. 
 
 After this time the life of Franklin becomes 
 closely united to the Story of Our Country ; so I 
 shall have to leave him for the present, and tell you 
 something about the troublesome times that were 
 coming to the colonies. 
 
WHAT HAPPENED TO AN ENGLISH GENERAL. 157 
 
 XVI. 
 
 WHAT HAPPENED TO AN ENGLISH GENERAL. 
 
 Mother. — We must keep in mind that the French 
 owned Canada. 
 
 Lizzie. — And the English owned what is now 
 the United States. 
 
 Mother. — At first England claimed the land 
 quite across the country, from the Atlantic to the 
 Pacific. But as the settlements were all along the 
 coast, — not extending into the interior, — the 
 French began to say to themselves, " The English 
 really own only what they have settled; we will 
 explore the western country for ourselves." And 
 some of their adventurers discovering the Missis- 
 sippi, sailed down that great river till they reached 
 the Gulf of Mexico. After this France claimed all 
 the country watered by the Mississippi or its 
 branches. 
 
 Will. — Wait a minute, please, and let me find 
 it on the map. 
 
 Mother. — You will see what a large tract of 
 country the French now claimed. 
 
 Will. — Why, yes ; there is the Ohio River, which 
 
158 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 flows into the Mississippi. Did they claim the 
 country around that ? 
 
 Mother. — They did. 
 
 Will. — See here ! If the French claimed all the 
 land watered by this great river and its branches, 
 the English could have only the land east of the 
 Alleghanies. 
 
 Mother. — That is so. And one of the governors 
 sent word home that if the French were allowed to 
 go on, '^ the kings of England would not have a 
 hundred miles away from the sea anywhere." Eng- 
 . land did not take much notice of this at first ; and 
 the French went on planning and working, till they 
 had built a chain of forts, sixty in number, reaching 
 from Quebec to New Orleans. This was to show 
 that all the interior of the country belonged to 
 them. 
 
 Will. — I should have thought the English king 
 had better wake up and do something, if he cared 
 anything about his colonies. Just think ! He had 
 given up the great fort of Louisburg ; so, of course, 
 the French could keep the English from going up 
 the St. Lawrence ; and if they had forts on the Mis- 
 sissippi, the English couldn't go up that river 
 either. 
 
 Mother. — True. And the French said, " If we 
 can keep these two great rivers to ourselves, we 
 
WHAT HAPPENED TO AN ENGLISH GENERAL. 159 
 
 shall get most of the American trade into our own 
 hands. The people of the West Indies will be very 
 glad to send their goods up the Mississippi ; and we 
 can open trade, too, with all the Indians west of the 
 Alleghanies." 
 
 Will. — But what were the colonies doing all 
 this time ? Why didn't they try to get some of the 
 trade ? 
 
 Mother. — The leading men in all the colonies 
 began to be very anxious ; and they were glad when 
 the English government advised the colonies to get 
 the Indians to join them against the French. So 
 the colonies each sent a man to Albany to make a 
 treaty for this purpose with a large body of Indians 
 in and around New York, called the " Six Nations." 
 The treaty was made, and the Six Nations promised 
 to help the colonists. 
 
 It was hoped, too, that the assembly ^at Albany 
 would find out the best ways for the colonies to de- 
 fend themselves in the coming danger. 
 
 Will. — I guess I know what man Pennsylvania 
 sent, — Franklin. 
 
 Mother. — Yes ; and no man did so much good 
 there as he. His advice to the Asseinbly was some- 
 thing like this : — 
 
 " There is very little use in each colony's trying 
 by itself to fight the enemy. The thirteen colonies 
 
160 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 ought to work together. They ought to be united, 
 as brothers and sisters. If the French, in attacking 
 one settlement, feel that all the rest will rush to the 
 rescue, they will not be so bold in their insults." 
 
 Lizzie. — Did Franklin want all the settlements to 
 become one colony ? 
 
 Mother. — Not at all. He wanted each colony to 
 take care of its own affairs ; but also to help all the 
 rest in case of need. 
 
 Will. — I should think that was a good plan. 
 Didn't the men at Albany think so? 
 
 Mother. — They were much pleased with this idea 
 of Franklin's ; but neither the colonies nor the king 
 liked it. The colonies were afraid it would give too 
 much powei to the king ; and the king was afraid it 
 would give too much power to the people. So, al- 
 though the colonies agreed to help each other in 
 case of war, they took no more of Franklin's advice 
 at that time. 
 
 A few years before, a number of men in Virginia 
 and Maryland, by the aid of a wealthy London 
 merchant, had obtained a very large grant of land 
 from King George II. This land was in the Ohio 
 valley ; and the men called themselves the Ohio 
 Company, Their plan was to form settlements at 
 once, and open a fur trade with the Indians. 
 
 Will. — If George II. and the French king both 
 
WHAT HAPPENED TO AN ENGLISH GENERAL. 161 
 
 said their people might settle there, then there 
 would be another fight between the French and 
 English, I know. 
 
 Mother. — Yes. And it commenced in this way : 
 The Ohio Company went out to survey the land 
 around the Ohio River. But the French ofiicers 
 who were there told them that the land belonged to 
 France, and no Englishman had a right there. Upon 
 this, the governor of Virginia sent George Wash- 
 ington, then a young man of twenty-one, to say to 
 the French commander that George II. had given 
 the Ohio Company the right to settle the land. But 
 the messenger was received with contempt ; the 
 English surveyors were driven away ; and the horrors 
 of another war seemed hanging over the colonies. 
 
 In 1755, England sent over General Braddock 
 with two regiments, — 
 
 Will. — Then they really began to have war. 
 
 Mother. — Not just yet. As the troubles were 
 mostly confined to the Ohio valley, it was thought 
 that two thousand English soldiers could easily rout 
 the French, so that the Ohio Company could go on 
 with their work. 
 
 General Braddock marched to Frederictown, Ma- 
 ryland, where he waited to collect teams for carry- 
 ing provisions and other necessaries. 
 
 Take your maps, and find Frederictown ; and also 
 11 
 
162 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 find Pittsburgh, which is the place General Braddock 
 aimed at. There was a large fort there ; and the 
 place was then called Fort Du Quesne. You notice 
 that it stands at the head of the Ohio valley. 
 
 Will. — Yes ; two rivers meet there — the Alle- 
 ghany and Monongahela. 
 
 Mother. — They unite to form the Ohio. 
 
 Will. — Of course the French would think a 
 great deal of that place. 
 
 Mother. — While General Braddock was waiting 
 at Frederictown, Franklin was sent to him to say 
 that the colony of Pennsylvania was ready to help 
 him in case of need. Just as he was about to leave, 
 Braddock's agent came back, saying he could get 
 only twenty-five wagons, and some of them were 
 poor. 
 
 '' Twenty-five wagons ! " exclaimed Braddock ; 
 " we need a hundred and fifty at least. What miser- 
 able business it was to send us over to this country, 
 that is too poor to furnish us a few wagons ! " 
 
 " You should have sent to Pennsylvania," said 
 Franklin, quietly ; " nearly every farmer there keeps 
 a wagon." 
 
 " Look here ! " said Braddock ; " you are known 
 all through the colony : why can't you get us the 
 wagons ? " 
 
 " Very well," said Franklin ; " put in writing what 
 
WHAT HAPPENED TO AN ENGLISH GENERAL. 163 
 
 you need, and what you are willing to pay, and I 
 will try to serve you." 
 
 Will. — General Braddock got his wagons, I 
 know. 
 
 Mother. — In a few days one hundred and fifty 
 wagons and twenty-one hundred horses arrived at the 
 English camp. Besides these, came a lot of supplies 
 — a present from the Pennsylvania government. All 
 this was through Franklin's influence. Afterwards 
 a number of soldiers from the colonies joined Brad- 
 dock, George Washington being one of the aids. 
 
 Lizzie. — With so much help General Braddock 
 ought to succeed. 
 
 Mother. — One would think so. But the English 
 general had too much confidence in himself. Talk- 
 ing of his plans to Franklin one day, he said, — 
 
 " The taking of Fort Du Quesrie will cost us only 
 three or four days ; and then I shall march to Niag- 
 ara, and after taking that, I shall go to Frontenac," 
 
 To this Franklin modestly replied, '' To be sure, 
 sir, if you arrive at Fort Du Quesne with all these 
 fine troops ! In my mind, your chief danger will be 
 from the Indians, who never fight openly. If large 
 numbers of them hide behind the trees, I am afraid 
 they will surprise your long line of soldiers, and cut 
 it into pieces like a thread." 
 
 Braddock smiled confidently, and said, " These 
 
164 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 savages may indeed be terrible to your American 
 militia ; but to the king's finely trained soldiers it is 
 impossible they should do any harm." 
 
 Will. — That's a good joke ! General Braddock 
 didn't know what he was talking about. 
 
 Mother. — The English soldiers were soon on 
 their march; but before they even saw the enemy, 
 they were fired upon from the forests. Seven hun- 
 dred English soldiers soon lay dead on the field ; 
 and the commander himself, after having five horses 
 shot under him, was finally carried off with a deadly 
 bullet in his side. 
 
 The English troops were so surprised by the yells 
 and fighting of the Indians, that it seemed for a time 
 as if the whole army would be left dead on the field. 
 But young Colonel Washington came to the rescue. 
 An Indian chief singled him out to kill him, and 
 told his warriors to do the same. Two horses were 
 shot under him. ; his coat was pierced with four bul- 
 lets, but he was unharmed. He showed such bravery 
 that an English ofiicer afterwards said of him, " he 
 acted as if he really loved the whistling bullets." 
 
 Young Washington rallied the raw militia, and 
 thus the army was saved from destruction. 
 
 Will. — Were the French fighting? and did they 
 lose many men? 
 
 Mother. — Of the four or five hundred French 
 
WHAT HAPPENED TO AN ENGLISH GENERAL. 165 
 
 and Indians together, only thirty men and three 
 officers were killed, and thirty wounded. 
 
 Lizzie. — If General Braddock had five horses 
 shot under him, he must have been a brave man. 
 Did he die? 
 
 Mother. — He was 
 
 silent all day, after 
 
 being carried from 
 
 the battle-field ; and 
 
 at night he said, 
 
 '' Who would have 
 Braddock's Defeat. ., , , ., „ «. mi 
 
 thought it r " 1 he 
 next day he said, " We shall know better how to 
 deal with them another time!" — and died. 
 
166 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Upon his death, the command of the army came 
 to Colonel Dunbar, who had been left a few miles 
 back with the provisions and a large body of sol- 
 diers in reserve. When the runaways from the 
 battle reached the camp, they so terrified Colonel 
 Dunbar and his men, that the whole body of soldiers 
 — over one thousand — instead of going on to meet 
 the enemy, destroyed all the provisions, that they 
 might have the horses for their own use ; then, 
 mounting, with Colonel Dunbar at their head, they 
 galloped from the noise of battle, and could not be 
 persuaded to stop till they were safe in Philadelphia. 
 
 Will. — Brave English troops ! Raw American 
 militia ! 
 
 Mother. — Franklin afterwards said that it taught 
 the colonists a good lesson, which was, that they 
 must not think too highly of the bravery of English 
 troops. 
 
 Lizzie. — I should say so I 
 
DKIVEN IKTO EXILE. 167 
 
 XVII. 
 
 DRIVEN INTO EXILE. 
 
 Mother. — During the year 1755, the English 
 made another attack on the French, which I am 
 sorry to say was a success. 
 
 Will. — Why do you say you are sorry, when we 
 don't want the French to have America? 
 
 Mother. — Hear the story, and then see. Do you 
 remember what Nova Scotia used to be called? 
 
 Will. — Acadia ; and it was settled by the French 
 before John Smith came over. 
 
 Mother. — At the time of Braddock's defeat it 
 had about sixteen thousand inhabitants. The Aca- 
 dians were a simple, hard-working people. The 
 pastures were filled with their flocks. The fertile 
 lands around the many rivers were covered with 
 rich grass and waving wheat. The houses clustered 
 together, and were comfortably furnislied. Proba- 
 bly there was not at that time a happier settlement 
 in America. The English were jealous of it. They 
 wanted the fertile fields and the rivers abounding 
 in fish. They wanted control of the fishing-trade 
 
168 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 on the coasts. So the British government advised 
 the colonies to make an attack on Acadia. 
 
 Lizzie. — Did the Acadians ever trouble the Eng- 
 lish, as those French people near the Ohio did? 
 
 Mother. — Never. They had even promised not 
 to join with the French in war ; but they had also 
 said they would not fight against France. It was 
 not easy to go to war against a people that would 
 not fight ; but the Acadians must be expelled from 
 the country. 
 
 The English hit upon a plan. A proclamation was 
 made, commanding old men, young men, and boys 
 of ten years to meet together. Suspecting nothing, 
 they obeyed, not bringing their weapons even. 
 What was their horror to hear this : — 
 
 " Henceforth your lands, your houses, and your 
 cattle belong to the king of England. You with 
 your wives and children must all leave the 
 country ! " 
 
 In a few days the whole people were driven to the 
 sea-shore. A part were hurried on board the few 
 ships waiting for them, and set sail, never again to 
 see their long-loved homes. Those who waited for 
 the return of the ships wandered up and down the 
 shore, or fled to the forests, hungry and half clothed. 
 Children lost their parents, wives their husbands, 
 brothers their sisters. 
 
DRIVEN INTO EXILE. 
 
 169 
 
 Lizzie. — But where did the people who were 
 driven on board the ships go to? 
 
 Acadians moving their Household Goods to the Sea-shore. 
 
 Mother. — They were scattered along the shoie 
 from New Hampshire to Georgia. 
 
170 THE STOEY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Will. — If I had been put ashore, I would have 
 found my way back home again. 
 
 Mother. — The English thought of that. And 
 while the innocent people who were left behind 
 were wandering up and down the sea-shore, now 
 watching for the return of the ships that had car- 
 ried away their dear ones, and now casting loving 
 glances toward their hard-earned homes, they saw 
 flames burst forth from the deserted villages. What 
 could it mean ? Had some careless villager forgot- 
 ten his cottage hearth ? 
 
 Soon the cruel truth dawned upon the sorrowing 
 ones. The English, fearing that the exiles might 
 seek their homes again, after the soldiers had left 
 the neighborhood, had set fire to every homestead 
 in Acadia. The cattle and fields of wheat they had 
 kept for themselves. 
 
 Lizzie. — 0, mother ! you never told us anything 
 so cruel and so sad. 
 
 Will. — I don't see what excuse the Englisli 
 could have had for such meanness. 
 
 Mother. — The only possible excuse was that, in 
 1713, in settling some troubles with France, this 
 little province of Acadia was made over to the 
 English. But the people had been allowed to re- 
 main undisturbed, and to have oflScers of their own 
 choosing. 
 
DRIVEN INTO EXILE. 171 
 
 Will. — But all that didn't make it right to drive 
 the poor Acadians from their homes. 
 
 Mother. — It seems as if people's eyes were 
 blinded in times of war, so that they cannot tell 
 right from Ma-ong. There might have been many 
 who felt sorry for the poor exiles ; but the English 
 government rejoiced that it had possession of the 
 country bordering on tlie St. Lawrence. 
 
