Class. 
 Book. 
 
 ^Z 
 
 Gopyriglit^i 
 
 0OFSRIGHT DEFOSm 
 

AMERICAN HERO 
 STORIES 
 
 BY 
 
 EVA MARCH TAPPA^N^, Ph.D. 
 
 Formerly of the English Department, English High School, 
 
 Worcester, 3fass. Author of " England's Story,'' " Our 
 
 Country's Story," " Old Ballads in Prose," 
 
 ^'■In the Days of Alfred the Oreat," etc. 
 
 BOSTON, NEW YORK, CHICAGO 
 HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY 
 
 1906 
 
^n'^ 
 
 rn 
 
 LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
 Two CoDies Received 
 
 APR 7 1906 
 
 Copyriffht Entry 
 
 t CLASS 'Vi i\C, No, 
 ij^^ Q> (of 
 ' COPY B. 
 
 COPYRIGHT 1906 BY EVA MARCH TAPPAN 
 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 
 
PREFACE 
 
 ^■p^HIS volume contains five accounts of voyagers and explorers, 
 I ranging from Columbus to Lewis and Clark ; stories of five 
 colonies of marked dissimilarity — Virginia, Quebec, Plymouth, 
 New York, and Philadelphia ; brief lives of four pioneers of the 
 eighteenth and nineteenth centuries ; and fifteen short stories 
 of war times. In treating of our wars, it seemed wisest not to 
 attempt any formal explanation of causes and results, but rather 
 to picture a number of separate and interesting achievements, 
 choosing as far as possible actions that have distinct heroes. The 
 chapters are arranged in chronological order, with a thread of 
 continuity running through them. The aim of the book is to in- 
 troduce in informal and friendly fashion some of the makers of 
 American history, and to provide a simple, broad foundation for 
 future study of history and biography. 
 
 Acknowledgments are due to the courtesy of the following for 
 permission to use their material for illustrations : to The Title 
 Guarantee and Trust Co. of New York for New Amsterdam in 
 Stuyvesant''s Time ; to the Historical Society of Michigan for 
 Gladwyn^s Warning from the Indian Girl ; to Mr. Charles E. Good- 
 speed for Washington at the Delaware; to McClure's Magazine for 
 portrait of Daniel Boone ; to the New England Magazine for The 
 Indian Woman who Guided Lewis and Clark and the Seal of the 
 Levns and ClarJc Exposition ; to The Outing Magazine for The 
 Marriage and The March of David Crockett. 
 
 Eva March Tappan. 
 Worcester, Massachusetts, 
 January 1, 1906. 
 
»< 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Page 
 
 Columbus, Who Fiest Crossed the Atlantic Ocean . 1 'h 
 Ferdinand Magellan, Who Found the Way around the 
 
 World 14 
 
 Francis Drake, Seaman of Queen Elizabeth ... 24 
 
 John Smith, the Father of Virginia . . ... 38 
 
 Samuel de Champlain, the Founder of Quebec . . 49 
 
 Miles Standish, Commander-in-Chief of the Pilgrims 59 
 
 Peter Stuyvesant, Last Dutch Governor of New York 73 
 
 King Philip, Chief of the Wampanoags ... 84 
 
 The Men Who Explored the Mississippi .... 96 
 
 William Penn, Who Founded Pennsylvania . . . 108 
 
 George Washington, the Young Soldier .... 117 
 
 James Wolfe, Who Captured Quebec .... 126 
 
 When Pontiac Besieged Detroit 135 
 
 The First Day of the Revolution . . . . ;^3 
 
 Israel Putnam, Soldier of the Revolution . . . 151 
 
 A Christmas Surprise 158 
 
 A Winter at Valley Forge 165 
 
 How "Mad Anthony" Took Stony Point . . . 178 
 
 How the "Swamp Fox" Made the British Miserabi^*". 179 
 George Rogers Clark, Who Gave Three States to the 
 
 Union 185 
 
 John Paul Jones and his Sea Fights for America . 193 
 
vi CONTENTS 
 
 Daniel Boone, the Kentucky Pioneer .... 200 
 Meriwethek Lewis and William Clark, Who Showed the 
 
 Way to the Pacific 207 
 
 Oliver Hazard Perry, Who Captured a British Fleet 218 
 
 Dolly Madison, Who Guarded the Nation's Treasures . 224 
 
 The Star-Spangled Banner . , , .• . . 231 
 
 David Crockett, the Tennessee Pioneer .... 237 
 
 Christopher Carson, Trapper and Guide . . . 246 
 
 Abraham Lincoln, Pioneer and President . , . 254 
 
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 
 WHO FIRST CROSSED THE ATLANTIC OCEAN 
 
 A LITTLE boy once lived in Genoa, Italy, whose 
 earliest memory was the " Boom, boom ! " of his 
 father's shuttle. The father was a wool comber and 
 weaver, and all the near neighbors were weaA^ers. 
 When the boy went to school he studied and played 
 with the children of weavers; and when he went to 
 church he knelt before an altar that belonged specially 
 to the weavei'S. He would probably have become a 
 weaver himself if Genoa had not been a seashore town. 
 The wharves were not far from his home; and even 
 when he went to walk on the hills back of the city, 
 he could not help seeing the white-sailed ships coming 
 and going. When he was fourteen, he sailed away on 
 one of them, and for fourteen years he went on one 
 voyage after another. Between the voyages he helped 
 his father comb wool and weave. 
 
 Genoa was full of sailor boys. jSTo one knew that this 
 boy would become a famous man, and so no one wrote 
 any account of his boyhood. Almost the onh^ thing we 
 know about his early years is that he managed somehow 
 to learn a great many things. He learned how to sail a 
 ship by watching the moon and stars and using the 
 
2 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 instruments that sailors then had. He learned all that 
 was known about g-eography. He learned to draw beau- 
 tiful maps and sea-charts. Some of these maps were 
 different from those of to-day. When he drew a map 
 of Europe, for instance, he put the Atlantic Ocean west 
 of the Continent, and Asia west of the Atlantic. Eurojje 
 in those days was buying spices, silks, and many other 
 things from China and eastern Asia; but bringing them 
 overland by caravans was very expensive. " AVhy can- 
 not we cross the Atlantic," Columbus said to himself, 
 " and so go directly to China ? " 
 
 There were several reasons why people thought this 
 could not be done. A few believed that the earth was 
 a sphere and could be sailed around. But some said 
 the Atlantic was full of monsters and demons, and 
 others thought that the water at the equator was boiling 
 hot. Columbus was not troubled by any of these fears, 
 but he had no money to provide ships and men for such 
 a voyage. In those days Portugal was a great sea 
 power, so he appealed to the Portuguese king. " If you 
 will give me ships and men," he said, " I will cross the 
 Atlantic. Then you can trade directly with the great 
 cities of China and Jajjan, and Portugal will become the 
 richest country in Europe." He gave all his reasons 
 for believing that this could be done, and King John 
 agreed to lay the matter before four learned men. These 
 men rejolied, " It is a wild and foolish scheme." But 
 
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 
 
 one of them added, " If there is any truth in it, why 
 shonld we let this foreigner have all the glory? Let us 
 
 a^ceanicai 
 
 CARAVEL OF THE TIME OF COLUMBUS 
 From the Latin letter of Columbus printed in 1493 
 
 keep him waiting awhile and send out one of our 
 own sailors." So a ship was sent out secretly; but a 
 storm arose, and in a few days it came back. " No one 
 
4 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 can ever cross the Atlantic," declared the frightened 
 cajDtain. 
 
 Columbus heard of the trick and was indig-nant. " I 
 will go to the sovereigns of Spain," he said to himself; 
 and he set off on foot to cross the mountains. Some 
 time before this he had married, and his wife had died, 
 leaving him a little boy, Diego, who w as now about six 
 years old. Diego walked until he was tired, then his 
 father carried him, and so they journeyed into Spain. 
 Diego was left with his aunt, and Columbus made an 
 appeal to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. The 
 queen liked Columbus and was interested in his plans; 
 but when she asked the opinion of her learned council- 
 ors, they said, as the council in Portugal had said, " It 
 is a wild and foolish scheme." The queen was not con- 
 vinced, but the kingdom was at war and there was little 
 money to spare for expeditions. So, after seven years of 
 waiting, Columbus took Diego and set off for France. 
 
 Before they had walked far, the boy was hungry, and 
 his father rang the bell of the convent of La Ral:)ida. 
 " Will you give me some bread foi- my son ? " he asked. 
 " Yes, surely," replied the monks. " Bring the boy in 
 and let him rest." One of these monks, called Brother 
 Antonio, noticed that Columbus was no common beggar, 
 and they had a long talk together. Brother Antonio 
 was almost as much interested in geography and asti'o- 
 nomy as Columbus himself, and soon Columbus had 
 
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 5 
 
 told him his phms for crossing the ocean and all his 
 disappointments. The prior of the convent also became 
 interested. "• Do not go to France yet," he said. " Be- 
 fore I came here, I was confessor to the queen. I will 
 write to her, and perhaps she will listen to me." She 
 did listen ; and before many days had passed, the little 
 seaport town of Palos was in a fever of excitement, for 
 three ships were to sail from there to cross the Atlantic, 
 the " Sea of Darkness," as it was called. 
 
 One bright morning in August, 1492, the ships sailed. 
 " They will never come back again," said the wise peo- 
 ple on the shore ; and it was not long before the sailors 
 were ready to agree with them, for the needle of the 
 compass no longer pointed to the north. Then the ships 
 began to pass great masses of floating seaweed. " It 
 will grow thicker and thicker," said the sailors, " and 
 we shall never get out of it." Columbus explained 
 these wonders as well as he could, but soon there was 
 more trouble. " The wind always blows from the east," 
 declared the men, " and we shall never be able to get 
 home again." Fortunately the wind changed one day 
 and blew from the a\ est. Day after day passed, and still 
 no land Avas seen. The men began to gather in little 
 groups and to Avhisper together. " There is no land 
 here," they said. " The admiral is crazy. Let us throw 
 him overboard and go home before our provisions give 
 out." Columbus learned what they were saying. He 
 
6 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 called them up before him and said, " The sovereigns 
 of Spain have sent me to fuid the Indies, and with the 
 help of God I will go on until I see them." The very 
 next morning a green rush floated by, and a stick that 
 had been cut was picked up. Then the branch of some 
 tree with red berries on it was seen. The men forgot 
 their fears and were as eager as the admiral himself to 
 hasten on. 
 
 IS^ight came, but Columbus could not sleep. He stood 
 gazing earnestl}^ into the west, and suddenly he saw a 
 light that moved as if some one was walking and carry- 
 ing a torch. When the moon rose, it shone on the white 
 sand of one of the islands that are now called the 
 Bahamas. 
 
 In the morning Columbus put on his richest uniform, 
 all aglow with scarlet and gold, and was rowed ashore. 
 He fell on his knees, kissed the ground, and thanked 
 God for his goodness. Then he unfurled the royal 
 standard and cried, " In the name of the glorious sov- 
 ereigns, Ferdinand and Isabella, I take possession of 
 this land and name it San Salvador." 
 
 All this time a crowd of people, half hidden in the 
 woods, were watching Columbus and his men with wide- 
 open eyes. At first they were frightened; but when 
 they saw that the strangers did not attempt to harm 
 them, they came nearer and nearer. " Those are good 
 spirits come down from the skies," they whispered. 
 
8 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 They threw themselves on their knees before the Span- 
 iards to show their reverence. Then they touched the 
 clothes and beards and white skins of the exjDlorers, 
 and welcomed them as well as they conld by signs. 
 Columbus gave them glass beads and little bells and 
 red and blue caps, and they brought him in return tame 
 parrots, baskets of fruit, and great balls of cotton yarn. 
 
 These natives were copper colored. Their hair was 
 straight and black and they had no beards. They were 
 naked, unless the rings that some of them wore in their 
 noses could be called articles of dress. The Spaniards 
 looked eagerly at these rings, for they seemed to be of 
 pure gold. " Where does the gold come from ? " they 
 asked as well as the}^ could by signs. " Over there," the 
 natives replied, pointing to the southwest. Columbus 
 supposed that he was on one of the islands off east- 
 ern Asia, and that they were pointing to the mainland. 
 For many weeks he sailed among the islands, hoping to 
 find some of the great cities of Asia. Then he decided 
 to go home and report to the sovereigns. '' I can come 
 again next year," he thought. " ^ow that I have found 
 the way to India, there will be no lack of ships or men." 
 
 More than two months later, the bells of Palos rang 
 merrily, the shops and schools were closed, and the 
 whole town flocked to the wharves, for Columl)us was 
 coming up the river. As soon as he had landed, a pro- 
 cession Avas formed, and he went to the church to thank 
 
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 9 
 
 God for bringing him safely home. It is easy to guess 
 where he went next, for Cohimbus never forgot those 
 who had been kind to him. He went straight to his 
 old friends, the monks of La Rabida. From there he 
 sent a letter to the sovereigns. 
 
 Then there was great excitement at the Spanish 
 court. The sovereigns wrote Columl^us a letter, ad- 
 dressed to " Don Christopher Columbus, our admiral of 
 the ocean sea, and viceroy and governor of the islands 
 discovered in the Indies." This letter bade him come 
 to court at once, and Columbus obeyed. All the way 
 people lined the roads and stood at the doors and win- 
 dows, gazing at the great man and cheering as he went 
 by. When he reached Barcelona, a procession was 
 formed. First came six Indians whom Columbus had 
 brought Avith him. They were followed by the sailors 
 carrying parrots, stuffed birds, the skins of strange 
 beasts, plants, berries, and ornaments of gold that had 
 come from the other side of the Atlantic. Then came 
 the admiral on horseback in a handsome uniform, and 
 after him a brilliant company of young nobles flashing 
 with jewels. 
 
 When they reached the royal audience room, there 
 sat the king and queen on their throne, with a glittering 
 canopy of cloth of gold over their heads. Around them 
 stood the courtiers and the proudest nobles of Spain, 
 all watching to catch the first glimpse of the man who 
 
10 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 had made the wonderful voyage. Among them must 
 have been the boy Diego, for the queen had made him 
 a page to her son. 
 
 Columbus walked slowly up the room, gray-haired, 
 dignified, as stately as any of the lordly Spaniards. He 
 
 COLUMBUS RECOUNTING HIS ADVENTURES AT COURT 
 
 knelt before the throne to kiss the hands of the sover- 
 eigns; but they rose as they would have risen to greet 
 any mighty king and bade him be seated. Then he 
 told them about the voyage, the new lands, and the 
 strange people whom he had seen. " There are even 
 greater discoveries before us," he said. " The wealth 
 
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 11 
 
 of many kingdoms will come to Spain, and there are 
 thousands of heathen to whom Spain can teach the 
 religion of Christ." 
 
 The king and queen wished Columbus to make an- 
 other voyage at once. He did not have to plead for help 
 now, for they said, " Send us the list of what vessels, 
 food, and arms you will need, and they shall be sup- 
 plied." As for men, there were thousands who would 
 have been glad to go with him, for people believed that 
 whoever went on this voyage would make his fortune. 
 Soon the fleet of seventeen vessels was ready, and 
 crowds of people stood on the shore cheering as it 
 sailed away. 
 
 It is almost a pity that the story of Columbus does 
 not end here, for in the rest of his life there was much 
 trouble and disappointment. He w ent on a third voyage, 
 and this time he coasted along the continent of South 
 America. He would have been glad to explore farther, 
 but he had to go to Hayti to care for some colonists 
 who had crossed the ocean with him on his second 
 voyage. They had no idea of Avorking for the wealth 
 they expected to get. They were discontented and 
 quarrelsome, and they blamed Columbus for all their 
 troubles. Some of them returned to Spain, and there 
 made such complaints of the admiral that an officer 
 named Bobadilla was sent to Hayti to take his place. 
 Bobadilla threw Columbus into chains and accused him 
 
12 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 of so many crimes that he expected to be put to death 
 without even a hearing. The great man was taken on 
 board a vessel to be carried back to Spain. As soon 
 as they were aw ay from Bobadilla, the captain and the 
 owner of the vessel knelt before the prisoner and began 
 to take off his irons. " ISTo," said the admiral, '' the king 
 and queen sent the man who put these chains upon me, 
 and they alone shall take them off." 
 
 All the w^ay to Spain Columbus wore the fetters, but 
 he was treated with as much honor as could have been 
 show^n to the king himself; and as soon as the sover- 
 eigns saw what wrong had been done him, they tried 
 to make amends. Still they w^ere almost as much dis- 
 appointed as the colonists, for they had expected that 
 Columbus would find the rich cities of Asia. Some- 
 thing had hai^pened, too, wdiile he was gone on this 
 voyage, that made them even more dissatisfied. A Por- 
 tuguese named Vasco da Gama had discovered that it 
 was possil^le to sail around Africa; and he had returned 
 with loads of silks and satins, spices, ivory, emeralds, 
 and rubies. " That is the way to go to the Indies," 
 declared the sea captains. " What is the use of trying 
 to get to Japan and China by crossing the Atlantic? " 
 
 Then Columbus determined to go- on a fourth voyage. 
 He had no thought that a vast continent and the Pacific 
 Ocean lay between China and the islands that he had 
 seen. He believed that he could find a passage between 
 
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 13 
 
 the islands which would lead from the Atlantic to the 
 Indian Ocean. Of course no such passage could be 
 found, and he had to return to Spain, where he died 
 less than two years later. He had dreamed of being 
 very rich; all his life he was poor. He had dreamed of 
 finding the Indies; he had failed. He died a disap- 
 pointed man; but if he could have looked ahead four 
 hundred years and seen the America of to-day, he 
 would surely have rejoiced that he was the discoverer, 
 not of a shorter way to India, but of a mighty con- 
 tinent. 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 Boyhood of Cokinibus — plan for crossing the Atlantic — sup- 
 posed dangers of the voyage — appeal to Portugal — trickery of 
 the Portuguese — journey to Spain — appeal to the Spanish sov- 
 ereigns — La Rabida — Columbus sails at last — trouliles of the 
 voyage — signs of land — going ashore — the natives — the return 
 to Spain — Columbus at court — second voyage — third voyage — 
 the discontented colonists — Columbus in chains — Portuguese 
 discoveries — fourth voyage — death. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 Diego tells another boy of his journey from Portugal to Spain, 
 and of his visit to La Iiabida. 
 
 Columbus appeals to the Spanish sovereigns. 
 
 A sailor gives an accomit of Columbus's first voyage. 
 
 A native of San Salvador describes the coming of the Spaniards. 
 