172 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 
 
 Mother. — As I have already told you, there had 
 been fighting between the French and English in 
 America lor over a 3'ear. But England did not 
 really declare war against France till 1756. 
 
 The plans for this war were made in England, and 
 the different colonies had to give their help. It 
 was called the French and Indian war. During 
 two years, the English met with shameful losses ; 
 and it seemed for a time as if the French would 
 have everything their own way. But a new man 
 came into power in England, named William Pitt. 
 His influence in directing affairs in America was 
 like a mighty river that carries everything before 
 it. But rivers become great through the other 
 rivers which flow into them ; and so it was with re- 
 gard to William Pitt. He learned from Benjamin 
 Franklin what were America's greatest needs. 
 
 Lizzie. — Why ! was Franklin in England ? 
 
 Mother. — Yes ; he had been sent there by the 
 Pennsylvania government, to lay before the king 
 
THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 173 
 
 certain petitions for the welfare of the colony. To 
 be sure, Franklin did not see Pitt ; but he frequently 
 saw his two secretaries, who reported to Pitt all he 
 said. 
 
 Franklin showed the great need of colonizing the 
 West, especially the country near the Ohio. He also 
 showed that there never could be a lasting peace 
 till Canada belonged to England. And he even 
 planned certain attacks, which were afterwards suc- 
 cessfully made. 
 
 Will. — What a great man Franklin was ! The 
 last time you spoke of him, he was doing something 
 to help all the colonies. Now he is planning to help 
 England herself. 
 
 Mother. — Of course the English were anxious to 
 get possession of the forts, especially the most im- 
 portant ones. 
 
 Will. — Then I should think they would have 
 tried to get Louisburg again. 
 
 Mother. — They did ; and in the following year 
 it fell into their hands. 
 
 Lizzie. — And didn't the English get the fort that 
 Braddock tried for ? 
 
 Will. — You mean Fort Du Quesne. 
 
 Mother. — Yes ; during this same year the French 
 lost that stronghold. The taking of this fort was a 
 great event in the history of the colonieSj for a 
 
174 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 highway was then opened to the great West, which 
 was never afterwards closed. Washington became 
 famous through his important services at that time. 
 The name of the fort was changed to Pittsburgh, in 
 honor of WiUiam Pitt, who planned the expedition. 
 
 From this time the English were everywhere suc- 
 cessful. Ticonderoga and Crown Point, the two 
 large forts at the head of Lake Champlain, came into 
 the hands of the English ; and after these, Niagara. 
 
 Will. — I have found all those places on the map, 
 and it seems to me that if the French had lost Louis- 
 burg, Nova Scotia, Ticonderoga, Crown Point, Ni- 
 agara, and Fort Du Quesne, they couldn't expect to 
 hold out much longer. They couldn't stop the Eng- 
 lish from going almost anywhere they pleased after 
 that. 
 
 Mother. — The only very important fort left to 
 the French was at Quebec. 
 
 Lizzie. — I see where Quebec is. It is on the St. 
 Lawrence River. 
 
 Mother. — And is the most important city on the 
 river. There was a very large fort there, com- 
 manded by General Montcalm. 
 
 Lizzie. — He was the French general then — 
 wasn't he ? 
 
 Mother. — Yes ; and he had taken such great 
 pains to guard the city carefully at every point, that 
 
THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 175 
 
 he thought the English could not possibly get pos- 
 session of it. 
 
 General Wolfe, a brave young officer, had been 
 chosen to make the attack on Quebec. At first the 
 task seemed a discouraging one. The fort itself is 
 on a high point of land overlooking the city ; and 
 Wolfe's troops were on the river-side below. In- 
 dian spies were watching them from every point ; 
 and their every movement was quickly made known 
 i:D the French commander. After several useless 
 attempts to take it, Wolfe moved his army to a place 
 several miles above the city. One day, as he was 
 riding about to examine the country, he noticed just 
 above Quebec some high cliffs rising abruptly from 
 the river, and at the top of the cliffs a level spot, 
 which he afterwards learned was called the Plains 
 of Abraham. General Montcahu had not guarded 
 this place, for he thought it impossible for any one 
 to scale the steep cliffs. But Wolfe's quick eye de 
 tected a little cove, from which a narrow path wouna 
 up the steep. Instantly he was on his way back to 
 the camp ; and soon all his troops were quietly get- 
 ting ready to move. 
 
 At one o'clock at night, the British army in boats 
 glided quietly down the river, aided by tlie rapid cur- 
 rent of the stream. Darkness hung over them like 
 a curtain. No man was allowed to speak, under 
 
176 
 
 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 penalty of death. The httle pathway was reached. 
 Wolfe leaped first on shore. Encouraged by his 
 cheerfulness of manner, the men followed their 
 
 brave young leader 
 up the rough ascent. 
 At sunrise the Brit- 
 ish army stood on 
 the Plains of Abra- 
 ham. 
 
 Will, — How as- 
 
 Wolfe's Army ascending the Heights 
 
 tonished General Montcalm , 
 must have been when he saw 
 the English troops ! 
 
 Mother. — The battle com- 
 menced at ten o'clock ; and after a fierce struggle 
 the English gained the day. 
 
THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 177 
 
 Before the battle was over, Genei-al Wolfe was 
 fatally wounded, and was borne from the field. 
 While dying, he heard the cry, " They run ! they 
 run ! " Rousing himself, he said, " Who run ? " 
 Upon being told it was the French, he said, " I die 
 content ! " 
 
 Montcalm, too, was mortally wounded. When 
 told he could not survive, he said, " I am glad of it ! 
 I shall not live to see the surrender of Quebec ! " 
 
 Will. — With both generals gone, there could 
 not be much more fighting. 
 
 Mother. — No ; after the first day of battle, most 
 of the French were willing to give up. The citi- 
 zens of Quebec said, " We have cheerfully sacrificed 
 our fortunes and our houses, but we cannot expose 
 our wives and children to a massacre." And soon 
 after, the city of Quebec passed into the hands of 
 the English. 
 
 This victory of 1759 caused great rejoicing 
 throughout the colonies. 
 
 There was no more fighting in America at this 
 time ; but there were battles upon the sea between 
 the English and French ships. 
 
 It was very difficult for the two countries to de- 
 cide what each should keep or give up. So it was 
 not until 1763 that matters were finally settled and 
 peace declared. 
 
178 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Through the French and Indian war, France lost 
 all her possessions in America, except twenty-three 
 small islands, which she kept as a shelter for her 
 fishermen. 
 
 Lizzie. — Then after 1763 England owned Canada 
 and all the country east of the Mississippi. 
 
 Will. — Quite a big slice for the king to add to 
 his land in America ! 
 
Washington's boyhood. ll\) 
 
 XIX. 
 
 WASHINGTON'S BOYHOOD. 
 
 Will. — Are you not going to tell us a story 
 about Washington ? 
 
 Lizzie. — We did hear about him, in the taking 
 of Fort Du Quesne. 
 
 Will. — Yes ; but I want to know about him when 
 he was a little boy, and afterwards too. 
 
 Mother. — There is not much to be told about 
 him, except as he was working with and for his 
 country ; for he went into public service at nine- 
 teen. But I will tell you the story. 
 
 Washington was born in Virginia in 1732 — 
 
 Will. — Then he was twenty-six years younger 
 than Franklin, for he was born in 1706. 
 
 Mother. — His father died when he was eleven, 
 leaving quite a large property to the mother, who 
 was to have the management of it till the five chil- 
 dren came of age, when it was to be divided be- 
 tween them. 
 
 Will. — Then Washington didn't have to work 
 for a living. 
 
180 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Mother. — You are mistaken. The mother was 
 a very wise and energetic woman ; and she taught 
 the children to be prudent, economical, and indus- 
 trious, as she was herself. There were very few 
 schools at the south at that time ; so Washington 
 had not the means of getting such a good education 
 as most boys can to-day. His book-learning did not 
 go beyond reading, writing, arithmetic, book-keep- 
 ing, and surveying. 
 
 Lizzie. — If he went into the army so young, of 
 course he couldn't study much by himself, as Frank- 
 lin did. 
 
 Mother. — No ; but whatever he undertook was 
 done thoroughly ; and some of his school-books show 
 to-day how carefully he wrote, and with what exact- 
 ness he kept his accounts. He was fond of the 
 study of surveying; and he took great pleasure in 
 making and drawing plans, which he did in the neat- 
 est manner. He enjoyed out-door sports, and took 
 every sort of exercise that would increase his 
 strength. Once, it is said, he threw a stone across 
 the Rappahannock opposite his father's house ; and 
 no one else was ever known to do it. One of his 
 fiavorite- amusements was playing soldier; and as he 
 seemed to know much more about it than the other 
 boys, they always made him captain. 
 
 He was very fond of horses ; and one day, mount- 
 
Washington's boyhood. 181 
 
 ing a fierce animal that had never been ridden be- 
 fore, undertook to tame him. The horse was a 
 valuable one, belonging to his mother. Washings 
 ton nearly broke his own neck ; but he did not give 
 up. Finally the proud animal burst a blood-vessel^ 
 and fell dead beneath his young rider. 
 
 Will. — I guess the mother would rather some 
 one else should tame her horses after that. 
 
 Mother. ^ She was very sorry to lose so valuable 
 a horse ; but she forgot her loss in the pleasure she 
 felt at having her son come to her at once, and 
 frankly tell her what had happened. 
 
 Love of truth was one of Washington's earliest 
 traits of character ; and there was not a boy among 
 his school-mates who didn't believe that if he said 
 a thing he meant it, or, if he made a promise, he 
 would keep it. 
 
 Will. — I remember a story about Washington, 
 when he was a little boy. Some one made him a 
 present of a new hatchet. He wanted to see how 
 it would cut, so he went and hacked one of his fa- 
 ther's cherr}^ trees. When his father came into the 
 orchard, and saw the bark all hacked up, he said, 
 '' Who has cut my cherry tree that I thought so 
 much of? " Washington went right up to him and 
 said, " Father, I can't tell a lie ; I cut it with my 
 hatchet." 
 
182 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Lizzie. — Wasn't that noble ? 
 
 Mother. — Washington's oldest brother, Lau- 
 rence, was a captain in the English navy. When at 
 home, he told stories of his adventures, which so 
 excited George that he was seized with a longing 
 to enter the navy and go to sea. His brother en- 
 couraged this ; and finally his mother very reluc- 
 tantly gave her consent. A situation was procured 
 for him, and his clothes were packed and sent on 
 board the ship ; but at the last moment the mother 
 felt that he must not go, and she begged him to 
 give up all thought of it. Washington dearly loved 
 his mother, and the thought of giving her pain 
 was harder to bear than to give up his longing 
 for the sea. He yielded to her wishes, and staid 
 at home. 
 
 Will. — Lucky he didn't go ! What would the 
 countr}^ have done without him? 
 
 Mothf:r. — When he was sixteen, an English 
 nobleman, who owned immense tracts of land in 
 America, was visiting at a neighboring mansion ; 
 he became much interested in Washington, and 
 employed him to survey his lands. This occupied 
 Washington for over three years, and was a great 
 advantage to him in many ways. Not only did 
 he receive handsome pay, but he became thor- 
 
Washington's boyhood. 183 
 
 oughly acquainted with the country that Braddock's 
 army afterwards had to pass through. 
 
 Lizzie. — Then that was the reason he was of so 
 much help to General Braddock. 
 
 Will. — He must have had a rough time, out in 
 that wild country. 
 
 Mother. — Yes, indeed ; but he loved to meet 
 hardships ; and it was probably the best training he 
 could possibly have had, to fit him for the soldier's 
 life he was afterwards to lead. 
 
 Will. — I can see now why the Virginia govern- 
 ment should choose him to carry the message to 
 the French officers on the Ohio : he knew the way, 
 and must have been acquainted with the Indians. 
 
 Lizzie. — And the governor knew that whatever 
 he set out to do, he did welL 
 
 Mother. — We have now reached the time in his 
 life when he was appointed colonel under General 
 Braddock. After this there is little to tell which 
 you will not hear as I go on with the Story of our 
 Country. 
 
 Lizzie. — Was he ever married ? 
 
 Mother. — Yes ; when he was twenty-seven he 
 married a beautiful and accomplished young widow, 
 who had two interesting children. When he was 
 not in public service, he lived quietly with his fam- 
 
184 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 ily at his beautiful home on the Potomac, known as 
 Mount Vernon. He was fond of agriculture, and 
 did much to beautify and enrich his lands. 
 
 Washington loved little children ; and in his later 
 years adopted two of his wife's grandchildren, on 
 the death of their father. 
 
ANGEE AT THE MOTHER COUNTRY. 185 
 
 XX. 
 
 ANGER AT THE MOTHER COUNTRY. 
 
 Will. — Whenever mother tells ns about a great 
 man, I expect to hear about troubles and wars. 
 
 Lizzie. — I don't see how there could be any such 
 things now. Mother said they liad no more Indian 
 wars at this time, and no more quarrels with the 
 French. 
 
 Mother. — The next vexation came from the king 
 himself — George III. 
 
 Lizzie. — What ! when all the colonies belonged 
 to him ! 
 
 Will. — When John Smith and the other James- 
 town settlers first came over, they had a great 
 bother because James II. was afraid they would 
 forget they all belonged to him. And I can see 
 how this king might annoy the colonies in the same 
 way, if he chose to. 
 
 Mother. — You have got at a part of the truth. 
 While the settlements remained small, England 
 took little notice of them ; but when they grew 
 so that each had a trade of its own, the English 
 
186 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 government began to be jealous, and said, '' The 
 colonies go on choosing their own governors and 
 increasing their trade, as if they had forgotten they 
 belonged to us." 
 
 Will. — But they had charters from the king, 
 which gave them a right to govern themselves. 
 
 Mother. — After a while these charters were 
 taken away, and the king appointed the governors. 
 
 Will. — I shouldn't think the colonies would 
 have liked that very well. 
 
 Mother. — Connecticut never gave up her char- 
 ter. Sir Edmund Andros, who had been appointed 
 governor of New England and New York, went into 
 the assembly at Hartford, and said, " This meeting 
 is not lawful. / am governor of Connecticut ; and 
 in the king's name I demand the charter of this 
 colony." 
 
 The charter lay upon the table. Suddenly the 
 members of the assembly put out all the lights ; and 
 one of their number quickly carried out the charter, 
 and hid it in the hollow of a large oak. 
 
 Will. — Good ! I wish all the assemblies had 
 done so. 
 
 Mother. — The next vexation to the colonies came 
 soon after the close of the French and Indian war. 
 
 Will. — Which was in 1763. 
 
 Mother. — England owed a great deal of money 
 
ANGER AT THE MOTHER COUNTRY. 187 
 
 oij account of this war ; and she said, '^ This war 
 was partly for tlie sake of the colonies, and they 
 ought to help us pay off our great debt." 
 
 Will. — I don't believe England cared so much 
 to help the colonies as to whip France. Besides, I 
 should like to know if the colonies hadn't done their 
 part already. They had sent their men to war ; and 
 didn't that cost something? 
 
 Lizzie. — They had all the fighting near their own 
 homes. 
 