14 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 FERDI^AIN^D MAGELLAN 
 WHO FOUND THE WAY AROUND THE WORLD 
 
 WHILE Columbus was trying to persuade the 
 Portuguese king to provide him with ships for 
 crossing the "• Sea of Darkness," a baby was born far 
 up among the mountains of Portugal who was to be- 
 come as great a sailor as the famous admiral himself. 
 When this child, Ferdinand Magellan, became a man, 
 he found himself living in exciting times. ]N^ow that 
 Columbus had shown the way, others crossed the At- 
 lantic. They explored various parts of the coast, and at 
 last people began to realize that not a group of islands 
 but a great mass of land lay between the Atlantic 
 and China. They hoped to find a passage through it. 
 Everybody was talking about voyages. From early in 
 the morning till long after the sun had set, the hammers 
 of the shipbuilders rang; and sometimes the last blow 
 was hardly struck on a vessel before every j)lace was 
 taken, from captain to cabin boy. 
 
 Magellan served in the Portuguese navy faithfully for 
 many years, but when he asked for the promotion that 
 was his due, the king refused. " Will you give me per- 
 mission to serve some other sovereign? " demanded 
 Magellan. " Do what you like," the king replied coldly. 
 Magellan knelt to kiss his hand, as was usual in parting, 
 
FERDINAND MAGELLAN 15 
 
 but the king drew it back. The indignant sailor went 
 straight to Spain and laid his plans before the Spanish 
 ruler. 
 
 " I have been in the Indies for seven years," he said, 
 " and I know what wealth one can get by buying spices 
 of the natives. My 
 friend Serrano is now 
 in the Moluccas, and 
 this is what he writes 
 me." He showed the 
 letter of Serrano in 
 which was written, 
 "Here is a new world. 
 Come if you want to 
 get rich." Then said 
 Magellan, " If you 
 will give me ships 
 and men, I will go 
 to the lands across 
 the Atlantic, and I 
 will follow the coast 
 southward till I come 
 to some strait that leads to the China Sea. I will find the 
 way to the Moluccas, and I will bring home such loads 
 of spices as never yet came into any Spanish port." 
 
 The king granted his request, and then came a busy 
 time of making ready. The ships must carry provisions 
 
 MAGELLAN 
 
16 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 for two 3^ears at least. They must have a good supply 
 of powder and shot and cannon balls of iron and of 
 stone. There must be darts and javelins and lances and 
 pikes and crossbows and arquebuses and coats of mail. 
 The natives of the Moluccas would not care for money, 
 but they would care for glass beads, fishhooks, and 
 bright-colored cloth, brass and copper bracelets, brass 
 basins, little bells, knives, scissors, and looking-glasses; 
 therefore a great quantity of these things was stored 
 in the holds of the vessels. There w^ere twenty thousand 
 little bells, for instance, and five hundred pounds of 
 glass beads. 
 
 These treasures were useful long before the explorers 
 came to the Moluccas. Their first landing-place on this 
 side of the Atlantic was in the Bay of Kio de Janeiro, 
 and there the natives swarmed about the ships. " Give 
 me that," one would say by signs, " and you may have 
 this." The native would paddle away with a little bell 
 or a fishhook, and the sailors would hasten to cook the 
 big basketful of sweet potatoes or the half-dozen fowl 
 that he had given in exchange. 
 
 The ships kept close to the shore, and before long 
 they were at the mouth of the Kio de la Plata. " It is 
 possible that thijs is a strait," thought Magellan. For 
 two days he sailed up the stream, but the water became 
 fresher every hoar, so he knew that he was in a river., 
 lie turned back and went on to the south, gazing 
 
FERDINAND MAGELLAN 17 
 
 closely at every opening that looked as if it might be 
 a passage. The weather grew colder and colder; and 
 at last he saw that he could go no farther before spring. 
 So he anchored in a sheltered bay and shortened the 
 rations. Then he had to meet greater trouble than ice 
 and snow, for the sailors began to grumble. " There is 
 no strait," they said. " This land stretches from pole to 
 pole. Our lives are worth more than all the cloves of 
 the Moluccas. Let us start for home." 
 
 Magellan, however, had no idea of giving up. " Of 
 what do you complain?" he asked. "Here is a sheltered 
 bay with j^lenty of wood. There are fish in its waters 
 and there are birds on its shores. The winter will soon 
 be past, and then we can push on to a world that is rich 
 in gold and spices. Your king will not forget to reward 
 you. Will you go back to Spain and say, ' We were 
 cold, and so we came home ' ? You are Spaniards, and 
 Spaniards are brave. / Avould rather die than turn 
 back ! " After this talk the sailors were content, but the 
 captains led them into a second rebellion. Then the 
 admiral did not plead, but punished the leaders severely. 
 
 One morning an amazingly tall man appeared on the 
 shore of the bay. He danced and sang and poured sand 
 on his head. " Go ashore," said Magellan to one of his 
 men. " Do whatever he does, and see if you can make 
 friends with him." The sailor went ashore. When the 
 giant danced, he danced; and when the giant poured 
 
18 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 sand on his head, the sailor poured sand on his OAvn 
 head. " Come on board onr ship," said the sailor by 
 signs, and the native went. He was so tall that it is 
 said the Spaniards came np only to his waistband. They 
 soon found that he was strong, for when they showed 
 him his face in a little looking-glass, he was so amazed 
 that he jumped backward with a force that threw four 
 men down on the deck. Other natives almost as tall 
 came afterwards. Their feet were dressed so clumsily 
 that the* Spaniards called them Patagonians, or large- 
 footed men. These 
 giants were good-na- 
 tured and gentle. The 
 chaplain taught one of 
 them to say the Lord's 
 Prayer, and he was so 
 pleased that he walked 
 about shouting it at the 
 top of his voice. 
 
 As soon as spring had 
 come, the ships went 
 on. Another opening 
 showed itself. " It may 
 be the strait we are look- 
 ing for," thought Magellan, and he sent two of his 
 ships to explore. Suddenly a fierce storm broke out. 
 Several days passed, but no ships appeared. '' They 
 
 ONE OF MAGELLAN'S SHIPS 
 From a drawing of the sixteenth century 
 
FERDINAND MAGELLAN 19 
 
 are surely wrecked," said the sailors, gazing anxiously 
 over the water. " What is that coming around the 
 point?" one of them cried, for he had caught sight of 
 a white sail shining in the sun. In a moment more the 
 two lost ships were in view. All sails were set, and 
 flags and pennons were fluttering in the wind. "Boom! 
 Boom!" went the big guns. "Hurrah!", shouted the 
 men on the lost vessels. " Hurrah ! " shouted the men 
 who had been waiting. "What have you found ? " 
 Magellan called eagerly. " Is it a bay ? " 
 
 " It is a deep channel," they replied; " it is no bay and 
 no river." 
 
 The admiral called his captains and pilots. " Shall we 
 go on?" he asked. 
 
 " No ! " replied one of the pilots. " We have not much 
 food, and if there should be a storm or a calm for 
 some time, we should starve. W.e have found the strait, 
 and now let us go home and come back with another 
 fleet." 
 
 " Do you all agree ? " demanded Magellan. 
 
 " No ! " cried the others. " Why should we go back 
 now that the way has become easy! The Moluccas must 
 be close at hand. Let us keep on." 
 
 " We will," declared Magellan quietly, and he would 
 probably have said the same whether the others agreed 
 or not; "avc will go on till we have found the Moluc- 
 cas. We will keep our promise to the king if we have 
 
20 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 to eat the leather on the ships' yards. May God help us 
 and give us good fortune ! " 
 
 On they went through the winding passage which 
 was afterwards known as the Strait of Magellan ; and at 
 last there came a day when the stern commander wept 
 for joy, for before him sj^read a broad ocean so calm 
 and quiet that he called it the Pacific. 
 
 ly^ow the navigators of that day made one great mis- 
 take: they thought the earth was much smaller than it 
 is. Magellan supposed that he was perhaps a two or 
 three weeks' sail from the Moluccas; but he went on and 
 on, and still they seemed to come no nearer. There were 
 provisions for only three months, and two months had 
 already passed. " Land ahead ! " cried the watch one 
 day, and then every one was happy. But the land proved 
 to be only a little island with no water, no fruit," no food 
 of any kind. It was top late to turn back, for they had 
 not provisions enough for the voyage across the Atlan- 
 tic; so they spread all sail and went onward, Avatching 
 the western horizon as closely as Columbus had done. 
 The httle water that was left on l)oai'd was so brackish 
 that, thirsty as they were, they could hardly di'ink it. 
 The biscuits were stale. At last even these gave out, and 
 the men really did eat the leather on the ships' j^ards. 
 They were almost ready to eat the ships themselves. 
 
 After fourteen weeks of suffering on the Pacific, it 
 was rather hard that, when they did come to land, they 
 
FERDINAND MAGELLAN 21 
 
 should fall among thieves. But so it was. They anchored 
 off a group of islands to buy food, and the natives 
 swarmed over the vessels and stole from under the 
 owners' very eyes everything they could lay their hands 
 upon. They did not spare even the admiral, for they 
 stole the small boat which hung at the stern of his ship. 
 It is no wonder that he named the islands Ladrones, or 
 the thieves' islands. 
 
 Then came another group of islands which long after- 
 wards were called Philipjjines; and now the sailors had 
 plenty of oranges, cocoanuts, and " figs a foot long," as 
 they called bananas. 
 