 Mother. — They had suffered much through the 
 war, and they, as well as England, owed a great 
 deal of money on account of it. 
 
 Will. — Then I hope they didn't help England 
 pay off her debt. 
 
 Mother. ■ — The way the king intended to get 
 money from them was by making them pay for the 
 privilege of receiving goods from the English mar- 
 kets. We call such money " duties." The king 
 sent over officers to search the ships coming into 
 port, lest the people should receive goods without 
 paying not alone what they were worth, but the 
 duties also. 
 
 When the people heard of this, they were sur- 
 prised and vexed. They said, " Do not the colonies 
 belong to the king ? And shall a man pay for eat- 
 ing bread in liis own house ? We will have no more 
 
188 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 goods from England ! We will spin and weave for 
 ourselves ! And we will eat no more mutton, for 
 fear we shall not have wool enough for our winter 
 clothes ! " 
 
 Will. — I am glad the colonists were so spunky ! 
 Served the king right ! 
 
 Mother. — Then came another grievance, still 
 worse. The colonists had been very industrious ; 
 factories had sprung up along the rivers ; and in 
 man}' of the little towns the busy hum of labor 
 could be heard. Every year were made quantities 
 of linen and woollen cloths, hats, paper, shoes, fur- 
 niture, and farming tools. 
 
 England said, " This manufacturing by the colo- 
 nists is hurting our trade. They must stop their 
 factories, and buy of us." 
 
 And for fear they would go on making things for 
 themselves, England said, " The Americans shall 
 pay us duties on all goods carried from one colony 
 to another." 
 
 Will. — 0, how angry that makes me ! 
 
 Mother. — The next vexation they had to bear 
 came through the Stamp Act. 
 
 Lizzie. — What was that? 
 
 Mother. — No American could buy a newspaper 
 unless it had a stamp on it. And stamps must be 
 bought for all paper used in business. These stamps 
 
ANGER AT THE MOTHER COUNTRY. 189 
 
 cost more or less, according to the business they 
 were used in ; and often one had to pay a large sum 
 for them. The money paid was all to go to Eng- 
 land. 
 
 Will. — The colonists wouldn't stand that, I 
 am sure. 
 
 Mother. — When the news first reached America, 
 the people were again very indignant. " Does 
 England want to make slaves of us?" they asked. 
 " Shall we give up all our rights as Englishmen ? 
 Never ! " p 
 
 There was a young lawyer in Boston, named 
 James Otis, who was a very fine speaker. And 
 when the people met to talk about the Stamp Act, 
 he spoke so grandly and fearlessly tliat all Boston 
 was on fire with indignation at the injustice ; and 
 they said, ^' We will never be taxed by England ! 
 We will not buy a stamp ! " 
 
 After this, Otis and some other noted men sent 
 letters to the different colonies, begging them never 
 to submit to taxation. This was hardly necessary, 
 for they were all angry at England. 
 
 In Virginia another e/oquent man named Patrick 
 Henry roused the people in the same way. 
 
 Some of Otis's writings went over to England ; 
 and the king said, " The man is mad ! Do not the 
 colonies belong to us ? Have we hot a right to do 
 by them as we choose ? " 
 
190 THE STOKY OF OUR COUNTRi^ 
 
 In the mean time the principal men of this 
 country got together, and agreed to be united by 
 one thought — not to be imposed upon by England. 
 They sent a petition to the king, asking that he 
 would not require them to obey the Stamp Act. 
 They also asked him if a few men might go to par- 
 liament to speak for the interest of the colonies. 
 They had a right to expect this ; for parliament is 
 made up of men from the different parts of England, 
 each one to speak for the town or county to which 
 he belongs. 
 
 Will. — Then of course they ought to have had 
 men from the colonies in parliament. 
 
 Mother. — The king took no notice of the peti- 
 tion ; and the 1st of November came, the day when 
 the stamps were first to be used. It was set aside 
 as a day of mourning. The bells were muffled and 
 tolled. The flags were at half-mast. The stamp 
 officers were insulted, and their property destroyed. 
 In Boston, a stuffed image of the principal stamp 
 officer was hung by the neck on an elm tree. 
 
 For a few days all business which required stamps 
 was stopped. But soon the people concluded to 
 take no notice of the new law, and went on trading 
 as before. 
 
 Will. — I suppose the king . didn't like that. 
 
 Mother. — No ; he was more determined than 
 ever to oppress the colonies. 
 
ANGER AT THE MOTHER COUNTRY. 191 
 
 Lizzie. — Franklin helped the Americans before ; 
 couldn't he do something for them now? 
 
 Mother. — He was in England at this time. He 
 had been chosen by our people to speak of the 
 wrongs they were suffering. 
 
 The Stamp Act was displeasing to many in Eng- 
 land, as well as in America. The manufacturers 
 and tradesmen were sending in petitions to have 
 it repealed, because they were suffering from the 
 loss of American trade. There was a great talk in 
 parliament as to whether the act ought to be set 
 aside or not. 
 
 Franklin was better known and more highly 
 thought of at that time than any other American. 
 Parliament sent for him. And before a crowded 
 house of eager listeners, he was asked all kinds of 
 questions about the colonies. His clear and ready 
 answers, and his description of affairs in this 
 country, had great influence. What he said was 
 thought so important that it was translated into 
 French, and was soon read by all Europe. 
 
 Lizzie. — Then didn't parliament take back the 
 Stamp Act? 
 
 Mother. — Yes; but I think that even Franklin 
 would not have been able to bring this about, if 
 there bad not been one man in parliament who was 
 a friend to the common people everywhere. On 
 
192 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 that account he was sometimes called the Great 
 Commoner. You heard of him during the French 
 and Indian war. 
 
 Will. — Do you mean William Pitt ? 
 
 Mother. — Yes. Pitt was a very eloquent speak- 
 er, and he pleaded hard for the Americans. Among 
 other things, he said : '•' The colonists ought not to 
 be taxed without their consent. They ought not to 
 be taxed, unless parliament is willing to have some 
 of their chosen men among its members. The 
 Stamp Act is a Avicked law, and I am glad the col- 
 onies did not obey it." 
 
 Lizzie. — Why wouldn't they have Americans in 
 parliament ? 
 
 Mother. — Franklin said, it was because the 
 English aristocracy, or rich people, felt above the 
 colonists. At any rate, the rich folks didn't like 
 Pitt's speeches, and the poor folks did. 
 
 Finally, as I said, the Stamp Act was done away 
 with. The neAvs was joyfully received in America, 
 and great honor was given to the name of Pitt. 
 
 Lizzie. — And not to Franklin ? 
 
 Mother. — Yes, and to Franklin. 
 
STIREING TIMES IN BOSTON. 193 
 
 XXI. 
 
 STIRRING TIMES IN BOSTON. 
 
 Mother. — The joy felt by the Americans when 
 the Stamp Act was repealed did not last long. The 
 king was more afraid than ever that the colonies 
 would not show proper obedience to his laws. So 
 he sent over a large body of soldiers, under Gen- 
 eral Gage, to keep the people in awe. Orders also, 
 came that these troops were to be housed and fed 
 by the colonists themselves. 
 
 Will. — I guess people didn't relish that ! 
 
 Mother. — New York and Massachusetts refused 
 to care for the troops. Upon this, the Massachu- 
 setts governor, who had been appointed by the 
 king, opened the State House for the soldiers ; and 
 large numbers of them were in tents on Boston 
 Common. 
 
 These English soldiers were very insulting to the 
 citizens, who became more and more alarmed for 
 their rights. Even the children found reason to 
 complain. 
 
 13 
 
194 
 
 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Lizzie. —I should think they would liave liked to 
 see the soldiers inarching about. 
 
 Mother. — At first they did ; for the soldiers had 
 bright red coats, and made a very gay appearance. 
 
 Boston Boys standing up for their Rights. 
 
 But after a while the Boston boys became much 
 vexed at the red-coats, because they would trample 
 down their forts of snow which they had built on 
 
STIERING TIMES IN BOSTON. 195 
 
 the Common. They asked the soldiers, " What's 
 the use of spoiling our fun?" But the red-coats 
 answered, " Help yourselves if you can, you young 
 rebels ! " 
 
 Then the boys complained to the captain, but 
 only got laughed at. Finally the little company 
 marched to General Gage himself. 
 
 " Who taught you rebellion, and sent you here to 
 show it ? " said he. 
 
 " No one sent us," said the boys. " We have 
 come to complain of your troops. This is the third 
 time they have spoiled our forts and broken our 
 skating-ice, and we will bear it no longer ! " 
 
 " Liberty is in the very air, and the boys breathe 
 it ! " said General Gage aside to one of his officers. 
 Then to the young soldiers he said, " Go, my brave 
 boys ! and take my word for it, if my troops ever 
 trouble you again, they shall be punished." 
 
 Shortly afterwards a most serious trouble arose 
 through these same British troops, called the Bos- 
 ton Massacre. 
 
 Lizzie. — Massacre ? That means killing people 
 — doesn't it ? 
 
 Mother. — Yes. One moonlight night, a party 
 of wild young men came down one of the Bostor 
 streets. As they drew near the English sentinel 
 who was pacing to and fro in front of the custom- 
 
196 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 house, he halted, pointed his bayonet towards their 
 breasts, and said in a gruff voice, " Who goes 
 there ? " 
 
 The young Bostonians felt they had a right to 
 walk in their own streets, without being stopped by 
 a British red-coat ; so they made a rude reply. This 
 provoked the sentinel, and a quarrel began. Other 
 soldiers, who were in the barracks near by, heard 
 the noise and ran out to assist their comrade. 
 
 By this time, a good many Bostonians rushed out 
 to see what the fuss was all about. The crowd, 
 which was fast becoming larger, saw that there was 
 a dispute between the British soldiers and the citi- 
 zens. This was enough to stir them up. They re- 
 membered how often the British troops had insulted 
 them, and how patiently they had borne it. Now 
 they were threatening the lives of Massachusetts 
 men. This was past endurance ; and they took up 
 snow and lumps of ice and pelted the red-coats. 
 Of course this made the soldiers still more angry. 
 
 The noise now reached the ears of the captain. 
 He ordered a squad of soldiers to take their muskets 
 and follow him. They marched through the crowd, 
 roughly pushing people aside, till they reached the 
 sentinel's post. Here the captain drew them up in 
 a semicircle, facing the crowd. When the people 
 saw this, their rage was almost beyond bounds. 
 
STIRRING TIMES IN BOSTON. 197 
 
 " Fire, you lobster-backs ! " yelled some. 
 
 " You dare not fire, you cowardly red-coats 1 " 
 cried others. 
 
 Upon this, the eyes of the soldiers glared upon 
 the people like hungry blood-hounds. The captain 
 waved his sword. The red-coats pointed their guns 
 at the crowd. In a moment the flash of their mus- 
 kets lighted up the street ; and eleven New England 
 men fell bleeding upon the snow : three were dead, 
 and eight wounded. 
 
 Lizzie. — Eleven New England men I 
 
 Will. — The colonists were not any more ready 
 to love George III. after that. 
 
 Mother. — People throughout the country never 
 forgot that day. A spark was kindled in the hearts 
 of Americans that afterwards grew into a mighty fire. 
 
 Not long after the Stamp Act was repealed, the 
 king said, " It will not do to take away every tax on 
 goods sent to America. That will be yielding too 
 much. But we will require them to pay a small 
 amount only, say a few cents on each pound of 
 tea. Surely they will not refuse to pay that ! " 
 
 Lizzie. — I shouldn't think they would have 
 minded just a few cents. 
 
 Will. — But, don't you see ? The colonists 
 wouldn't pay any taxes, unless they could send 
 men to parliament. 
 
198 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Lizzie. — Then the tea tax would make another 
 stir. 
 
 Mother. — When the news reached the colonies, 
 every true-hearted American declared he wouldn't 
 touch a cup of tea till the tax was taken off. 
 
 A large quantity of tea was shipped to South 
 Carolina. The citizens allowed it to be landed, but 
 quietly stored it in damp cellars, where it soon 
 spoiled. 
 
 The vessels which brought tea to New York and 
 Philadelphia were compelled to take their cargoes 
 back to England. 
 
 Three ships came to Boston laden with tea, which 
 the governor said must be landed. The citizens 
 held indignation meetings in Faneuil Hall. A very 
 daring man, who dearly loved his country, and was 
 ready to die for her, took the lead in these meetings. 
 flis name was Samuel Adams. The English hated 
 him, because he stirred up the people to a love of 
 liberty. 
 
 During one of these meetings, a petition was sent 
 to the governor, asking permission to have the tea 
 carried back to England. The answer came to the 
 waiting crowd that the tea must be landed. Then 
 Samuel Adams rose and said, " This meeting can do 
 nothing more to save the country."' 
 
 Instantly a war-whoop was heard at the entrance 
 
STIRRING TIMES IN BOSTON. 199 
 
 of the hall ; and a party of fifty men, disguised as 
 Indians, rushed down to the wharf, jumped on board 
 the ships, and threw every chest of tea overboard. 
 
 Will and Lizzie. — Hurrah for Boston ! 
 
 Mother, — This was in 1773 ; and it was called 
 ^'The Boston Tea Party." 
 
200 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 THE QUARREL INCREASES. — FIGHTING BEGINS. 
 
 Mother. — When the news of these events reached 
 England, the king said, '^ Boston shall be punished 
 for this ; " and an order was given forbidding any 
 ship to go to Boston, even from American ports. 
 
 Will. — Then how could the people get what 
 they needed? 
 
 Mother. — The ships were to go to Salem. But 
 the Salem people would not take advantage of the 
 Boston Port Bill, as it was called. They freely 
 invited the Boston merchants to come there and use 
 their wharves. 
 
 Parliament knew that Massachusetts would rebel ; 
 for the people of Boston suffered greatly from this 
 sudden losing of their trade. So four thousand 
 more soldiers were sent to Massachusetts, and Gen- 
 eral Gage, commander of the British troops in 
 America, was appointed governor of the colony. 
 
 Will. — If Massachusetts couldn't help herself, 
 the other colonies would do something for her, I 
 know. 
 
THE QUARREL INCREASES. 201 
 
 Mother. — They sent a great many gifts to Mas- 
 sachusetts. The southern colonies sent flour and 
 rice ; the middle colonies, corn and iron ; and many 
 towns sent money. 
 
 Lizzie. — England didn't expect the Boston folks 
 would be helped in that way, I am thinking. 
 
 Mother. — The British government thought the 
 Boston Port Bill would frighten the colonies into 
 obedience. But Massachusetts, too indignant to be 
 afraid, resolved that there should be a meeting of 
 the principal men of the colonies to see what could 
 be done to protect themselves against the increasing 
 insults of the mother- country. 
 
 Will. — As the governors of the different colo- 
 nies were chosen by the king, I can see that they 
 would not like such a meeting as that. 
 
 Mother. — They did not. But the people were 
 not hindered in their plan ; and a meeting was held 
 in Philadelphia, called the First Continental Con- 
 gress. At this congress it was decided that the 
 whole country should help Massachusetts get her 
 rights. They also resolved to send one more peti- 
 tion to the king. 
 