 "Where is the best place to buy spices?" Magellan 
 asked the chief. 
 
 " Over at the island of Sebu," he replied. 
 
 " Will you give us guides to show us the way? " 
 
 " If you will help me get my rice in, I myself will 
 show you," was the reply. So the proud Spaniards went 
 out among the rice and worked two days to help a 
 savage chief bring in his crop. Then they all sailed to 
 Sebu. 
 
 The king of Sebu was very friendly. " You shall be 
 my brother," he said to Magellan, "and no one but 
 Spaniards shall trade in my land." They made a formal 
 treaty of friendship. " I will help you to punish those 
 who do not obey you," said Magellan. The chief of the 
 little island of Mactan had no idea of obeying the king 
 
22 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 of Sebu, and Magellan set out to j^unish him. ^' Do not 
 do it," pleaded the admiral's friends. " It is no gain to 
 us if we conquer them." He would not yield, however, 
 for the friendliness of the king of Sebu had given him 
 an idea which he meant to carry out. " What a glorious 
 thing it would be," he had said to himself, "• if I could 
 repoi't to the king of Spain that all these islands are will- 
 ing to obey him and to trade w^ith no other countries ! " 
 He made ready for w^hat he thought would be only a little 
 skirmish. It never entered his mind that forty-nine men 
 in armor could be overpow ered by any number of sav- 
 ages; so the Spaniards rowed boldly up to the island and 
 landed. They were greeted w ith a storm of arrows and 
 spears; but where were the islanders? Safely hidden in 
 the bushes, ^ot one Spanish shot in twenty did them any 
 harm. Of course they tried hardest to kill Magellan. 
 He was wounded many times; but he held out for a 
 long while, hoping to give his men time to retreat. At 
 last he fell. One of the men who kept close by his side 
 wrote afterwards, " The Indians threw themselves upon 
 him with iron-pointed bamboo spears and scimitars and 
 every weapon they had, and ran him through until they 
 killed him." The Spaniards retreated to their ships. 
 That night they sent a messenger to beg for the ad- 
 miral's body. " Give it to us and you shall have cloth, 
 bells, knives, whatever you like," he said. But the sav- 
 ages replied, " ^o, not for the w hole world. We shall 
 
FERDINAND MAGELLAN 23 
 
 keep that body, and then we can say to our enemies, 
 ' See what we took from the lordly Spaniards ! ' " 
 
 There was nothing to do but to press on to the 
 Moluccas, and before long the vessels were off the little 
 island of Tidor. The chief came on board for a friendly 
 call. He was not an altogether easy visitor to entertain, 
 for, as he would never bow his head, it was rather diffi- 
 cult to get him safely into the little cabin. He and the 
 Spaniards agreed on how much should be paid for cloves. 
 Red cloth, yellow cloth, linen, hatchets, knives, scissors, 
 and caps were to be given in generous quantities; but 
 soon there were so many cloves to be sold and so few to 
 buy them that a yard of bright-colored ribbon would pay 
 foi- one hundred pounds of the precious spice. Every 
 sailor was allowed to carry home a certain number of 
 pounds. All were eager to buy, and when their trinkets 
 gave out, they bartered even their jackets and shirts; 
 so they were somewhat scantily clad when they sailed 
 homeward. 
 
 Five vessels had left Spain. One was lost off the coast 
 of Patagonia; one proved unseaworthy and was burned; 
 one deserted and returned to Spain ; one finally fell into 
 the hands of the Portuguese; and the Victoria alone 
 was left. As she crossed the Indian Ocean and rounded 
 the Cape of Good Hope, the air must have been fragrant 
 behind her, for, besides all that the officers and sailors 
 bought for themselves, she carried twenty-six tons of 
 
24 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 cloves. In 1522, three years from the time that the 
 Yictoria sailed away, she anchored near Seville. Ma- 
 gellan was gone; but it was he who planned the voyage, 
 and it was his courage and perseverance that made it 
 possible. His body remained in far-away Mactan, but 
 the glory of the first journey around the world is his 
 alone. 
 
 OUTLINE 
 What was known of the western lands in Magellan's day — 
 Magellan's request of the king of Portugal — his appeal to the king 
 of Spain — preparations for the voyage — barter with the South 
 Americans — up the Rio de la Plata — discontent of the sailors — 
 discovery of the Strait of Magellan — crossmg the Pacific — the 
 Ladrones — the Philippines — the alliance with the king of Sebu 
 — the fight at Mactan — death of Magellan — buying cloves — the 
 homeward voyage. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 A boy tells liis father why he wishes to sail with Magellan. 
 
 A sailor describes the meeting with the Patagonians. 
 
 A sailor tells his friends at home of buymg cloves at Tidor. 
 
 FKAKCIS DEAKB 
 SEAMAN 01^ QUEEN ELIZABETH 
 
 WITHIN fifty years after Columbus had shown the 
 way to America, Spaniards, Italians, English, 
 French, and Portuguese visited the 'New World. All 
 were hoping to find gold; but the SjDaniards were most 
 
FRANCIS DRAKE 
 
 25 
 
 FRANCISCVS DRAECIC' MOBIDSSIMVS 
 faVES ANGtrAE • fS EST aVi TOTO T 
 ORBE GRGMJVGO 
 
 fi orcumdu 
 
 successful, for they con- 
 querecl Mexico aud 
 Peru, and won their rich 
 mines of gold and silver. 
 Every year ships loaded 
 with American treasure 
 sailed into Spanish ports. 
 England and Spain were 
 not on good terms, and 
 it was the special delight 
 of the English seamen to 
 capture a treasure ship. 
 One of the most daring 
 of these seamen was 
 named Francis Drake. 
 
 Even when Drake was 
 a very small boy, he 
 wanted to go to sea. If 
 there had been no one to 
 object, he could almost 
 have launched his own house and sailed away on the 
 ocean, for he, his parents, and a troop of younger 
 brothers lived in the hulk of a great war-vship that lay 
 just off the queen's dockyard in Chatham. When he 
 awoke in the early morning, he could hear the little waves 
 beating against the sides of the vessel. Then as he lay 
 and listened, the sound of hammers could be heard, the 
 
 FRANCIS DRAKE 
 
 From an original portrait in St. James's 
 Palace 
 
26 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 creaking of ropes, and the songs of the workmen in the 
 dockyard. Strange, wild dreams had this httle bine-eyed 
 boy. " Some day," he said to himself, " I will go off on 
 one of those boats that the men are bnilding. I will fight 
 with the Spaniards, and I will captnre great ships loaded 
 with silver and gold. Then when I come sailing back to 
 Plymouth, the people on the wharf will shout, ' Three 
 cheers for Francis Drake ! ' " 
 
 With hi^ mind full of such dreams as these, he must 
 have felt disappointed when he was sent to sea with the 
 skipper of a small trading vessel. There was no hope 
 of capturing Spanish ships, for the little craft did no- 
 thing but sail quietly back and forth between England 
 and Holland or France, carrying goods to sell in the 
 different markets. Still he was at least on the ocean; 
 so he made the best .of it, and worked so faithfully that 
 when the skipper died, he gave the young sailor the 
 boat. Drake might have gone on trading if Spain and 
 England had been friends; but Spain had begun to send 
 out vessels to seize every English craft that could be 
 captured, and Francis Drake's little coaster would have 
 stood small chance of escape. So he sold it, and Avent 
 on several voyages on vessels that were larger and l)et- 
 ter able to protect themselves. 
 
 .On one of these voyages he sailed away in the highest 
 spirits. " When I come back, I shall be a rich man," he 
 said to himself. There were six vessels in the little 
 
FRANCIS DRAKE. 27 
 
 squadron. The admiral was a famous sailor, Sir John 
 Hawkins. Drake was put in command of the Judith. 
 They sailed to the African coast, seized some negroes, 
 carried them to the Spanish settlements, and sold them 
 as slaves. The ships were loaded with the gold and 
 pearls which had been received in payment, and started 
 for Eng*land. Before they had sailed many days, they 
 were so disabled by a storm that the admiral had to put 
 into the Spanish port of Yera Cruz for rej^airs. There, 
 in the harbor, were twelve great Spanish ships loaded 
 with gold and silver. On the following day twelve 
 more arrived with the same sort of cargo. Hawkins 
 and Drake said to the Spaniards, " AVe wish to refit 
 our vessels and sail for home. If you will agree not to 
 interfere with us, we will not touch your ships." The 
 agreement was made, and for three days everything was 
 quiet and friendly. Then, in spite of al] their promiseSj 
 the Spaniards suddenly made a fierce attack on the 
 English vessels. Hawkins in the Minion and Drake in 
 the Judith succeeded in escaping and making their 
 way to England; but the pearls and gold went to the 
 bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. 
 
 Drake reached home before the admiral, and told his 
 story of the treachery of the Spaniards. He had lost all 
 that he had invested, and he appealed to the queen to 
 obhge Spain to make his loss good. Queen Elizabeth 
 was not sure that Eng-land was strono: enousrh to fi"ht 
 
28 AJVIERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 with Spain, so she did nothing for him. Then Drake 
 took matters into his own hands. He went on voyage 
 after voyage. He robbed Spanish colonies, and he took 
 Spanish gold and jewels wherever he could find them. 
 King Philip of Spain complained bitterly of the " mas- 
 ter thief of the western world," but the queen did not 
 punish her seaman. 
 