 In the mean time the people of Masachusetts had 
 a meeting, at which John Hancock presided, 
 
 Lizzie. — John Hancock — who was he ? 
 
 Mother. — He was a wealthy Boston merchant. 
 
202 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY, 
 
 who dared to say or do anything for the good of his 
 country. 
 
 At this meeting it was decided to call upon the 
 citizens to form themselves into military companies, 
 who would be ready to take up arms at a minute's 
 warning. On this account they were called Minute- 
 men. 
 
 Soon all the other colonies got ready to defend 
 themselves in the same way. 
 
 Lizzie, — Didn't the king treat them any better 
 after he got the petition from the people? 
 
 Mother. — C4eorge III, was stubborn ; and the 
 more unwilling the colonists were to obey cruel 
 laws, the more determined he was to take all privi- 
 leges from them. 
 
 The next thing he did was to forbid any New 
 Englanders fishing off the coast of Newfoundland, 
 
 Will. — I don't see what there was left for the 
 colonists to do, but to starve, or fight for their 
 rights. Of course, after they had worked so hard, 
 clearing the forests and fighting the Indians, to get 
 decent homes for themselves, they wouldn't give up 
 everything, to be worse off than they were before 
 they came over. 
 
 Mother. — They didn't really think of war at this 
 time. They only wanted to get their rights, and 
 not be imposed upon by England. 
 
THE QUARREL INCREASES. 203 
 
 Will. — I shouldn't think General Gage would 
 have liked their raising companies of soldiers. 
 
 Mother. — He did not ; and he determined to de- 
 stroy their military stores, if they should have any. 
 
 The colonists suspected this. They had a quan- 
 tity of powder, muskets, &c., at Concord, about six- 
 teen miles from Boston. As it was feared that 
 General Gage might find it out, there was an under- 
 standing that certain citizens should watch the 
 enemy's movements. If at any time English troops 
 should march from Boston, there was to be a signal 
 given from the belfry of the old North Church. 
 
 One night, in April, 1775, a thrill of alarm filled 
 a little band of patriots in Charlestown, as they saw 
 a light appear in the belfry. Paul Revere, who had 
 been chosen to carry the news to Concord, quickly 
 mounted a horse ; with almost lightning speed he 
 galloped to Medford. Here he stopped at a house 
 where Samuel Adams and John Hancock were 
 sleeping. 
 
 " Don't make so much noise ! " said a man on 
 guard before the house. 
 
 " Noise ! " said Paul Revere. " You'll have noise 
 enough before long ! The red-coats are on tlieir 
 way to Concord ! " And away he flew, giving the 
 alarm at the house of every sleeping farmer till he 
 reached Concord. 
 
204 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Will, — I am sure there wasn't much more sleep- 
 ing that night. 
 
 Mother. — As soon as the Concord people were 
 roused, they began moving the militarj' stores into 
 the woods. In the mean time, eight hundred Brit- 
 ish troops, under command of Major Pitcairn, were 
 on the road. They had hoped to quietly get pos- 
 session of the stores before morning. But as they 
 passed along, and heard the ringing of bells, and 
 saw the hurrying to and fro of the people, they 
 knew that their plans had been found out. So they 
 sent back for more troops. 
 
 Major Pitcairn reached Lexington, a town east of 
 Concord, at four o'clock in the morning. Here he 
 found seventy minute-men in arms, collected on the 
 green. 
 
 " You villains ! you rebels ! '' cried he ; " disperse ! 
 Wliy don't you lay down your arms and disperse ? " 
 
 Then the British soldiers fired, and eighteen of 
 the seventy Lexington men were killed or wounded. 
 Then the red-coats, giving three " hurrahs," marched 
 on towards Concord. 
 
 Lizzie. — 0, that was too bad ! 
 
 Will. — What else could the Concord soldiers 
 expect, when there were nearly a thousand British ? 
 
 Mother. — On that same morning, — April 19, 
 1775, — about four hundred and fifty minute-men 
 
FIGHTING BEGINS. 205 
 
 fiad assembled on a hill overlooking Concord. From 
 this point they could see the English destroying 
 their military stores and provisions. They saw 
 them cut down the liberty-pole and set the court- 
 house on fire. 
 
 Will. — 0, how the Concord men must have 
 longed to let their bullets fly ! 
 
 Mother. — They knew it was useless to attack 
 so much larger numbers in an open fight. 
 
 A portion of the English were guarding a bridge 
 at the entrance of the town. The minute-men 
 marched down from the hill, and fired upon these 
 red-coats, who fled in great confusion, having one 
 man killed and several wounded. 
 
 When the English had destroyed all the military 
 stores they could find, they set out to return to 
 Boston, carrying their wounded. But they were 
 not to go back as easily as they came. 
 
 Will. — I guess they wouldn't if I had been a 
 minute-man ! 
 
 Mother. — The whole country around was roused, 
 and men came hurrying from all directions. They 
 were generally in their shirt-sleeves, but they had 
 guns in their hands and powder in their flasks. 
 Scarcely a tree or a wall did the English pass that 
 did not shelter minute-men. Sometimes there were 
 companies, sometimes only single farmers. The 
 
206 
 
 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 English afterwards said, " It seemed as if men 
 dropped from the clouds," 
 
 Every mile the British made in their march back, 
 the fewer men did they have. At last their ammu- 
 
 Betreat of the British from Concord. 
 
 nition was nearly gone, and they began to run in 
 great disorder. 
 
 Will. — Brave English troops ! Raw country 
 militia ! 
 
 Mother. — Before long, more troops from Boston 
 
FIGHTING BEGINS. 207 
 
 came to their aid. These troops formed a hollow 
 square, into which the tired rimaways ran, and 
 threw themselves down on the ground for rest, their 
 tongues hanging out of their mouths, like hunt- 
 ed dogs. 
 
 During the rest of their march they were con- 
 stantly fired upon, so that they were glad to get back 
 to Boston, under the protection of General Gage. 
 
 If the English had not been re-enforced, they 
 would have had to surrender. As it was, they lost 
 two hundred and seventy -three men; while the 
 Americans lost only eighty-eight. 
 
 Will. — I wonder what George III. said to that ! 
 
 Mother. — England was greatly astonished to 
 hear that the regulars, as the king's troops were 
 called, had retreated or run away from American 
 farmers. 
 
 Lizzie, — I guess the other colonies were sur- 
 prised when they heard of it too. 
 
 Mother. — It caused a great excitement all over 
 the country. 
 
 When Samuel Adams heard the guns at Lexing- 
 ton, he exclaimed, " What a glorious morning is 
 this ! " 
 
 Lizzie. — Glorious ? 
 
 Mother. — He knew that the time had come when 
 men were to fight for their freedom. 
 
208 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Will. — And I suppose he knew they could not 
 get it in any other way. 
 
 Mother, — It seemed to be all that was left for 
 Americans to do ; for when George III. heard how 
 affairs were going on, he immediately sent over 
 another large body of troops, under three famous 
 generals, named Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne : so 
 that there were now ten thousand soldiers in 
 Boston. 
 
 In the meantime, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, 
 and other leading men had aroused more Americans 
 to enlist as soldiers, in case they should be attacked 
 by the English; and before the end of April, fifteen 
 thousand men had gathered about Boston. 
 
 Will. — I suppose they didn't know much about 
 war. 
 
 Mother. — No ; and they had very few cannon 
 and muskets, and only a little powder. 
 
 Lizzie. — I hope the English didn't know this. 
 
 Will. — If they knew there were fifteen thousand 
 men around Boston, who were ready to fight, I don't 
 believe they were in a hurry to get outside of the 
 city. They remembered too well the run from 
 Concord. 
 
 Mother. — General Gage began to get ready for 
 war. The king, George III., had told him to offer 
 pardon to any who would leave the American side 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 209 
 
 and join the English. But there were two men 
 who were not to be pardoned, but were to be hanged 
 if caught. 
 
 Will. — I think I know who they were — Sam 
 Adams and John Hancock. But that shows what 
 true patriots they were. 
 14 
 
210 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 THE REVOLUTIONAY WAR. 
 
 Mother. — Boston is partly enclosed by two 
 ranges of highlands — Dorchester Heights on the 
 south, and Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill on the 
 north-west. These two hills are in Charlestown. 
 Both parties were anxious to get possession of these 
 ranges. 
 
 Will. — Yes; for the army that was on the hills 
 could keep the other army out of Boston. 
 
 Mother. — The Americans found out that General 
 Gage was getting ready to move a part of his troops 
 on to the heights in Charlestown; so one night 
 Colonel Prescott was sent with about a thousand 
 men, to throw up banks of earth on Bunker Hill. 
 
 Lizzie. — I don't see what that was for. 
 
 Mother. — In case the British tried to take the 
 hill, the Americans could hide behind this earth 
 fort, and protect themselves from the attacks of the 
 enemy. 
 
 Prescott's soldiers worked so quietly that the 
 English knew nothing of what was going on till the 
 next morning, when they saw the earth fort. Then 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 211 
 
 General Gage watched the Americans through a 
 telescope, and decided it was best to commence 
 battle at once. He ordered a firing of cannon from 
 Copp's Hill in Boston and from the ships of war in 
 the harbor. The Americans went on with their 
 work, and cared little for the firing. They lost by 
 it only one man. 
 
 It was the morning of the 17th of June, 1775. 
 General Gage sent four thousand soldiers to Charles- 
 town in boats. The weather was very hot ; and the 
 English troops carried knapsacks on their backs 
 weighing over a hundred pounds each. In the 
 meantime the dreadful news of the coming battle 
 was spread, and every roof in Boston and Charles- 
 town was crowded with people anxiously watching 
 the two sides. 
 
 Colonel Prescott and General Putnam were mov- 
 ing about among their soldiers, giving orders and 
 speaking words of cheer, when a handsome young 
 man on horseback came galloping up and said, " I 
 come to aid as a volunteer. Tell me where I can 
 be most useful." 
 
 This was General Warren, a physician of Boston, 
 a true patriot, who had given a large part of his 
 time to serving his country since the troubles with 
 England began. 
 
 General Putnam exclaimed, " Is it you, General 
 
212 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Wavren ? I am glad and sorry to see you ! Your 
 life is too precious to be exposed in this battle. 
 But since you are here, go to the fort; you will 
 there be covered." 
 
 "I came not to be covered," replied General War- 
 ren. '' Tell me where the battle will be hottest." 
 
 " The enemy will try to take the fort," said Gen- 
 eral Putnam. '^ If that can be defended, the day is 
 ours." 
 
 General Warren rode along to the fort. The 
 troops recognized him, and welcomed him with 
 three cheers, for he was much beloved. 
 
 Will. — You said there were four thousand 
 British soldiers. Were there only a thousand 
 Americans to fight them? 
 
 Mother. — Others had joined them, so that there 
 were now between two and three thousand. But 
 they were not nearly so well prepared for battle as 
 the English. They were without food and water, 
 and had very little ammunition — by that I mean 
 powder and balls. But they had the pure fire of 
 patriotism in their hearts. 
 
 After a while the English troops began to move 
 slowly up the hill, dragging their cannons after 
 them. The American drums beat to arms. Put- 
 nam, who was still at work on the fort, led his men 
 into action. " Keep still ! " said he. '' Dou't fire 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 213 
 
 till you see the whites of their eyes ; then aim at 
 the officers." 
 
 The British troops were now only eight rods off. 
 " Now, men ! now is your time ! " said Prescott, 
 " Make ready ! Take aim ! Fire! " 
 
 The smoke cleared away : the whole hill-side be- 
 low the fort was covered with the dead ; and the re- 
 maining English troops were running down the hill. 
 
 Will. — Hurrah for victory ! 
 
 Mother. — Victory had not come yet. After the 
 first attack there was a pause in the battle. It Avas 
 only the lull that comes before the thunder-bolt. 
 Charlestown was in flames, by order of the British 
 general. 
 
 Lizzie. — How wicked ! 
 
 Mother. — Soon the British troops again ascend- 
 ed the hill. Again they were driven back. Victory 
 for the Americans seemed almost certain. Putnam 
 rode along the line, shouting, '' Drive back the red- 
 coats once more, boys, and the day is ours ! " 
 
 The English soldiers were very unwilling to ad- 
 vance again ; but their officers made still greater 
 preparations for the third attack. More troops 
 came over from Boston, and they were ordered to 
 leave their knapsacks behind. General Howe had 
 so arranged liis cannon that they would sweep 
 along the whole line of the Americans. 
 
214 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Will. — And our men hadn't any cannon. 
 
 Mother. — Scarcely any ; and now their powder 
 and balls were almost gone. There was hardly 
 enough for one more round of firing. And when 
 the third attack from the English came, there was 
 nothing to be done but to fire once and then fall 
 back. 
 
 Lizzie. — Too bad ! 
 
 Mother. — In the retreat they lost far more than 
 in the battle. The English finally won the day ; but 
 they dearly bought it. They had lost over a thou- 
 sand men ; the Americans not half as many. But 
 among the Americans the bravest of the brave had 
 fallen — the beloved General Warren. When Gen- 
 eral Howe heard this, he said, " Warren's death is 
 equal to the loss of five hundred men to the Ameri- 
 cans." 
 
 Lizzie. — So the Americans got beaten at the 
 battle of Bunker Hill, after all. 
 
 Will. — Not so badly as might be. I don't see 
 how they got along as well as they did — a lot of 
 farmers fighting the king's regulars, who had spent 
 their lives in training for war. 
 
 Mother. — If this battle was a loss to the 
 Americans in one way, it was a great gain in 
 another. It gave them confidence in themselves, 
 and showed them that the king's troops were not 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 215 
 
 SO ranch to be feared after all. They also learned 
 that the English were determined to oppose them ; 
 and they found out for sure that if they would 
 regain the liberties which had been taken from 
 them, they must fight. 
 
 When Washington first heard of the battle, he 
 only asked, " Did our men stand fire? " Being told 
 that they did, and that they waited till the enemy 
 was only eight rods off, he said, " The liberties of 
 the country are safe ! " 
 
 Will. — I should think the battle would have 
 taught the Americans to bo better prepared for war. 
 
 Mother. — Congress took the matter in hand, 
 and voted that a larger army should be raised, con- 
 sisting of men from all the colonies. Washington 
 was chosen commander-in-chief. 
 
 Will. — That means, I suppose, he was put at 
 the head of the army. 
 
 Mother. — He left Virginia, and arrived at Cam- 
 bridge, near Boston, in July, 1775, and was met 
 everywhere with cheers of welcome. Soon after 
 his arrival, Washington, standing under a large elm- 
 tree at Cambridge, in the name of the thirteen col- 
 onies took command of the army. He was then 
 forty-three years old, tall, broad-chested, and fine- 
 looking. He was a commander that any army in 
 the world might well be proud of. 
 
216 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Will. — He must have thought he had come to 
 a queer-looking set, if they didn't look any better 
 than they did at Concord or Bunker Hill. 
 
 Mother. — Few of the seventeen thousand men 
 whom Washington found waiting for him had any 
 uniform. They had come in their old coats or in 
 their shirt-sleeves. Their muskets were mostly 
 such as they had used in shooting game around 
 their homes ; hardly two were alike. But Wash- 
 ington thought of something more than outward 
 appearances. He looked into the faces of these 
 rugged men, and read there p, daring and determi- 
 nation which gave him hope and courage. 
 
 The first thing he did was to try to bring the 
 army into habits of neatness and regularity. The 
 men had no idea of military discipline, and came and 
 went as they chose. Their friends from the country 
 were constantly visiting them, sometimes to bring 
 clothing and eatables, oftener from curiosity. Wash- 
 ington at once set the men to work. At first this 
 was difficult, and many of the men complained at 
 the new order of things ; but their commander's 
 kindness of heart soon made him loved by all. 
 
 Washington's greatest cause of anxiety was that 
 they had so little ammunition. He at once wrote to 
 Congress : '* Our scarcity of powder is much more 
 alarming than I had the faintest idea of." 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 217 
 
 Lizzie. — They couldn't fight any battles right 
 away, then — could they ? 
 
 Mother. — No. Washington knew of the suffer- 
 ing of man}'- patriots in Boston. Between six and 
 seven thousand people were shut up there by the 
 English troops. They had little to eat, and could 
 get no word to or from their friends outside. Wash- 
 ington's plan was to drive the English out of Boston, 
 and relieve these suffering ones. Scarcity of powder 
 forced him to remain quiet many months ; but dur- 
 ing the next year the army was sufficiently supplied 
 with ammunition to make him feel that he might 
 venture an attack on Boston. 
 
 So, in March, 1776 — 
 
 Will. — That was nine months after the battle 
 of Bunker Hill — 
 
 Mother. — Washington formed a plan for getting 
 his troops on to Dorchester Heights, which you re- 
 member is a line of hills on the south of Boston. 
 
 Will. — Wasn't General Gage on the lookout for 
 this ? 
 
 Mother. — General Gage had been recalled to 
 England after the battle of Bunker Hill ; and Gen- 
 eral Howe was in his place. Washington wished 
 to get on to the heights without General Howe's 
 knowing it. In order to do this, he ordered can- 
 nons to be fired into the town from the hills around. 
 
218 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Lizzie. — How the Boston people must have felt 
 to see the cannon-balls coming ! 
 
 Mother. — The English at once commenced firing 
 in return, so that for two or three days there was 
 a great noise. 
 
 Will. — That would give the Americans a good 
 chance to move without being seen, because the 
 smoke from the cannons would make the air so 
 thick. 
 
 Mother. — On the morning of the 5th of March, 
 the British saw with astonishment the forts which 
 had sprung up as if by magic on Dorchester Heights. 
 General Howe knew that he must then do one of 
 two things — drive the American farmers from the 
 heights, or leave the town. 
 
 " If they stay there, I cannot keep a ship in the 
 harbor," said he. 
 
 Finally, he concluded to make an attack on the 
 heights. But his men looked pale and uneasy. 
 
 Will. — They remembered Bunker Hill, I guess. 
 
 Mother. — They wished Boston and all New Eng- 
 land at the bottom of the sea, and themselves back 
 in England. When the troops on Dorchester Heights 
 saw the English get into boats and come to attack 
 them, their hearts kindled with joy, for they felt 
 sure they should be victorious. 
 
 By Washington's orders they had collected on 
 
THE REVOLUTIONAEY WAR. 219 
 
 top of the heights a large number of barrels filled 
 with earth and stones. These were hidden from 
 view by quantities of hay. The hills were steep 
 and bare, and these heavy barrels were to be rolled 
 down on the enemy, in case they tried to scale the 
 heights. But the farmer-soldiers were disappointed. 
 A violent rain-storm arose, which threw the line of 
 boats into great disorder, and spoiled the ammuni- 
 tion of the English, so that they were compelled to 
 give up all idea of making an attack. Howe then 
 decided to leave Boston at once. 
 
 Washington sent word that he would not trouble 
 the departing troops if they would leave the town 
 without injuring it. 
 
 Lizzie. — I suppose he was afraid they might 
 burn it, as they did Charlestown. 
 
 Mother. — General Howe consented to this ar- 
 rangement, and set out with his army for Hal- 
 ifax. As soon as they were gone, Washington 
 and his troops entered Boston, amid the shouts and 
 cheers of the people. Every heart was bounding 
 with joy and thankfulness toward the great com- 
 mander. 
 
 Lizzie. — I hope the red-coats stayed away now, 
 and didn't trouble the colonists any more. 
 
 Mother. — On the contrary, wlien the king heard 
 of the disgrace of his troops, he said the colonists 
 
220 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY, 
 
 must be whipped at any cost. And he sent more 
 troops to America. 
 
 Washington felt sure that the English would plan 
 another attack soon. So, fearing that General Howe, 
 on leaving Boston, might steer for New York, he 
 sent a body of troops under General Putnam to 
 protect that place ; and soon he himself followed 
 with the rest of his army. 
 
 We must leave Washington now for a while, and 
 see what Congress is doing ; for, though Washing- 
 ton was at the head of the army, he had to depend 
 much on Congress for advice and help. 
 
 I wish I had time to tell you about all the great 
 and good men there were in Congress at that time. 
 I suppose there was not a man who went there for 
 his own gain or pleasure. They said, — 
 
 '^ When the war began, we hoped it would soon 
 be over, for we supposed that England would decide 
 to treat us well. We were proud to feel that we 
 belonged to Great Britain, whose government is the 
 best in the world. How glad we should have been 
 to love, honor, and serve her always. But the king 
 himself has hindered us from doing this. Instead 
 of helping us to be prosperous and happy, he has 
 tried to make us slaves ! 
 
 "There is only one thing left for us to do — say 
 that we no longer belong to England, that we are 
 
THE EEVOLUTIONARY WAR. 221 
 
 now free states, and that we will make our own laws, 
 and take care of ourselves, and let George III. help 
 himself if he can." 
 
 This was a ver}' daring thing to do ; but the best 
 and wisest men in the country thought it the only 
 right course to take. 
 
 One of the leading men of Congress — Thomas 
 Jeiferson of Virginia — put something like these 
 thoughts on paper. Five men, one of whom was 
 Benjamin Franklin, were chosen to look over each 
 line, and see if it could be made better. This paper 
 was adopted by Congress on the Fourth of Jul}^, 
 1776, and was called The Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence. 
 
 Lizzie. — Now I know why the Fourth of July is 
 such a great day. It was Our Country's Birthday. 
 Did everybody celebrate the first Fourth of July? 
 
 Mother. — There was great rejoicing in all the 
 colonies as soon as they knew what had been done. 
 The army around New York was called together by 
 the beating of drums, to listen to the reading of the 
 Declaration of Independence. The soldiers were 
 wild with enthusiasm. 
 
 Will. — They didn't know before exactly what 
 they were fighting for. Now they knew the war 
 wouldn't be finished till George III. gave up that 
 they were free. 
 
222 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Lizzie. — But I thought they were free. They 
 called themselves so. 
 
 Will. — It was cue thmg to say America was 
 free, and another thing to make it so. 
 
 Mother. — About this time Congress took another 
 important step. It sent three men, one of whom 
 was Franklin, to France, to see if the French would 
 treat America as a free nation. 
 
 Will. — I don't believe they would. 
 
 Lizzie. — Why not ? 
 
 Will. — Because, if they took sides with America, 
 England would go to war against them again. 
 
 Mother. — That is one reason why the French 
 king was not yet ready to call America a free 
 country. But the French people all hoped England 
 would lose the colonies, and they secretly sent am- 
 munition to help our army. Many French soldiers 
 were sent over too. A young nobleman of twenty, 
 named Lafayette, felt so much sympathy for the 
 Americans that he fitted out a vessel at his own 
 expense, in which he and his companions crossed 
 the ocean. He then offered his services to Con- 
 gress as a common soldier. 
 
 Will. — Of course they wouldn't let him be a 
 common soldier. 
 
 Mother. — He was made a general, and soon 
 became a great favorite, not only with Washington 
 but with all who knew him. 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 223 
 
 Not long after the declaration of independence, 
 our beautiful flag was first used. Look at the pic- 
 ture and count the stripes and stars. 
 
 Will. — There are thirteen stripes. 
 
 Lizzie. — And thirteen stars. 
 
 Mother. — You can guess why the number of 
 each is just thirteen. 
 
 Lizzie. — Ah, I know ! Because there were thir- 
 teen colonies. 
 
 Will. — They put more stars on the flag now. 
 
 Mother. — Yes. Our flag still has thirteen stripes, 
 in memory of the original colonies; but another star 
 is added whenever a new state comes into the 
 Union. 
 
224 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 THE WAR GOES ON. 
 
 Mother. — You remember that Washington left 
 Boston. 
 
 Will. — He went to New York, because he was 
 afraid General Howe would serve that city as he 
 did Boston. 
 
 Mother. — Washington placed a large number of 
 his troops on Long Island, opposite New York, and 
 the rest were in New York itself. 
 
 Several more regiments of British troops were 
 sent over ; so that there were now twenty thousand 
 red-coats in America, besides a large fleet of war- 
 vessels. 
 
 General Howe attacked the army on Long Island, 
 and defeated it. The Americans lost five times as 
 many men as the English did. 
 
 After this Washington, on a dark and foggy night, 
 withdrew his troops to some heights north of New 
 York, called Harlem Heights. Before long he was 
 driven from there, and met the English in battle at 
 White Plains, neither side gaining a victory. Then, 
 learning that the English were intending to go into 
 
THE WAR GOES ON. 225 
 
 New Jersey, lie crossed over into that state with 
 most of his troops. 
 
 Not long afterwards, he was again beaten by the 
 enemy. 
 
 Lizzie. — What ! good, brave Washington so often 
 beaten ! I cannot understand it, 
 
 Will. — I do. What else could be expected, 
 when the British had more men, more guns, and 
 more powder? 
 
 Mother. — During the next few weeks, Washing- 
 ton was driven farther and farther south, till he 
 reached Trenton. There he crossed the Delaware 
 to the Pennsylvania side. 
 
 Will. — The country couldn't have felt much 
 encouraged, to have the army running away so from 
 the red-coats. 
 
 Mother. — People were much disheartened, and 
 Washington had great cause for anxiety. His sol- 
 diers were leaving him by hundreds. And besides, 
 many leading men in New Jersey and Pennsylvania 
 were going over to the English. But, whatever 
 Washington felt, he showed no fear or lack of hope. 
 He knew, however, that some daring attack must 
 soon be made. i 
 
 Across the river in Trenton there were about a 
 thousand Hessians — 
 
 Will. — Hessians — what were those ? 
 15 
 
226 
 
 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Mother. — They were troops that England had 
 hired from Germany. Washington felt sure that on 
 Christmas day they would be having a grand cele- 
 bration, so that they would not watch his move- 
 ments. Therefore the night of the 25th of Decem- 
 
 Washington crossing the Delaware. 
 
 ber, 1776, would be a good time for him to recross 
 the Delaware. 
 
 It was bitter cold. The river was rapidly freez- 
 ing. The current, which at that point was very 
 swift, hurled along masses of ice. The wind blew 
 fiercely. Some of Washington's officers would not 
 
THE WAR GOES ON. 227 
 
 join him, as they thought it would be impossible for 
 him to reach the other side. 
 
 It was twilight wheu the commander and his 
 troops reached the river's edge. Only a part could 
 cross at a time ; and the poor, half-fed, half-clothed 
 men that lingered on the banks shivered in the 
 December cold. At eleven, a blinding snow-storm 
 set in. Would the little army ever reach Trenton ? 
 
 But Washington had inspired them with the sen- 
 timent, Liberty or death ! and they pushed on. At 
 three o'clock in the morning, the Americans were 
 all on the Jersey side. In an hour more they started 
 on their silent march. It was nine miles to Trenton, 
 and there were steep hills to climb. At daj^break 
 they reached the little town. The Hessians slept 
 late, for they had not recovered from the revelries 
 of the day before. Fighting for the English, they 
 thought, Avas not an unpleasant matter after all ; 
 they had gay times, and the fare was good. 
 
 But suddenly the Hessians were awakened by the 
 beat of drums, and the shouts of the officers, '^ The 
 Americans are upon us ! " 
 
 The half-drunken Hessian commander tried to 
 rally his men and bring them into order. Then 
 they set out to make a retreat. But it was too 
 late. The Americans surrounded them. The Hes- 
 sian commander and forty of his men were killed. 
 
228 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 The rest were in terror. What could they do? 
 Where should they go? 
 
 They felt their helplessness ; and they sent word 
 to Washington that they would surrender. A thou- 
 sand Hessians, with their guns and cannon, fell into 
 the hands of the Americans, who had lost only four 
 men. 
 
 At this good news, Washington, whose strong will 
 had been strained for seventeen hours, gave way 
 for the moment to his feelings. With clasped hands 
 and glistening eyes, he looked up to Heaven in 
 thankfulness. 
 
 Will. — They caught the Hessians ; but did they 
 get back safe to the other side ? 
 
 Mother. — Yes, they crossed immediately ; for 
 Washington felt sure that the English remaining in 
 New Jersey would attack him when they heard the 
 news ; and he was right. 
 
 A large number of the regulars under Cornwallis 
 marched to Trenton. 
 
 " It will be an easy thing," said the English gen- 
 eral, '' to surround Washington's army. We will 
 make an attack in the morning." 
 
 But when morning came, the American troops 
 were gone, no one knew where ; and the next thing 
 Cornwallis heard was that Washington had at- 
 tacked Princeton, had been victorious, and that the 
 
THE WAR GOES ON. 229 
 
 English had lost four times as many men as the 
 Americans. 
 
 The successes at Trenton and Princeton were 
 very cheering to the people everywhere, and the 
 soldiers became more hopeful. 
 
 After the battles we have spoken of, Washington 
 did not make any more attacks for several months I 
 but stationed his army so that they could watch the 
 EngHsh. 
 
 Will. — And I suppose the English generals were 
 planning how they could pay him off for what they 
 had lost. 
 
 Mother. — The English had already aimed a*- 
 Boston and New York. Can you not guess what 
 other large city they wanted ? 
 
 Lizzie. — It must have been Philadelphia. 
 
 Will. — Then Washington was detennined they 
 shouldn't get it. 
 
 Mother. — The armies met on the Brandy wine, 
 a little river flowing into the Delaware south of 
 Philadelphia. Unfortunately the Americans were 
 beaten ; so that General Howe and his large army 
 took possession of Philadelphia. 
 
 Lizzie. — Too bad ! 
 
 Mother. — What made it more trying was that 
 while the king's troops were in such comfortable 
 quarters, enjoying even luxuries, our soldiers were 
 suffering th(3 greatest hardships. 
 
230 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Will. — Where were they ? 
 
 Mother. — At Valley Forge, about twenty miles 
 from Philadelphia. Washington chose that place 
 for his army to stay in during the winter, because 
 he thought it could be easily defended in case of an 
 attack, and because he could watch the movements 
 of the enemy. 
 
 Lizzie. — Why did the soldiers suffer ? 
 
 Mother. — They had so few of the necessaries of 
 life. Rough huts which they made themselves were 
 all that protected them from the cold winter winds. 
 
 Will. — Well, huts were all the Indians had to 
 live in. 
 