 On one of his voyages Drake had landed on the 
 Isthmus of Panama and made his way across it. When 
 he reached the highest point of the isthmus, the Indians 
 who were his guides showed him a tall tree. '" Climb 
 it," they said; and Drake obeyed eagerly. Steps had 
 been cut into the tree, and soon he was on a little plat- 
 form which was supported by the branches. Behold, a 
 vast ocean was on eithei' hand. " Behind you is the 
 ^orth Sea, from which you have come," said his guides, 
 " and before you is the South Sea." " Into which I will 
 go," said Drake to himself. " May God give me leave 
 and life to sail an English ship on that sea but once ! " 
 he cried. • 
 
 Year after year passed. One night a messenger came 
 to Drake to say, " Her Majesty the Queen wishes to 
 see you." The bluff sailor and the mighty sovereign 
 had a long talk. jN^ot mau}^ months later five ships sailed 
 out of Plymouth Harbor under Drake's command. They 
 were not only fully armed, but they were provided with 
 all the luxuries of the time. The fragrance of costly 
 
FRANCIS DRAKE 29 
 
 perfumes floated back to the crowds on the wharf. The 
 furnishings of the admiral's cabin were of the richest 
 satin and velvet. The table was spread with the finest 
 of linen and laid with dishes of silver and gold. When 
 the commander was ready to dine, the sound of violins 
 was heard, and the music continued until the meal was 
 ended. 
 
 As the ship sailed away, some people on the wharf 
 said, "■ I hope his voyage to Egypt will be a success." 
 Others retorted, " Those ships will never see Egypt; 
 they are going to trade and explore in the South Sea." 
 Still others smiled knowingly and said to themselves, 
 " The exploring will be searching for Spanish ships, 
 and the trading will be seizing Spanish treasures." This 
 last was exactly what Drake meant to do ; but if a hint 
 of his plans had reached Spain, the treasures would 
 have l)een safely hidden. Sixty years earlier Magellan 
 had sailed through the strait that bears his name, but 
 no one else had ever succeeded in making the voyage. 
 " What Magellan did, I can do," thought Drake, and 
 he sailed down the coast of South America and steered 
 boldly into the strait. Two vessels had ah-eady been 
 broken up as unseaworthy; a fierce tempest scattered 
 the other three; one sank; and the commander of the 
 second went home in despaii*. For fifty-two days Drake 
 was driven about by terrible storms. When the gales 
 ceased, he foimd that his vessel was lying among a 
 
30 ■ AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 group of islands. He landed on the most southern and 
 walked alone to its farthest extremity. There he stood 
 looking at the breakers rolling up on the shore. Before 
 him the waters of the Atlantic and the Pacific mingled. 
 He threw himself on the ground, clasped his arms about 
 a jagged rock, and said to himself, " I am the only man 
 in the world who has ever been so far south," 
 
 The exciting part of the voyage was yet to come. 
 Some of the treasure that the Spaniards took from 
 Peru was carried to Panama by land, and some was 
 loaded on shipboard and carried up the coast to the 
 isthmus. One of these ships with a cargo of good j^ellow 
 gold was lying in Valparaiso. The crew caught sight of 
 white sails coming toward them. " See ! " they cried. 
 " There 's one of our ships ! Get the wine ready and we 
 will make a night of it!" The flags were run up and 
 the drums were beaten in welcome; but almost before 
 the Spaniards had discovered their, mistake, the Eng- 
 Hshmen had seized the ship and fastened the men under 
 the hatches. So it was that the Golden Hind went mer- 
 rily up the coast, now and then seizing a vessel full of 
 provisions or valual^les. One day some of the men went 
 ashore, and there they came across a man who had laid 
 down his burden of silver bars and fallen asleep. " Par- 
 don us, sir," they said with mock politeness in the best 
 Spanish they could muster. " We are grieved to dis- 
 turb you, but we will make amends. We will relieve 
 
■- FRANCIS DRAKE 31 
 
 you of the weight of the silver, and then your journey 
 will be less wearisome." 
 
 Drake was aiming for Lima, where he expected to 
 find vessels worth capturing. The vessels were there, 
 but every ounce of treasure had either been taken ashore 
 or carried away two weeks earlier on a ship which was 
 known among sailors as the Spitfire. " We will catch 
 her," thought Drake, and he set out in pursuit. He 
 captured one ship. "Where is the Spitfire?" he de- 
 manded. " Ten days ahead," was the reply. The next 
 capture said, " Five days," and the next, " Two days." 
 Then Drake swung before the eyes of the sailors a 
 golden chain that gleamed and glittered in the sunshine. 
 " This goes to the man who sees the Spitfire first," he 
 said. A boy, Drake's own nephew, was the fortunate 
 one to win the reward. The Spitfire yielded without a 
 bloAv, and such a cargo went into the hold of the Golden 
 Hind as no English vessel had ever carried before: 
 thirteen chests of Spanish dollars, eighty pounds of 
 gold, twenty-six tons of silver, and more jewels than 
 could be counted. Two or three other vessels were 
 captured, but they proved to be loaded with silk and 
 linen and china, and there was little room for such 
 trifles in the treasure-laden hold. " I think her Majesty 
 will be satisfied with what I have done," said Drake to 
 himself, " and now we will make for home." 
 
 The Spaniards were keeping close watch of the strait; 
 
32 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 but that did not trouble Drake in the least, for he had 
 another plan in his mind. Mariners believed that there 
 was a northern channel which led from the Pacific to 
 the Atlantic. The Northwest Passage they called it, 
 and Drake meant to find this passage and sail home 
 through it. Straight north went the gold-laden vessel. 
 The weather grew colder and colder, and when he was 
 as far north as Vancouver Ishmd, he saw that it was of 
 no use to try to go farther. So he determined to reach 
 England by steering west across the Pacific and round- 
 ing the Cape of Good Hope. He went south again and 
 entered a harbor near where San Francisco now stands. 
 The cliffs were white like those of England. " In the 
 name of Queen EHzabeth," declared Drake, "I claim 
 this land for England, and I name it H^ew Albion." He 
 set up a " fair great post," and to the post he fixed a 
 plate of metal marked with the date and the name of 
 the queen. So it was that the English paid their first 
 visit to the western shores of what is now the United 
 States. 
 
 Then the Golden Hind crossed the Pacific. Drake 
 fell among thievish savages, he ran upon a reef, and he 
 was caught in fearful gales; but at last he sailed into 
 Plymouth Sound, the first English captain who had 
 been around the world. His enemies were waiting for 
 " the pirate," as they called him, and King Philip was 
 clamoring for his punishment; but Queen Elizabeth 
 
12; 
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 o 
 
 w 
 
 H 
 
 « f 
 ft ^ 
 
 H ^ 
 
 w =* 
 ii g 
 
 S I 
 w 
 
 H 
 
 n 
 
 N 
 
 !3 
 
 
34 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 would not give up either Drake or the treasure that he 
 had brought. In a few months she went in all state to 
 dine with him on board his vessel. Before she left, she 
 made him a knight. Thousands of peoi)le visited the 
 Golden Hind, and she forbade that it should ever be 
 destroyed. 
 
 The queen was in need of brave sailors. A few years 
 later Philip prepared a great fleet to attack England. 
 He was so sure of victory that he called his fleet the 
 Invincible Armada. Sixty vessels had already assembled 
 off Lisbon and Cadiz. Here was a chance for Drake. 
 He set out with four of the queen's vessels and twenty- 
 six provided by merchants. Every one was eager to 
 have a share in the enterprise, for wherever Drake went 
 he found treasure. He sailed straight for Cadiz, and 
 before the Spaniards even guessed that their enemy was 
 at hand, he was burning ships and destroying stores. 
 This was all very well, but Drake did not mean to re- 
 turn to England empty-handed. He had heard that a 
 Portuguese vessel with a precious cargo was near the 
 Azores. He sailed out boldly, captured the shiji, loaded 
 his vessel with a greater treasure than ever before, and 
 went home. He sent a gay little message to the queen 
 that he had "singed King Philip's beard." In reality 
 he had done so much harm to the Armada that it could 
 not sail for a whole year. 
 
 At last, however, the Armada came. The English 
 
FRANCIS DRAKE 35 
 
 •had made the best preparations that they could, and 
 their fleet lay off Plymouth. Drake and the other ad- 
 mirals were playing bowls on shore when suddenly a 
 man ran among them so out of breath that he could 
 only gasp, " The Spaniards, the Spaniards! They are 
 off the coast! " Two of the ofl^icers started for their 
 ships. But Drake called, " Gentlemen, let us go on with 
 our game : there will be time enough to beat the Span- 
 iards afterwards." The game was played out, and then 
 the admirals went on board their vessels. The Si3aniards 
 had a great many stately, top-heavy ships that they called 
 galleons; the English had a mongrel fleet made up of 
 almost all the kinds of craft that had ever been built. 
 If they had been willing to stand still and be fired at, 
 the Spaniards would probably have beaten ; but a little 
 English boat, hardly longer than a fishing smack, would 
 dash up under the high guns of a galleon and fire a 
 shot or two. Then, before the clumsy Spanish vessel 
 could turn around, the English boat had slipped away 
 and was firing at another great war-ship. Drake was the 
 man of whom the Spaniards were most afraid. People 
 believed in magic in those days, and many a man whis- 
 pered, " He has sold himself to the devil, and Satan is 
 helping him." They must almost have thought Drake 
 to be Satan himself when they knew his next exploit. 
 The English sent burning boats among the galleons. 
 In their fright the Spanish ships cut loose from their 
 
36 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 anchors and soon were widely separated. Then was* 
 Drake's time. He dashed np to one after another and 
 captnred it, and with twelve of the great vessels in tow 
 went back to the fieet. The winds and waves finished 
 the work, and only sixty of Phili2)'s ships ever went 
 back to Spain. 
 