 Mother. — The Indians had plenty of blankets 
 made of warm furs. These poor soldiers had no 
 blankets. Their clothing was ragged and thin. 
 They had no shoes ; so that their marches over the 
 ice and frozen ground could be traced by the 
 bloody tracks of their naked feet. Many a night 
 the groups of soldiers could be seen sitting around 
 their wood fires to keep warm, not daring to go to 
 sleep for fear the intense cold might so benumb 
 them that they would never wake. 
 
 Think of lying on the frosty ground without even 
 a blanket to cover one ! Even a heap of straw 
 would have been a luxury. They often went with- 
 out food ; and what they had was of the poorest 
 kind. 
 
THE WAR GOES ON. 231 
 
 Yet the soldiers did not complain. They all loved 
 Washington ; and they knew he would have helped 
 them to better fare had it been in his power. Per- 
 haps he suffered more than any one else ; for his 
 heart was burdened with the needs of all. But the 
 keenest pain to Washington was to feel that the 
 people were dissatisfied because he was not making 
 any attack on the English. The people in Pennsyl- 
 vania particularly kept sending petitions to Congress 
 to have the enemy driven out of Philadelphia. 
 
 Will. — I can't blame them for wanting to get 
 rid of the red- coats ; but they might have known 
 that Washington couldn't do much fighting when 
 his men were half frozen and half starved. 
 
 Lizzie. — I don't see how the country could get 
 free if the army was so badly off. 
 
 Mother. — Fortunately, not all the army was at 
 Yalley Forge. Washington had sent a large portion 
 of his men to the far north. 
 
232 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 THE AMERICAN CAUSE MORE HOPEFUL. 
 
 England had made a plan which, if it had been 
 successful, would have hurt the American cause very 
 much. Before I tell you about it, look at your maps 
 and find the St. Lawrence and Lake Champlain. 
 
 Will. — Lake Champlain empties into the St. 
 Lawrence. 
 
 Mother. — Now tell me what fort is near the 
 head of the lake. 
 
 Lizzie. — I see — Fort Ticonderoga. 
 
 Will. — We ought to remember that, because it 
 was one of the famous forts during the French and 
 Indian war. 
 
 Mother. — The English had said, " It would be a 
 great thing if we could manage to cut off New 
 England from the rest of the colonies ! In that 
 case they could not hear from Congress, and they 
 could not get any troops from the south. There 
 would be nothing for them to do but to surrender." 
 
 Will. — I tell you, the Yankees wouldn't do 
 that! 
 
 Mother. — In order to carry out this plan, Gen- 
 
THE AMERICAN CAUSE MORE HOPEFUL. 233 
 
 eral Burgoyne was sent up the St. Lawrence with 
 eight thousand regular troops, besides Canadians 
 and Indians. He went up to Lake Ciiamplain. 
 
 Will. — And of course took Fort Ticonderoga. 
 
 Mother. — From there he was to march to the 
 Hudson, and so push on to New York. 
 
 Will. — I see. If he could do that, New Eng- 
 land would be cut off. 
 
 Mother. — The first thing he did after taking 
 Fort Ticonderoga was to spy out what military 
 stores the Americans had collected in that region. 
 There was a large supply of ammunition at Ben- 
 nington, Vermont, which Burgoyne was determined 
 to destroy. 
 
 When the people of Vermont found this out, they 
 sent a letter to the New Hampshire Assembly, beg- 
 ging for help. And the help was not long in 
 coming. Men came Hocking from all directions to 
 save Bennington, as they had done to protect 
 Concord. 
 
 Luckily there was an American officer near at 
 the time, who had fought bravely at Bunker Hill, 
 and had been in the thickest of the fights at Trenton 
 and Princeton. His name was Colonel Stark. The 
 English reached Bennington, sure of victory, after 
 which they were going to march into Connecticut 
 and destroy more ammunition. 
 
234 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Colonel Stark rallied about him the brave men 
 who had left their farms at a moment's warning, 
 bringing nothing with them but their muskets. As 
 the British approached for the attack, he called 
 out, — 
 
 " There are the red-coats ! We must conquer 
 them, or Molly Stark is a widow ! " 
 
 The New Englanders had a glorious victory. 
 They lost less than one hundred men, while the 
 enemy lost eight hundred. 
 
 Will. — I guess Bennington kept its ammunition. 
 
 Mother. — Yes ; and there was added to it a 
 large quantity of cannon, guns, and powder taken 
 from the English. 
 
 This battle crippled General Burgoyne very 
 much ; so that he was obliged to wait for more 
 ammunition before he tried again to capture mili- 
 tary stores. 
 
 Will. — Pity about that ! 
 
 Mother. — The whole country was alive with 
 excitement. Washington sent many of his best 
 troops, to be ready for another battle, which he 
 knew must soon come. Congress rallied men from 
 all parts of the country to join the northern wing 
 of the army ; so that a large number gathered at 
 Saratoga, under command of General Gates» 
 
 Find Saratoga on the map. 
 
THE AMERICAN CAUSE MORE HOPEFUL. 235 
 
 Lizzie. — Here it is : in New York, north of Al- 
 bany, not far from the Hudson River. 
 
 Mother. — The Americans made several little 
 attacks on different parts of Burgoyne's army ; but 
 the final battle came off at Saratoga. 
 
 Will. — Which side beat? 
 
 Mother. — Burgoyne was completely routed. In- 
 stead of pushing down to Albany and eating his 
 Christmas dinner, as he had boasted he would do, 
 he was obliged to surrender. This was a terrible 
 blow to British power in America. Burgoyne had 
 lost, through these battles, since he first landed in 
 Canada, ten thousand men, besides large stores of 
 ammunition. 
 
 Will. — Only think ! ten thousand red-coats lost 
 to Engiaiid ! 
 
 Lizzie. — No ; they wore not all red-coats. There 
 were some Indians and Canadians among them. 
 
 Mother. — Many of this number were killed, 
 many deserted, but several thousands became pris- 
 oners in the hands of the Yankees. 
 
 Lizzie. — How the good news must have cheered 
 Washington ! 
 
 Mother. — It had a wonderful effect, not only 
 giving hope to the suffering troops, but making the 
 whole country rejoice. It also helped the American 
 cause in Europe. Franklin had no difficulty now 
 
236 
 
 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 in getting a hearing at the French court ; and France 
 signed a treaty, promising help to America, which it 
 now called a free and independent country. I doubt 
 if there was another 
 
 man living who could 
 have done the good 
 service which Frank- 
 lin did in this way. 
 
 Franklin at the French Court. 
 
 Will. — And what did England say about it all? 
 Mother. — Parliament began to think there was 
 some truth in what Franklin had said -that if the 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 237 
 
 Americans once began to fight for their indepen- 
 dence, they would never give up till they were 
 free. The English also thought it was time to treat 
 the Americans a little more civilly. 
 
 Will. — Perhaps George III. didn't like the idea 
 of another war with France just then. 
 
 Mother. — Already many of his people were get- 
 ting tired of the war with America. Besides, the 
 other countries of Europe began to favor American 
 freedom. 
 
 Will. — And the king wouldn't like to have all 
 Europe in war against him. 
 
 Mother. — Eor those reasons, the king sent word 
 to the colonies that they might have all they had 
 asked for before the war began. 
 
 Will. — Rather late to answer their petitions 
 now ! 
 
 Mother. — So the Americans thought ; and they 
 sent word back that, although in the beginning 
 they only Avanted their rights as English colonists, 
 they would now be satisfied with nothing short of 
 their freedom. And so the war went on, 
 
 Lizzie. — I should think the Americans must have 
 felt very glad when they heard that France would 
 help them. 
 
 Will. — But the English generals wouldn't be 
 very glad ! 
 
238 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Mother. — As soon as General Howe heard that 
 war-ships were coming over from France, he thought 
 best to leave Philadelphia, and join his other troops 
 near New York, expecting there might be a battle 
 when the French arrived. 
 
 Lizzie. — So if the English did get Philadelphia, 
 they had to leave it, as they once left Boston. 
 
 Will. — Where was Washington all this time ? 
 
 Mother. — As soon as he heard that General 
 Howe had left Philadelphia, he followed after ; and 
 at Monmouth Court-House there was a battle fought, 
 in which the English lost many more than the 
 Americans. General Howe was glad, when night 
 came on, to silently steal away to New York. 
 
 Washington followed him, and stationed his troops 
 so that he could watch the English army. 
 
 Will. — And was there fighting when the French 
 came? 
 
 Mother. — There were no large battles for a long 
 time. During the next year, the English destroyed 
 many small towns, which did not help their cause 
 very much, nor do any great injury to the Ameri- 
 cans. 
 
 It seemed as if the English generals were vexed 
 because they had lost so many men in battle, or 
 because the war had lasted so long ; and they gave 
 vent to their feelings by constant cruelties. Their 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, 239 
 
 excuse was, that they expected in this way to fright- 
 en the people into submission to the king. 
 
 Will. — A poor way to bring it about ! 
 
 Mother. — The English lost more than they gained 
 in this way ; for every new outrage which the 
 Americans heard of, only made them more deter- 
 mined to fight on for their freedom. 
 
 Lizzie. — What states sufiered most in this way ? 
 
 Mother. — Towns were plundered and burned in 
 Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New 
 Jersey, and many people put to death. 
 
 Lizzie. — I don't believe Washington would have 
 let his men do so. 
 
 Mother. — He was much opposed to all kinds of 
 needless cruelty, and did everything in his power 
 to make his men kind. 
 
 Once, when a party of red-coats made a raid into 
 Connecticut, General Putnam had a chance to show 
 his valor and patriotism. — By the way, do you re- 
 member where you first heard of General Putnam ? 
 
 Lizzie. — I do ; at Bunker Hill. He was afraid 
 his men would waste their powder by firing on the 
 enemy too soon. But what were you going to 
 tell us? 
 
 Mother. — When he heard that the English were 
 approaching the town of Greenwich, and that they 
 were destroying houses and mills, he gathered about 
 
240 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 him a few men of the neighborhood, determined to 
 do all in his power to save the town. He had but 
 a hundred and fifty men, while the English had ten 
 times as many. He had two cannons, which he 
 placed on the top of a steep hill. As soon as the 
 enemy came near enough, he fired his cannons. 
 
 Will. — What could a hundred and fifty men do 
 against fifteen hundred? 
 
 Mother. — Most of the red- coats were on horse- 
 back. When Putnam saw the English dragoons 
 were about to make a charge on them, he ordered 
 his men to flee into a swamp near by, where horses 
 could not enter. 
 
 Will. — And what did Putnam himself do ? 
 
 Mother. — He was the last one upon the hill. 
 Finding himself in great danger of being overtaken, 
 he struck his spurs into his horse, and galloped 
 down the rocky steep. The English dragoons dared 
 not follow, but they fired upon him, one bullet pass- 
 ing through his hat. 
 
 He escaped to the next town, where he rallied 
 more men. He could not face the enemy in open 
 battle, but he followed them when they were leaving 
 the town, and took fifty prisoners. 
 
 Will. — Brave old Put ! 
 
 Mother. — The English officer, on learning after- 
 wards of the kind treatment these prisoners re- 
 ceived, wrote a letter of thanks to General Putnam. 
 
THE WAR AT THE SOUTH. 241 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 THE WAR AT THE SOUTH. 
 
 Lizzie. — If I had been living a hundred years 
 ago, I should rather have lived in one of the south- 
 ern states, because the people there didn't know as 
 much about the war as they did in the north. 
 
 Will. — I don't say that ! I should like to have 
 been where I could help drive the red-coats out of 
 the country. 
 
 Mother. — Do not imagine that the southern 
 states were free from the horrors of war. During 
 the years 1779 and 1780, the people at the south 
 had dreadful times. 
 
 As the English were so unsuccessful in getting 
 control of the middle and northern states, they 
 determined to try their luck in Georgia. 
 
 Will. — That was the state farthest south. 
 
 Mother. — And it was not so strongly defended 
 as the others. Many of the people in Georgia and 
 the two Carolinas were Tories. 
 
 Lizzie. — What do you mean by Tories ? 
 
 Mother. — The Tories were people sympathizing 
 with the king. 
 16 
 
242 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Will. — Then they didn't believe in the war. 
 
 Mother. — No; and General Clinton rightly thought 
 that Georgia would be more willing than New Eng- 
 land to submit. Take your maps, and see what city 
 you should think the English would take first. 
 
 Will. — I suppose the largest city, Savannah. 
 
 Mother. — General Clinton sent a large body of 
 troops, under command of one of his colonels, to 
 take this place. The people of Georgia were com- 
 pletely surprised ; and Savannah fell at once into 
 the hands of the English. 
 
 After this, General Provost arrived with more 
 troops, and took command of all the English forces. 
 Soon he had possession of the whole state. 
 
 Lizzie. — dear ! Why didn't Washington send 
 some soldiers down there ? 
 
 Mother. — The few American troops stationed 
 there fought desperately before they gave up. A 
 large body of French soldiers went there too, to 
 help them. But their general was soon wounded, 
 so that the French were of little use at this time. 
 
 The English then marched north, and captured 
 the largest city of South Carolina. 
 
 Will. — That was Charleston. 
 
 Mother. — British troops were sent into every 
 part of the state ; and the people had to do just 
 what the invaders said they must, or be punished. 
 
THE WAR AT THE SOUTH. 243 
 
 Will. — What ! Were there no brave men there 
 to stand up for their rights, and drive o& the cow- 
 ards? 
 
 Mother. — As I told you, there were many who 
 sympathized with the king — 
 
 Lizzie. — Yes — Tories ! 
 
 Mother, — And these Tories said, " What is the 
 use of carrying on the war any longer? America 
 will never be free. If the colonists (jnly do what 
 George III. asks, he will treat them welL Besides, 
 we cannot help ourselves." 
 
 Lizzie. — I wish James Otis or Patrick Henry had 
 been there to stir up the people. 
 
 Will. — Better still if they could have had Old 
 Put! 
 
 Mother. — South Carolina did not submit to 
 British rule so easily as Georgia had done. There 
 were many stanch patriots there, who would have 
 died rather than give up their liberties. Be- 
 sides, the English were hurting their own cause 
 very much by treating the people unkindly. They 
 burned houses, destroyed fields of rice and to- 
 bacco, and drove hundreds of women and chil- 
 dren from their homes. These innocent victims 
 wandered through the swamps half clothed and 
 half starved. 
 
 Besides this, the English oflScers gave their men 
 
244 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 leave to steal everything they could lay their hands 
 on. All this savage treatment worked well for the 
 Americans. Many Tories now turned patriots. " If 
 George III. allows his officers to treat people in this 
 way, he needn't expect South Carolina to be his 
 colony any longer," they said. 
 
 As I told you, there were fortunately many brave 
 men in the Carolinas, who were determined to resist 
 the oppressions of the British. One of the most 
 famous of these South Carolina patriots was named 
 Marion. His father was a Huguenot. 
 
 Lizzie. — 0,1 remember about the Huguenots ! 
 They came from France, and settled in South Caro- 
 lina. 
 