 Drake made another expedition across the Atlantic 
 in qnest of treasiii'e, bnt it failed. The Spaniards had 
 learned better how to meet " the drag-on," as they called 
 him, and they hid their riches more carefnlly. Sickness 
 came npon the little company. Every day there were 
 deaths. At last Drake himself fell ill and grew worse 
 rapidly. The face of the snrgeon was grave, and the 
 men gathered in gronps to talk of the suffering admiral. 
 
 " There will never be another man like him," they 
 declared. 
 
 " IS^o," said one, " he never forgot his men, and when 
 there was a prize, he gave ns the generous share." 
 
 " He was good to his prisoners, too," added another. 
 " Any other man would have killed them, but he let 
 them go free, and once he even gave them a vessel to 
 go home in." 
 
 " He brought a stream of fresh water into Plymouth, 
 and he and Sir John gave the Chatham Chest to help 
 poor sailors." 
 
 " He never would let a church be burned or the house 
 of any woman that begged for mercy." 
 
FRANCIS DRAKE 37 
 
 So the men talked of their beloved commander. The 
 fleet had anchored near the little island of Puerto Bello, 
 and a few days later it sailed slowly ont to sea, bearing 
 the leaden coffin in which were the remains of the dead 
 admiral. Trnmpets were blown, cannon were fired, and 
 then the body of the old hero was lowered solemnly and 
 reverently into the ocean. 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 The quest for gold in America — the boj^hood of Francis Drake 
 
 — he becomes a sailor — sells his boat — his voyage on the Judith 
 — loss of the pearls and gold — his appeal to Queen Elizabeth for 
 payment — his revenge on Spain — his first view of the South Sea 
 
 — the queen sends for him — he sails on a mysterious voyage — 
 the storm drives him " farthest south " — he seizes Spanish trea- 
 sure on sea and on land — he pursues the Spitfire — the quest for 
 the Northwest Passage — lands at " New Albion " — crosses the 
 Pacific — the queen visits the Golden Hind — Philip plans to 
 attack England — " singeing King Philip's beard " — the coming 
 of the Armada — the sea fight — Drake's last voyage — his repu- 
 tation among his men — his burial. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 A day with Francis Drake in his boyhood. 
 Drake tells Queen Elizabeth of the behavior of the Spaniards at 
 Vera Cruz. 
 
 Philip's appeal to Queen EHzabeth to punish Drake. 
 Drake tells his adventures to his nephew. 
 
38 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 JOHN SMITH 
 
 THE FATHER OF VIRGINIA 
 
 DURIi^G the century following Columbus's first 
 voyage, the Spanish established colonies in the 
 New World, but neither the French nor the English suc- 
 ceeded in making a permanent settlement. A few years 
 after the death of Drake, a company of Englishmen 
 determined to settle in America. One cold December 
 morning their three little vessels sailed down the Thames 
 River. " Good-by," shouted the people on the wharf. 
 " Be sure to find the Northwest Passage ! " cried one. 
 "Make the Indians tell you what became of Raleigh's 
 colony!" bade another; and a third called, "Don't for- 
 get to send us some pearls and a great lump of gold ! " 
 The colonists were eager to be off, but they might as 
 well have stayed at home a while longer, for the wind 
 was contrary, and for six long weeks they could not get 
 out of sight of England. At last, however, they were 
 fairly at sea. They were croAvded in the three small 
 vessels, the voyage was long and wearisome, and they 
 had nothing to do. The}^ talked a great deal about a 
 certain little box that was on board. King James liked 
 to do the simplest things with a great air of mystery. 
 So he had told them that the names of those Avho Avere 
 to govern the colony were in the box, but he had for- 
 
JOHN SMITH 39 
 
 bidden it to be opened until they had reached Virginia. 
 
 They talked, too, a great deal about one another. Some 
 
 of the idle voyagers had the absurd notion that one man 
 
 on board meant to 
 
 murder the principal 
 
 ones among them, and 
 
 make himself king, 
 
 and for thirteen weeks 
 
 they kept him a close 
 
 prisoner. 
 
 This man's name 
 was John Smith. He 
 was only twenty-eight 
 years old, but he had 
 had many strange ex- 
 periences. His jDar- 
 ents died when he was 
 a boy. JN^o one seemed 
 to take any care of 
 him, and he wandered 
 away to France. He became a soldier, rose to be 
 captain, was taken prisoner by the Turks, and made to 
 wear a heavy iron ring about his neck. He escaped and 
 found his way again to England, arriving in time to 
 go to America with the colonists. 
 
 The ship came to Avhat is now Virginia at the end of 
 April, 1607, and after many weeks on the ocean, the 
 
 JOHN SMITH 
 
 From Smith's map of Virginia published in 1624 
 
40 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 country seemed to the weary colonists a perfect fairy- 
 land. The air was soft and warm. There were tall trees, 
 green hills, rivers, and meadows. There were straw- 
 berries four times as large as those in England. There 
 were delicious oysters; and to make it seem even more 
 like fairyland, in some of the oysters there were beau- 
 tiful jjearl^. 
 
 Glad as they were of both pearls and oysters, they 
 did not forget to open the little box. In it they found 
 that John Smith was named as one of the seven gov- 
 ernors; and it is hard to see how Jamestown, as the little 
 settlement had been named, could have lived without 
 him. Most of the colonists called themselves " gentle- 
 men;" and according to their ideas, gentlemen were 
 men who never did any work, — the very worst kind of 
 people to come to a new country. The voyage had been 
 much longer than was expected, and there was little 
 left to eat but stale wheat and barley, and not much of 
 that. These helpless " gentlemen " quarreled like bad- 
 tempered children. One declared indignantly, " The 
 president would not give me a penny knife that I 
 wanted." " And he would not give my son a spoonful 
 of beer," added another. " I believe that he takes the 
 best of everything for himself," said a third. There was 
 one excuse for their quarreling, and that was that they 
 were all suffering. When a place was chosen for their 
 colony, no one had stopped to think whether it was 
 
JOHN SMITH 41 
 
 healthful or not, and they had settled on a little penin- 
 sula extending into the James River, because it could 
 be easily protected against the Indians, and because the 
 water was so deep that ships could be tied to the trees. 
 When the hot sun began to beat down, however, the 
 colonists sickened, and nearly two thirds of the whole 
 number died. 
 
 Governor Smith made journeys up the rivers with 
 chisels and hatchets and copper to exchange for corn; 
 and whether the Indians wanted to trade or not, he al- 
 ways returned with a boatful of food. On one of these 
 journeys he was captured by the savages; but instead of 
 appearing frightened, he began to amuse the chief by 
 showing him a pocket compass. A young brave was ill, 
 and Smith said, " If you will let me send a leaf from my 
 notebook to my friendsj I will tell you where you will 
 find a bottle of medicine for him." The bottle was found 
 at the place that he named, and the savages began to be 
 a little afraid of the man who could make a bit of paper 
 talk. " Be one of our tribe," they said, " and show us how 
 to attack the fort of the white men. You shall have some" 
 of our squaws for wives." Smith did not agree to this, 
 so they carried him to their King Powhatan. A grave 
 council was held, and it was decided that the prisoner 
 should be put to death. He was tied fast and laid upon 
 the ground. The Indians stood over him with heavy 
 clubs ready to strike; but suddenly the king's little 
 
42 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 daughter Pocahontas threw her arms about him. Among 
 the Indians, if a woman had lost a relative in battle, she 
 was free to adopt a prisoner in his place if she chose, 
 and the Indians must have been amused to see the little 
 
 girl playing the part 
 
 of 
 
 a grown woman. 
 
 Then, too, there was 
 that compass, and if 
 they killed a man who 
 owned so wonderful 
 a thing, there was no 
 knowing what might 
 happen to them. Pow- 
 hatan turned away, 
 saying, " Let him 
 live. He shall make 
 hatchets for me and 
 copper bells and beads 
 for my daughter." 
 After Smith had been 
 with them about a 
 month, Powhatan 
 said, " You are one of 
 
 us now, and you may go back to your Avhite friends if 
 
 you choose." 
 
 Smith went back, and the time of his coming was a 
 
 happy one in Jamestown, for on that day a ship sailed 
 
 POCAHONTAS 
 
 After the original painting now in possession of the 
 Rolfe family . 
 
JOHN SMITH 43 
 
 in from England bringing- new colonists. Unfortu- 
 nately, however, most of them were like the other " gen- 
 tlemen." They had no thought of going to work, but 
 began to search for gold. They found plenty of glitter- 
 ing bits of mica, and they discovered some yellow stones 
 all bright and shining. " Hurrah for the gold ! " they 
 cried, and they sent a whole shipload of the worthless 
 stuff back to England. 
 
 Now the company of merchants and others who had 
 paid the expenses of carrying the colonists across the 
 ocean began to feel as if they ought to have some re- 
 tiu'u for their money. America was full of treasui'es, 
 they believed, and they wrote, " Why do you not send 
 us a lump of gold to show that you are really doing 
 something ? You seem to stay around Jamestown all 
 the time; why don't you explore the country and find 
 a passage to China ? " The comj^any sent a command 
 which they probably thought sure to win the friendship 
 of the Indians. " Go to King Powhatan," they said, 
 " and crown him Emperor of Yirginia." Half a dozen 
 blue beads or a new hatchet would have pleased Pow- 
 hatan more than a coronet; but the company must be 
 obeyed, so he was crowned. He was a little afraid of 
 the long scarlet cloak that they wanted to lay upon his 
 shoulders. '^ It won't hurt you," whispered one of his 
 braves who had been to England with the whites; and 
 the " Emperor of Virginia " allowed it to be thrown 
 
44 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 around him. The volley fired in his honor gave him a 
 terrible fright, but at last the absurd performance was 
 over. The " Emperor " graciously presented the whites 
 with his old blanket to send to King James, and the 
 colonists went back to Jamestown. 
 
 All this nonsense must have disgusted Captain Smith. 
 He said nothing, however, but set to work to get to- 
 gether as much tar, pitch, potash, and clapboards as he 
 could to send to England. He also sent a letter to the 
 company which must have made them open their eyes. 
 He told them how foolish it was to expect colonists to 
 find gold mines or even to send home great cargoes of 
 tar, when they had all they could do to defend them- 
 selves and get something to eat. " You sent us a ship," 
 he said, " but the captain stayed here so long that, little 
 corn as there was, we had to give him three hogsheads 
 for the voyage home. Most of the men that you send us 
 are of no use. Give us thirty carpenters, gardeners, 
 blacksmiths, men who can work, rather than a thousand 
 of such as we have." 
 
 There were other troubles than the laziness of the 
 men, for the " Emperor of Yirginia " was not pleased 
 when he found that they meant to stay, and he made 
 a plan to destroy the whole colony. He would probably 
 have succeeded if the child Pocahontas had not been so 
 friendly to the white men. One dark night she slipped 
 away from her home and ran through the woods to 
 
JOHN SMITH 45 
 
 Jamestown. "My father means to attack you," she 
 whispered, and then she hurried away. Powhatan must 
 have been amazed when a few days later Smith sent 
 him a message, " We are all ready for you. Come when- 
 ever you choose." 
 
 So it was that John Smith watched over the colony. 
 He got food from the Indians when no one else could 
 succeed. He made the company understand that even 
 in America lumps of gold were not lying about on the 
 banks of every river. Perhaps his greatest achievement 
 was making the lazy colonists work. They all expected 
 to be served with rations whether they helped dig and 
 plant, make clapboards, and build houses, or wandered 
 about searching for pearls. When Smith became presi- 
 dent of the colony, he declared, " IS'o one will receive 
 any rations who does not labor six hours a day." So 
 the idle people had to take up their axes and hoes and 
 go to work. 
 
 After two years of these struggles, while Smith lay 
 asleep in his boat one day, a bag of gunpowder ex- 
 ploded and injured him so severely that his only hope 
 of life was to go to England for treatment. For several 
 years there were no more voyages of discovery for 
 him, but during that time he wrote an interesting book 
 about his life in Virginia. He never saw Jamestown 
 again, but news of the little settlement came to him 
 over the sea. The colonists were in sore need of his 
 
46 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 good sense, for they were in constant tronble. More 
 and more men had gone to Virginia till there were in 
 all nearly five hnndred. Then came a terrible winter 
 when food could not be had, — a winter that was always 
 spoken of as the " Starving Time." In the spring only 
 sixty colonists were left alive, and there would have 
 been even fewer if Pocahontas had not often contrived 
 to send them corn and meat, ^o heljD came from Eng- 
 land, and at last the little company of suffering people 
 set out in their small boats, hoping to get to IN^ewfound- 
 land and to find there some vessel that would carry 
 them home. They did not dream that English vessels 
 loaded with provisions were just off the mouth of the 
 river. Soon, however, they discovered them. So they 
 went back to Jamestown, and the colony was saved. A 
 gentleman named John Rolfe began to raise tobacco. 
 His neighbors did the same; and after that there was no 
 fear of starving, for Virginia tobacco always brought a 
 good price. 
 
 These were some of the bits of news that came to 
 Captain Smith from the colony that he had saved and 
 guarded; but one day he heard something that must 
 have brought his life in America even more vividly 
 before him — the Lady Rebekah was on her way to 
 England. This Lady Rebekah was the little Pocahon- 
 tas, now grown to a tall young woman and married to 
 John Rolfe. She was presented at court and entertained 
 
48 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 by the Bishop of London; Init she was not at all taken 
 aback by the city or the great folk whom she met. 
 " She carries herself as the daughter of a king," de- 
 clared a writer of the time. Of course Captain Smith 
 went to see her. He saluted her most respectfully, but 
 she was not pleased at his deference. " When you were 
 in Powhatan's land, you called him father," she said; 
 " and now that I am in your land, you must call me your 
 child and let me call you father." 
 
 Captain Smith had no idea of giving up the business 
 of exploring, and after a while he made several trips 
 to what is now ]N^ew England. He drew maps of the 
 coast, Jie caught fish, he searched for gold mines, he 
 bought furs of the Indians, and he tried hard to found 
 a colony. The last years of his life were spent in 
 writing. He wrote five or six books about America, an 
 interesting account of his adventures, and " A Sea 
 Grammar," to teach how a ship should be built, rigged, 
 and managed. 
 
 Off the coast of IN^ew Hampshire is a little grou]i of 
 tiny islands, the Isles of Shoals, hardly more than ])arren 
 rocks. Here it is probable that Smith landed, and on 
 one of them a monument was long ago placed in his 
 memory. It could hardly have l)een reared in honor 
 of a mUn who was a braver explorer, a more unselfish 
 colonize)-, or a better friend to any American colony in 
 its early days of suffering and struggle. 
 
SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN 49 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 English colonists start for America — the long voyage — idle 
 talk on board — John Smith's early life — landing in Virginia — 
 opening the mysterious box — the quarrelsome " gentlemen " — 
 sickness at Jamestown — Governor Smith captured by the Indians 
 — Pocahontas defends him — arrival of new colonists — their 
 " gold " — the demands of the company — crowning Powhatan — 
 Governor Smith's letter to the company — the kindness of Poca- 
 hontas — Smith's treatment of the lazy colonists — he leaves Vir- 
 ginia — the Starving Time — how the colony was saved — tobacco 
 raising — Pocahontas in Eng-land — Smith's last years — his mon- 
 ument. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 The colonists' first day in Virginia. 
 Powhatan describes his coronation. 
 
 A colonist writes a letter home beginning, "We had a very 
 hard winter." Finish the letter. 
 
 SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN 
 
 THE FOUNDER OF QUEBEC 
 
 WHILE Spain and England were interested in the 
 iSTew World, it was not forgotten by the French 
 explorers and fur-traders. On one of the fur-trading 
 expeditions a young man named Samuel de Champlain 
 was sent by the French king to see as much of the 
 country about the St. Lawrence as he could and write a 
 Journal about his expedition. 
 
50 
 
 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 When he came home, he pubhshecl his journal. The 
 French began to say, " The SjDanish have a ' New 
 Spain' in America; why should we not have a ' New 
 France ' ? " Before long three ships sailed away, not 
 
 only to trade, but to make 
 a settlement. Champlain 
 was one of the leaders. 
 They chose for their colony 
 a little island at the mouth 
 of the St. Croix River. "It 
 is sure to be warm and plea- 
 sant here," they thought, 
 " for it is no farther north 
 than the southern part of 
 our own France." 
 They set to work to build houses for themselves. 
 They mounted tlieir cannon and laid out little flower 
 gardens. Champlain took great j^ains to water his 
 flowers, but the sun was so hot that it scorched them. 
 The mosquitoes bit savagely, and the men had to work 
 with all their might; but they were happy, and when 
 the ship returned to France, they bade her a cheerful 
 farewell. They had no idea what was before them; but 
 soon the Avind grew bitterly cold, the water froze, the 
 ground froze, even the cider froze and was served in 
 chunks and splinters. Wood was scarce, for masses of ice 
 barred the river and shut them from the forests of the 
 
 CHAMPLAIN 
 
SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN 51 
 
 mainland. Half of the company died. " Oh, if the ship 
 would only come again ! " they groaned. At last the 
 ship came. " We will not stay here another winter," 
 the colonists declared, and Champlain set out to find a 
 better place for their settlement. 
 
 After a long search, he finally chose a place in [N^ova 
 Scotia near where Annapolis now stands. Then there 
 was a moving day indeed, for they moved not only their 
 clothes and axes and kettles and cannon, but even the 
 houses, — at least those that could be taken apart easily 
 and put on board the ship. They were full of courage 
 when they landed. "Look at that range of hills!" they 
 cried. "]N"o cold winds will blow through those. We 
 will build tighter houses, too, and make sure of having 
 wood enough." 
 
 Food was plenty, and good times were plenty, for fif- 
 teen of the principal men formed a society which they 
 named " The Order of Mirth." They took turns in being 
 Grand Master, and the one who held the ofiice for the 
 day must provide for the table. He might hunt or fish 
 or buy of the Indians, but in some w^ay he must secure 
 a dinner. When dinner time came, the little procession 
 marched into the dining room. The Grand Master led 
 the way. A napkin was thrown over his shoulder, and 
 an ornamented collar, the badge of the order, w^as 
 around his neck. The other men followed, each one 
 carrying his plate. The Indians sat about on the floor, 
 
52 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 waiting for their share of the feast, and gazing with 
 grave amusement at the strange pranks of their white 
 friends. 
 