 Mother. — Marion was a poor man. He worked 
 at farming before the war. But every one who 
 knew him respected him, for he was brave, honest, 
 and kind-hearted. He had a great talent for drilling- 
 men into soldiers. 
 
 When he saw how the English were treating the 
 southerners, he was very indignant, and rallied a 
 little company of men around him, who promised to 
 fight in case of need. He had one singular trait as 
 an officer: he never compelled his men to stay in 
 service. He used to say, " If a man doesn't love 
 his country well enough to stay, he won't make a 
 good soldier, and I don't want him." 
 
THE WAR AT THE SOUTH. 245 
 
 Will. — That made his men ashamed to run 
 away. 
 
 Mother. —He rarely had a man desert him. 
 Another singular fact about Marion was, that he 
 had no one place for his little band of heroes to 
 stay in. When they were not engaged in fighting, 
 they all went home to take care of their farms and 
 their families. 
 
 Will. — How did they know when they were 
 wanted ? 
 
 Mother. — Marion had a secret signal which his 
 men all understood ; and when they heard the signal 
 they would leave everything and hasten to their 
 leader. 
 
 He never had many men under his command at a 
 time ; but he was a great torment to the English. 
 Having no ammunition, and the colony being too 
 poor to give him any, he depended on what he got 
 from the enemy. Knowing every swamp and everv 
 forest in South Carolina, Marion and his men would 
 secrete themselves near the English, and spring out 
 upon them, wlien they supposed he was at the other 
 end of the colon3\ 
 
 Will. — You said the English were scattered all 
 over the state. So I suppose Marion attacked small 
 parties of the troops, instead of going into regular 
 battles with the army. 
 
246 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY, 
 
 Mother. — That was his constant plan. He finally 
 became such a plague to the enemy, that they sent 
 out large bodies of men to find him. 
 
 Lizzie. — Why, they hunted him as they would a 
 wild beast. Did they catch him? 
 
 Mother. — Many a time they would drive him to a 
 forest or swamp, sure that they would take him back 
 to the camp a prisoner ; but to their astonishment 
 he would disappear. So they gave him the name 
 of the Swamp Fox. 
 
 There was a great difference between Marion and 
 the English officers. He always treated his prison- 
 ers well, while the English would often hang a dozen 
 American prisoners without a moment's warning. 
 
 Nothing made Marion so angry as to find his men 
 plundering, or treating any one unkindly. 
 
 Will. — Then the people must have liked Marion 
 best. He didn't have to fight the English in South 
 Carolina without any help — did he ? 
 
 Mother. — General Gates was sent down with a 
 large number of men. He was much needed, for 
 Cornwallis himself was at the head of the British 
 forces in the south. 
 
 Lizzie. — Then I guess something was done for the 
 Americans, for Gates was the general that gained 
 such a victory at Saratoga, when Burgoyne had to 
 give up. 
 
THE WAR AT THE SOUTH. 247 
 
 Mother. — Every one expected this ; but people 
 were disappointed. General Gates fought the 
 enemy several times, but always met with great 
 loss. So he was finally called back, and General 
 Greene was sent down. 
 
 Will. — You haven't told us much about him. 
 
 Mother. — General Greene was second only to 
 Washington. Indeed, Washington himself had the 
 greatest confidence in him, saying that he was 
 " wise, brave, and cool," three very important traits 
 in a commander. 
 
 General Greene was much shocked at the brutal 
 manner in which Cornwallis treated his prisoners 
 and those people of South Carolina who showed a 
 love of America. But from the first, he gave orders 
 that his men should treat all kindly. 
 
 Lizzie. — The southerners must have hated Corn- 
 wallis. 
 
 Mother. — The friends of George III. were de- 
 creasing rapidly ; and Cornwallis saw that the Eng- 
 lish power in South Cai'olina was daily growing 
 weaker. 
 
 Will. — Wasn't General Greene glad to have the 
 help of Marion? 
 
 Mother. — Yes. For some reason. Gates had 
 taken but little notice of him ; but General Greene 
 knew his worth, and at once sent word to him that 
 
248 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 he hoped he would keep on serving his country; 
 and he sent Marion a large number of soldiers. 
 
 General Greene divided his army into two parts, 
 sending the larger portion to the western part of 
 the state. His plan was to drive the English to- 
 w^ards the coast. Soon there was a large battle at 
 a place called Cowpens, in which the Americans lost 
 but a few men, while the enemy lost hundreds, 
 besides a great deal of ammunition. 
 
 There were several battles during the next year, 
 in which the English were victorious ; but they 
 often lost so much, in men and stores, that they 
 thought best to retreat. 
 
 At one time the Americans under General Greene 
 retreated, and were chased by Cornwallis across 
 North Carolina into Virginia. 
 
 Will. — 0, why didn't General Greene make a 
 stand and face the English ? 
 
 Mother. — For the same reason that many battles 
 were lost by the Americans : most of them were 
 without shoes, and were poorly clothed. Besides 
 this, they did not have half enough to eat. 
 
 You would think that Cornwallis, with his finely 
 drilled troops, could easily overtake our barefooted, 
 half-starved soldiers ; but it was singular that twice, 
 when the red-coats were about to attack the. rear 
 of the army, the Americans escaped by crossing 
 
THE WAR AT THE SOUTH. 249 
 
 rivers, and when they were safely on the other side, 
 a sudden rise of the streams delayed Cornwallis, 
 so that when he got across, the Americans were 
 miles away. 
 
 Will. — Good ! Wasn't that strange — that the 
 water should rush to the help of the Americans ? 
 
 Mother. — Cornwallis finally gave up the chase ; 
 and Greene, going around the English army, re- 
 turned into North Carolina. The two armies had a 
 battle here, in which the English were much crip- 
 pled. After this, Greene went again into South 
 Carolina ; and b}^ the help of Marion and other brave 
 officers he succeeded in driving the enemy back 
 from the interior ; so that at the close of the year 
 all the places held by Cornwallis in the south were 
 Charleston and Savannah. 
 
 Will. — I know what made the Americans beat 
 so often : it was because they loved their country, 
 and because they had pluck. That's what did it. 
 
 Mother. — You remind me of a story about Ma- 
 rion, which I will tell before we close our talk about 
 the war in the south. 
 
 Lizzie. - — 0, good ! Do tell us ! 
 
 Mother, — One day, after a severe battle, an Eng- 
 lish officer brought into Marion's camp a white flag, 
 or flag of truce, to ask for an exchange of prisoners. 
 After the business was over, the officer was about 
 
250 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 to leave, when Marion urged him to remain and 
 dine. The officer, either too polite or too curious 
 to refuse, accepted the invitation. 
 
 He looked around and saw a fire, but no other 
 signs of a repast, and was greatly surprised when he 
 heard Marion tell one of his men to bring in the din- 
 ner. He was still more astonished when he found 
 that their only plates were clean pieces of bark, and 
 all they had to eat was a quantity of sweet potatoes 
 that had been nicely baked in the glowing ashes of 
 the fire. 
 
 " Excuse me, General Marion," said the English 
 officer ; " but is this your usual fare ? " 
 
 " Well, no, sir," answered Marion. " 1 am glad 
 to say, since you are here to share my dinner, that 
 it is better than usual." 
 
 " What ! " exclaimed the English officer, as he 
 looked about upon the sturdy men in Marion's camp, 
 " do you mean to say that your troops are willing to 
 put up with such rations ? You must have to pay 
 them well." 
 
 " Sir," exclaimed Marion in return, " do you sup- 
 pose my men stay by me for wages merely, or for 
 what they get to eat ? We are fighting for our 
 country, for freedom ; and we shall keep on fighting 
 as long as body and soul hold together." 
 
 The English officer could say no more. He was 
 
THE WAR AT THE SOUTH. 251 
 
 SO impressed by what he had seen and heard, that 
 he gave up his commission, and went home to Eng- 
 land. " Such men deserve their freedom," said 
 he ; '' and I'll not be one to hinder them from get- 
 ting it." 
 
252 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 A TRAITOR. 
 
 Mother. — To-night I will tell you about a man 
 whose name even is like a blot on my story — Ben- 
 edict Arnold. 
 
 Lizzie. — If he was a bad man, I hope he wasn't 
 an American. 
 
 Mother. — He was one of those who hastened to 
 join the army at Cambridge, after the battles of 
 Lexington and Concord. 
 
 He had received a good education, and was very 
 talented. This brought liim into notice, and he soon 
 received an important place in the army. He 
 showed so much courage and coolness in time of 
 danger, and understood so well the managing of an 
 army, that Washington looked upon him as one of 
 his best officers. But he was never a favorite. He 
 was selfish and fond of showing his power. His 
 greatest fault was his love of money. To got that, 
 he often did what any high-minded man would 
 scorn to do. He was generally in debt. Notwith- 
 standing all this, he was so able a man that finally 
 he became a general. 
 
A TRAITOR. 253 
 
 At the time of Burgoyne's surrender, Arnold 
 received a severe wound, which unfitted him for 
 active service for some time. And as Washington 
 thought highly of his skill as an officer, he peti- 
 tioned Congress to give him command of the forces 
 in Philadelphia, after the English left it. But his 
 career in that place was not pleasing to the patriots. 
 He made intimate acquaintances with the enemies 
 of his country. He married the daughter of a lead- 
 ing Tory — a beautiful and accomplished young lady. 
 
 Will. — I don't know that he ought to be blamed 
 for that. 
 
 Mother, — What was most disliked in him there, 
 was his extravagant way of living. 
 
 Will. — Of course that showed he wasn't a true 
 patriot. 
 
 Lizzie. — If he had been, he would have helped 
 the poor soldiers, instead of spending so much on 
 himself 
 
 Mother. — Every one saw that he spent more 
 than his income. He rode in an elegant coach 
 drawn by four horses, and kept a great many ser- 
 vants. He gave very costly parties. 
 
 Finally people became so vexed, that the authori- 
 ties of Philadelphia sent a complaint to Congress, 
 saying they felt sure that he was spending the pub- 
 lic money for his own use. 
 
254 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Congress appointed a number of army officers to 
 look into his affairs. His money matters showed 
 either wrong management or dishonesty, and Arnold 
 was reprimanded. 
 
 Lizzie. — I don't know what you mean by that. 
 
 Mother. — Congress told him he must behave 
 himself or lose his place. This made Arnold very 
 angry. He said to himself, '' Here I have been 
 working hard for the country these four years. I 
 have often risked my life where other officers dared 
 not go. And this is the pay I get ! " 
 
 He was deeply in debt at this time. He resolved 
 to make a desperate plunge to save himself, even 
 if he ruined his country. 
 
 Lizzie. — 0, he wouldn't do that ! 
 
 Mother. — You have not heard yet of West Point, 
 so I must tell you it is on the Hudson, and was then 
 considered one of the most important places in the 
 country. 
 
 Will. — Then I suppose there was a fort there. 
 
 Mother. — Yes ; and Washington caused it to be 
 well supplied with cannon and ammunition, so that it 
 would be impossible for the enemy to take it. Find 
 it on your maps, and see if you can tell why it was 
 such an important place. 
 
 Will, — If the British had the Hudson, they 
 could cut off New England from the other states. 
 
A TRAITOE. 255 
 
 Mother. — The traitor Arnold sent word to Gen- 
 eral Clinton that he would give it over to England. 
 
 Lizzie. — 0, what could make him so wicked ? 
 
 Will. — I don't see how he could bring this 
 about. 
 
 Mother. — After leaving Philadelphia, he sent to 
 Washington, asking the command of West Point. 
 Washington gave him the place. For eighteen 
 months Arnold secretly wrote letters to General 
 Clinton. At last the time had come when West 
 Point was to be given to the English, But Arnold 
 must be sure of his money. He must get a written 
 paper, signed by General Clinton, promising to pay 
 over the sum at a given time. So he wrote, asking 
 to meet some English officer of rank, who should 
 bring the important paper. In return he would 
 give a plan of West Point, telling how many troops 
 were in it, and showing the easiest place of attack. 
 
 General Clinton chose young Major Andre for this 
 service. Andr^ was a great favorite, kind-hearted, 
 accomplished, brave, and handsome. One dark night 
 he and Arnold, both disguised, met among the 
 bushes on the banks of the Hudson. They ex- 
 changed papers, Andr^ concealing his between his 
 stockings and the soles of his feet. 
 
 After a long talk, morning began to dawn, and 
 Arnold was soon safely back at West Point. But 
 
256 THE STORY OP OUE COU x. 
 
 Major Andr^ was not so fortunate. On his way 
 to the English camp, he was met by thi .-e sturdy 
 young Americans, who were out watching the road 
 lest English soldiers should go into the country to 
 plunder. 
 
 One of these men, John Paulding, pointed a mus- 
 ket at Andr^, commanding him to '' halt ! " 
 
 The three Americans were somewhat disguised ; 
 and Andre's heart rejoiced, for he felt sure he was 
 with English soldiers. Forgetting himself, he said, — 
 
 " I am a British oflScer. Do not st(^'^> me, for I 
 am. on very important business ! " 
 
 As he said this, he drew out an elegant gold 
 watch. This made Paulding feel sure that he was 
 a British officer ; for gold watches were then very 
 scarce in the colonies. So Paulding said, — 
 
 " We are Americans, and you are our pris; . aer ! " 
 
 Then they searched him, and found the important 
 papers. 
 
 " Heavens!" exclaimed Paulding, when he glanced 
 r.t them ; '' he is a spy ! " 
 
 Andrd tried to buy himself off. 
 
 " Let me go," he said, " and I will ■ vqu my 
 
 horse and five hundred dollars." 
 
 " If you would give us five thousand dollars," an- 
 swered his captors, " we would not let you stir a 
 step." 
 
A TEAITOK. 257 
 
 And Andrd was soon within prison- walls. 
 
 Lizzie. — Poor Andre ! 
 
 Will. — Brave, honest John Paulding saved his 
 country. 
 
 Mother. — Washington had heard nothing of the 
 arrest. On that very day he had sent word to Ar- 
 nold that Lafayette and himself would be his guests 
 next morning. 
 
 Suspecting nothing, they were escorted up the 
 Hudson. As they drew near the fort, Washington 
 was greatly surprised that no military salute was 
 fired. He was still more astonished to be informed 
 on landing, that Arnold was away. 
 
 Soon a messenger arrived, with the papers found 
 in Andre's stockings. Washington looked them 
 over, and handed them to Lafayette, exclaiming, — 
 
 " Whom can we trust now ? " 
 
 Instantly he sent out troops to find Arnold and 
 arrest him. But it was too late ; he was already in 
 the British camp. 
 
 Lizzie. — And Major Andrd — what became of him? 
 
 Mother. — He was tried, found guilty, and con- 
 demned to die. 
 
 When General Clinton heard of this, he wrote to 
 Washington, begging that his life might be spared. 
 But Washington could not grant the request ; and 
 Andre died bravely as he had lived, 
 17 
 
258 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Will. — And Arnold — the black traitor? 
 
 Mother. — He received a part of his money ; but 
 the English ofl&cers and soldiers all hated him. 
 
 After this he led a body of British troops into 
 Virginia, trying to subdue that colony. But he was , 
 unsuccessful. Washington sent Lafayette to oppose 
 him, and he was soon driven out of the state. 
 
 The longer Arnold lived, the more he was 
 shunned; and he died in London, a despised man. 
 
VICTORY AT LAST. 259 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 VICTORY AT LAST. 
 
 Mother. — The war had now been going on for 
 six years. 
 
 Will. — Then you are going to tell us about the 
 year 1781. 
 
 Mother. — Washington had had much to discour- 
 age him during the year 1780. 
 
 Will. — Arnold had done a mean thing, to be 
 sure ; but the English hadn't made much headway. 
 
 Lizzie. — They had been driven out of North 
 Carolina, and had left New Jersey. 
 
 Will. — And they didn't hold any part of the 
 soutliern states but Charleston and Savannah. 
 
 Mother. — That is true. But you must remember 
 that during the war business was stopped in a great 
 measure, which made the times harder every year. 
 As the people were earning less money than usual, 
 they couldn't pay their taxes ; so that Congress 
 found it very difficult to get money for the soldiers. 
 At first the soldiers didn't mind this; but after a 
 while it became very hard to bear. 
 
 Lizzie. — Why, yes ; because if the soldiers 
 
260 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 couldn't have their pay, they had nothing to send 
 home to their families. 
 
 Mother. — The fare, too, of the men in the army 
 was wretchedly poor. This caused many to lose 
 their health. At one time the Pennsylvania soldiers 
 mutinied — that is, they declared they would desert 
 unless they could have better fare. 
 
 This troubled Washington more than anything 
 else, for he knew the soldiers were not greatly to 
 blame. He urged Congress to make still greater 
 efforts to help the army. 
 
 Will. — I don't see what Congress could do when 
 it couldn't get money. 
 
 Mother. — There is no knowing what might have 
 happened to the Americans if it had not been for a 
 few rich men who loved their country better than 
 their wealth. These generous patriots gave a great 
 deal of money to Congress, because they pitied the 
 distress of the soldiers. Besides this, France sent 
 over a large sum. These helps were a great relief 
 to Washington, for he had been afraid that the army 
 would be broken up. 
 
 Will. — Then the English would have beaten, 
 sure ! 
 
 Mother. — In 1781, Washington felt that some 
 decisive steps must be taken to weaken the English 
 array. General Clinton was still idle in New York. 
 
VICTOEY AT LAST. 261 
 
 Will. — And Cornwallis was in South Caro- 
 lina? 
 
 MoTHEE. — He had left the Carolinas and marched 
 into Virginia. Here he was doing great mischief, 
 destroying all the property that came in his way. 
 Finally, he made a stop at Yorktown, which he be- 
 gan to fortify. — Find it, please. 
 
 Lizzie. — I see it. It is near Chesapeake Bay, on 
 the York River. 
 
 Whll. — And there is James River, not far off, 
 
 MoTHEE. — Just opposite Yorktown is a point of 
 land called Gloucester. This Cornwallis also forti- 
 fied. 
 
 Lizzie. — Where was Washington at this time ? 
 
 MoTHEE. — He was still near New York. He had 
 made up his mind to attack Clinton ; but just then 
 he heard the good news that a large French fleet 
 would soon reach Chesapeake Bay. 
 
 Lizzie. — Did he give up his plan, then, of attack- 
 ing General Clinton ? 
 
 MoTHEE. — Yes ; but he took great pains to con- 
 ceal the fact. He caused a large place to be marked 
 out for an encampment in New Jersey. Ovens were 
 built, and fuel was piled up for the baking of bread. 
 Even his own men thought Washington's plan was 
 to attack New York. The day came when the sup- 
 posed attack was to be made. The men were 
 
262 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 marching, as they thought, towards the city ; when 
 suddenly they were ordered to face about, and they 
 found themselves started for the south. 
 
 Before they reached Virginia, however, Clinton 
 guessed their object ; and in order to draw back a 
 part of the American troops, he sent the traitor 
 Arnold into Connecticut, with a body of red-coats. 
 Two or three towns were plundered and then 
 burned. 
 
 Will. — Washington was too wise to be cheated 
 by him, I hope. 
 
 Mother. — He had left enough troops at West 
 Point and other places on the Hudson to meet any 
 immediate need ; and he kept on towards Yorktown. 
 
 On his way he stopped at his home. Mount Ver- 
 non. It was the first time he had been there for 
 six years. But, dear as the spot was to him, he felt 
 he must not pause more than a few hours. He 
 pushed on, and soon arrived with his army before 
 Yorktown. Here he was made very happy by the 
 news that the French had arrived before him, and 
 had blocked York and James rivers. 
 
 Will, — Good ! Was Lafayette in Virginia then? 
 
 Mother. — Yes : and by Washington's orders he 
 was sent to prevent Cornwallis from retreating into 
 North Carolina. 
 
 Lafayette was soon joined by a large body of the 
 
VICTORY AT LAST. 263 
 
 French soldiers. He quickly arranged his troops 
 in a semicircle around the English array. Cornwallis 
 could now make no retreat back into Virginia, 
 neither could he receive food or any kind of help 
 from the surrounding country. The French fleet 
 prevented him from receiving aid by way of the 
 
 sea. 
 
 Will. — Aha, Mr. Cornwallis, you got shut, up 
 that time, like a mouse in a trap ! 
 
 MoTHEE. — The British army soon began to be 
 greatly distressed for want of food ; and they had 
 to kill many of their horses to make the grain hold 
 
 out. 
 
 Cornwallis sent word to Clinton that he must have 
 help soon, or he would be obliged to give up. 
 
 Will. — He did not have as many troops as 
 Washington — did he ? 
 
 Mother. — No ; the American and French troops 
 together numbered sixteen thousand. Cornwallis 
 had but half that number. 
 
 Will. — I can see that things began to look 
 pretty bright now for the Americans. Cornwallis 
 couldn't get away by land or sea without breaking 
 through the American forces. 
 
 Lizzie. — And for once his men couldn't get 
 enough to eat. 
 
 Mother. — There was nothing left for Cornwallis 
 
•264 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 to do but to wait for help from Clinton, and to make 
 his forts stronger. 
 
 Will. - — I hope Washington let the red-coats 
 smell some of his powder before Clinton arrived. 
 
 Mother. — On the 9th of October, 1781, orders 
 were given to bombard Cornwallis's forts. Wash- 
 ington himself put the match to the first gun. A 
 furious discharge of cannon followed, and Lord 
 Cornwallis received his first salutation. This bom- 
 bardment was kept up for several days. 
 
 Cornwallis's ammunition began to fail, and he saw 
 that he could no longer hold out. Rather than give 
 up, he decided to try to escape by night. He hoped 
 to break through the French troops, and make his 
 way to join Clinton in New York. 
 
 Sixteen boats were secretly prepared. A large 
 part of the troops had crossed the river before mid- 
 night. The remainder were about to enter the 
 boats, when a violent storm of wind and rain arose, 
 which scattered the boats and drove them down the 
 river. They were brought back with difiiculty. 
 It was too near daybreak to get the remaining 
 troops across. The army, already weakened, must 
 not be divided. The recovered boats were used 
 to bring back the troops that had already crossed. 
 
 Cornwallis now saw that his case was hopeless. 
 If he kept on fighting, he would lose what brave 
 
VICTOEY AT LAST. 265 
 
 men had not already fallen through sickness or 
 battle. Nothing was left for him to do but to 
 give up. 
 
 Will. — That's just the way General Howe had 
 to get out of Boston. Did Cornwallis lose many 
 men? 
 
 Mother. — Between five and six hundred had 
 been killed. The rest became prisoners to the 
 Americans. 
 
 Will. — I say, wasn't that a big victory ? 
 
 Lizzie. — And so few men killed ! I am glad of 
 that. But you didn't tell us how many we lost. 
 
 Mother. — The Americans and French together 
 lost but about three hundred men. 
 
 I think there is nothing that better shows us 
 Washington's greatness as a general than the fact 
 that his most brilliant victories were gained by 
 skilful managing, rather than by having many men 
 killed. 1 have read stories of generals who have 
 won great victories, that the world will always talk 
 about ; but I never read of any successful com- 
 mander who lost fewer men than Washington. 
 
 Will. — I wish I could have seen how the red- 
 coats looked when they marched out of Yorktown. 
 Did our troops see them ? 
 
 Mother. — Our army was drawn up in two lines, 
 each more than a mile long — the Americans on one 
 
266 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 side of the road, the French on the other ; Wash- 
 ington, mounted on a noble horse and attended by 
 his officers, in front of his men, and the French 
 commander and his suite in front of theirs. 
 
 Lizzie. — I suppose it was easy to tell which were 
 the French, for they would have nicer uniforms. 
 
 Mother. — And they had a band of music play- 
 ing — a luxury that our troops could never afford. 
 
 Will. — The American soldiers didn't have on 
 such fine clothes, of course. But 0, how proud 
 they must have looked as they stood there, waiting 
 to see the king's troops — brave English red- coats 
 — march out as their prisoners I 
 
 Mother. — Soon the British troops appeared. 
 They were all in new uniforms ; but they looked 
 anything but soldier-like. Their drums were beat- 
 ing a British march ; but their step was careless 
 and irregular, their looks were sullen. How could 
 they help it, when they saw their flags closely 
 folded, instead of fluttering in the breeze ? 
 
 As Cornw^allis was sick, they were led by one 
 of his generals, who, riding up to Washington, de- 
 livered to him his sword. In like manner, the 
 officer of the English fleet gave up his sword to 
 the French commander. 
 
 Then, in the name of the American people, the 
 English army was ordered to pass into an adjoining 
 
VICTORY AT LAST. 267 
 
 field, where they were commanded to lay down 
 their arms upon the ground. This vexed the red- 
 coats so much that many of them threw down their 
 muskets with such violence as to break them. 
 
 After this the prisoners were led back to York- 
 town, where they were to await orders from 
 Congress. 
 
 Will. — I wonder what General Clinton thought 
 when he heard the news ! 
 
 Mother. — Five days after the surrender, General 
 Clinton with seven thousand men arrived off the 
 coast of Virginia. But when he heard of the fate 
 of his comrade Cornwallis, he set sail again for New 
 York. 
 
 Lizzie. — And what did the people of America 
 say? 
 
 Mother. — At the news of the glorious victory, 
 great rejoicing broke forth from one end of the 
 country to the other. Bells were rung, cannons 
 fired, and towns illuminated everywhere. Congress 
 set apart a day of thanksgiving, in gratitude to 
 God, who had helped the colonies gain their inde- 
 pendence. 
 
 Lizzie. — And did George III. really say now 
 that the colonies were free? 
 
 Mother. — It was a bitter disappointment to him 
 to lose so much territory ; and for a year or two 
 
268 THE STORY OP OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 after the surrender of Cornwallis he was unwilling 
 to recognize American independence. But people 
 in England had become very tired of the war; and 
 the best men in Parliament voted that peace should 
 be declared. So George III. finally gave his unwill- 
 ing assent. 
 
 Several men were sent from America and England 
 to Paris, to talk over the conditions of peace. The 
 principal one from this country was Franklin. It 
 took several months to settle upon terms that were 
 satisfactory to all. But in 1783, a treaty was signed. 
 
 The English soldiers were called home ; and 
 George III. acknowledged to the world that the 
 United States of America were free and inde- 
 pendent. 
 
 Will. — Hurrah for Washington ! 
 
 Lizzie. — Now that the war was over, Washing- 
 ton and all our tired soldiers could go home and 
 rest. 
 
 Will. — They had had a hard time of it — eight 
 years in camp and field 1 
 
THE SHIP OF STATE. 269 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 THE SHIP OF STATE. 
 
 Mother. — As I think of our country a little less 
 than a hundred years ago, she seems to me like a 
 great ship, in a rough and boisterous sea. As she 
 is tossed by the stormy billows, she seems impatient 
 to traverse the ocean, and try her speed with other 
 great ships. I see many passengers on board, and 
 gallant sailors ready and willing for work. But I 
 hear them say they have no chart and no compass. 
 
 Will. — Then they can't be safe, far away from 
 shore. 
 
 Lizzie. — Why don't the captain send for a chart? 
 
 Mother, — The ship has no captain. Many pas- 
 sengers think this is no matter. But the more 
 thoughtful are anxious, and say, '' We shall be 
 wrecked, if we go to sea as we are." 
 
 Will. — 1 see what you mean. The sailors are the 
 men who want to serve their country. The chart 
 and compass are the right kind of government, 
 
 Lizzie. — And by the captain you mean a leader. 
 
 Mother, — I think you are beginning to see what 
 our country needed. People in Europe were watch- 
 
270 THE STORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 ing America with the greatest interest. Kings and 
 emperors said, " The idea of so many people trying 
 to govern themselves ! They will soon get to quar- 
 relling with each other ; then we shall see what will 
 become of them." 
 
 But the best and wisest men everywhere hoped 
 that America would become what the forefathers 
 said it should — an asylum for the poor and op- 
 pressed of all lands. 
 
 Lizzie. — If there were men wise enough to make 
 the Declaration of Independence, I should think there 
 would be no trouble in getting a chart for America. 
 
 Mother. — You are right. Three years after 
 peace was declared, the principal men of the 
 country met together to decide upon the best plan 
 of government ; only they didn't call it a chart, but 
 a constitution. 
 
 They finally agreed on what would be best for 
 the country ; and all the states promised to be 
 guided by this constitution. 
 
 Will. — Now they wanted a leader. 
 
 Mother. — And whom do you think they chose ? 
 
 Lizzie. — I guess Franklin. 
 
 Mother. — The people chose their first leader in 
 1789. Think a moment, and you will see how old 
 Franklin was at this time. 
 
 Lizzie. —Franklin was born in 1706. So he must- 
 
THE SHIP OF STATE. 
 
 271 
 
 have been eighty-three years old. Of course he 
 couldn't work for the country much longer. I am 
 sorry, for who would make so good a leader? 
 
 0^ 
 
 Washington as first President. 
 
 Will. — I think they chose Washington. He had 
 been with the people so much during the war that 
 everybody loved him. 
 
272 THE STOKY OF OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Mother. — And every one had the greatest confi' 
 dence in him. Enjoying a peaceful country life, he 
 was at first very unwilling to accept the office. 
 Besides, he modestly felt that he was not capable 
 of worthily filling this highest place in the govern- 
 ment. But the people would not even think of any 
 one else. And from one end of the country to the 
 other came up the voice, "Washington is the Father 
 of his Country. He defended us in times of dan- 
 ger ; he will preserve us in times of peace." 
 
 So our beloved Washington became the first 
 President. 
 
 The seat of government was then in New York ; 
 and while Washington was on his way to take the 
 presidential chair, it seemed as if the people could 
 not do enough to show their devotion and gratitude. 
 Every town and city through which he passed fired 
 cannons of salute. Triumphal arches were raised. 
 The overflowing houses were decked with flags and 
 loving mottoes. Crowds greeted him everywhere. 
 The fathers shouted cheers of welcome. The moth- 
 ers wept tears of joy. The young maidens sang 
 songs of rejoicing, and strewed flowers in his way. 
 And through it all rode our noble Washington, his 
 heart filled with thankfulness for the past and hope 
 for the future of Our Country. 
 
nCT 1 ^ 1904 
 
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