 So the time passed and spring came. The colonists 
 had a water-mill, and they were making and burning- 
 brick. Champlain had laid out his garden as usual, and 
 they were ready for a busy and happy summer. They 
 never dreamed that a ship was on the ocean with a letter 
 that said they must come home, because the people who 
 sent out the colony could not support it any longer. 
 
 Every one was filled with regret. " The hardest time 
 was over," they said gloomily. " We had just found out 
 how to live here." " I '11 come back and make my home 
 in this place," declared one, " if I have to come alone 
 with my wife and the children." 
 
 Champlain was sadly disappointed at having to leave 
 Nova Scotia, but he packed up his journal and the maps 
 and sea charts that he had made and began to think 
 what to do next. A place that he had seen on the St. 
 Lawrence kept coming before his mind. " The river is 
 narrow there," he said to himself. " That high hill could 
 be easily fortified, and the little stream that flows down 
 beside it on the north would help to defend it. The 
 Indians are friendly and will listen to us when we tell 
 them of the Christian faith. ' Ivebec,' as they call it, is 
 the very place for a fur station and for a colony." 
 
 He had no money to send out ships, so he appealed 
 
SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN 53 
 
 for help to a wealthy nobleman in Paris. This noble- 
 man read Champlain's journal, and pored over its maps 
 and pictures. At last he said, " I '11 found a colony at 
 Kebec, provided you will be its governor." So in the 
 summer of 1608, one year after the settlement of James- 
 town, a shipload of eager French colonists landed on 
 the flats in the shadow of the towering cliff of Kebec, 
 or Quebec, as they spelled it. 
 
 There was enough for every one to do, and they set to 
 work to clear the ground and build their houses. Cham- 
 plain kept a journal of course, aud in it he drew a pic- 
 ture of the cluster of build- 
 ings. It must have looked 
 quite like some old castle ; 
 for there Avas a moat and 
 a drawbridge, platforms 
 for the cannon, a store- 
 house, a forge, and three 
 houses, each two stories 
 high. Nor did Champlaiu 
 forget his flower garden- 
 He liked birds as well as 
 
 flowers, and he had a dovecote that looks in the picture 
 half as large as one of the houses. 
 
 The winter was long and cold. Sickness came upon 
 the colonists and many died. It was an even harder 
 winter for the Indians, and they often came to the 
 
 CHAMPLAIN'S DRAWING OF QUEBEC 
 IN 1613 
 
54 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 fort to beg the kind-hearted governor for food. These 
 Indians were Algonquins, and to the south of them, in 
 what is now I*^ew Yoi'k, were the Iroquois, their bitter 
 enemies. " We shall go on the warpath after the winter 
 is over," the Algonquins told Champlain, and they looked 
 longingly at the " fire-sticks " of the Frenchmen. Then 
 said Champlain, " I want to see the country to the south- 
 ward. If you will guide me, I will help you against the 
 Iroquois." The Algonquins were overjoyed. " The 
 great governor is going to kill the Iroquois with his 
 fire-sticks," they said. 
 
 When spring came, a party of Indians, together with 
 Champlain and two other Frenchmen, paddled up the 
 St. Lawrence and the Richelieu rivers and down the 
 lake which was afterwards named for Champlain. Every 
 day brought them nearer the Iroquois, and at last they 
 saw the canoes of their enemies. " Go home and plant 
 corn!" shouted the Iroquois. "You can't fight!" 
 
 " We '11 go home and take you with us ! " retorted 
 the Algonquins. 
 
 Both parties made ready for battle. In the morning 
 the Algonquins dashed forward. Then came the great 
 surprise of the day, for Cham^^lain fired his gun. Two 
 of the Iroquois fell. The others stood for a moment 
 motionless. A second Frenchman fired, and the Iroquois 
 ran as if the witches were after them. This little fight 
 in the wilderness was really an imj^ortant action, for 
 
SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN 55 
 
 from that day the fierce Iroquois were bitter enemies 
 of the French. 
 
 Champlain made several journeys to France. On one 
 of these he was married to a child of twelve. Little 
 Helene was left there in school for a few years, while 
 her explorer husband went back to his colony over the 
 seas. He did not forget his child wife, however, and 
 he gave her name to an island in the river. 
 
 On Champlain's first voyage to the St. Lawrence, the 
 Lidians had told him of a salt sea to the northward. He 
 longed to go in search of it, and now he had good reason 
 to think that he could find it. A young man who had 
 spent the winter among the Lidians returned to Paris 
 and declared that he had been up the Ottawa River, 
 and near its head had found a sea of salt water. Every 
 one was interested, f oi* this was thought to be surely the 
 Northwest Passage. Champlain and the young man 
 went back to Quebec and set out to find the way to 
 Lidia. They went up the Ottawa River to Allumette 
 Island, and Chamj^lain said to the Indians, " This young 
 man says he went north last winter to the great salt sea. 
 Will you give me guides so I can go to it ? " 
 
 The chief looked sternly at the young man and de- 
 manded, " Did you go to the great salt sea last winter ? " 
 
 " Yes," he replied falteringly. 
 
 The chief turned his back upon him. " The fellow is 
 a great liar," he said to Champlain. " He was with us all 
 
56 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 winter. He slept in that wigwam every night. Give him 
 to us and we will see to it that he does not tell any more 
 Ues." 
 
 Then the young man confessed that he had made up 
 the whole story to win attention in Paris, and that he 
 had not dreamed of Champlain's trying to make the 
 journey. " If you will only pardon me," he pleaded, " I 
 will go north next summer till I find whether there is 
 a sea or not." And Champlain, disappointed as he was, 
 pardoned him. 
 
 So the life of the governor of Quebec went on. He 
 explored; he helped the Algonquins in their raids against 
 the Iroquois, spending one whole winter among them; 
 he established a fur station at Montreal; and he carried 
 out a plan that was very dear to him of bringing over 
 from France four missionaries to tell the Indians of the 
 Christian faith. They had a good heljDer in the wife of 
 Champlain. In the years when her explorer husl^and 
 was going back and forth between France and America, 
 the little Helene had grown up, and when she was twenty- 
 two she came to Quebec. " A brave girl," her brother 
 called her when he met her at the wharf. She was much 
 interested in the shy little Indian children, and set to 
 work at once to learn their language so as to talk Avith 
 them and teach them. They were soon Jier devoted 
 friends, and the braves and squaws almost worshiped 
 her. 
 
SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN 
 
 57 
 
 There were many hard years for the colony on the 
 rock, but at last a summer came when all things pro- 
 mised well. Champlain was making ready to welcome 
 the ships from France with supplies for the winter; but 
 France and England 
 were at war, and sud- 
 denly six English ves- 
 sels appeared off Que- 
 bec. The commander 
 sent a polite note to the 
 governor, demanding 
 the surrender of the 
 place. Champlain in his 
 reply signed himself 
 "Your affectionate ser- 
 vant," just as the Eng- 
 lish commander had 
 done, but he boldly re- 
 fused to surrender. The 
 Englishman did not 
 know that the company had not kept the fortifications 
 in repair, and that food was so scanty that the men were 
 allowed only seven ounces of dried peas a day. He 
 sailed away from Quebec, but he cajDtured the supply 
 ships at the mouth of the river, so no food came to the 
 colony all that long winter. They divided the peas by 
 comit ; they bought all the moose meat that the Indians 
 
 THE TAKING OF QUEBEC 
 From an engraving of 1G98 
 
58 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 would spare ; they fished as much as their few lines and 
 hooks would permit; and they ate every kind of root 
 that was fit for food. 
 
 When even the roots seemed to be giving out, Eng- 
 lish war-ships appeared again and demanded surrender; 
 and Champlain, brave old soldier as he was, was forced 
 to give up without firing a gun. He had to leave Que- 
 bec ; but when the treaty between the two countries was 
 signed, Canada was given back to France, and he was 
 again made governor. One morning in May, the people 
 in Quebec were aroused at sunrise by the firing of 
 cannon. They were in a great fi'ight; but it did not last 
 long, for soon their beloved governor stepped ashore. 
 Up the hill to the fortress he went, escorted by a com- 
 pany of French soldiers. Flags waved, drums beat, and 
 cheer followed cheer, for Champlain had come again to 
 the people who loved him so' well. Far back into the 
 forests the word went swiftly from one tribe of red men 
 to another that the governor had come, and hundreds 
 of them hastened to Quebec to welcome him. For three 
 years longer he worked and planned for the land that 
 he loved; and when the end came, he died in the fort 
 on the rock, a brave explorer, a wise governor, a true 
 friend and helper of every one around him. 
 
MILES STANDISH 59 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 Champlain and his journal of the St. Lawrence voyage — the 
 French colony at the St. Croix — moving to Nova Scotia — " the 
 Order of Mirth " — the colonists return to France — Champlain 
 plans a colony at Quebec — the new settlement on the St. Law- 
 rence — the first winter in Quebec — Champlain's agreement with 
 the Algonquin's — the expedition against the Iroquois — Cham- 
 plain's marriage — his search for the Northwest Passage — mis- 
 sion work — the coming of the English vessels — hard times in 
 Quebec — the surrender of the colony — Champlain's return to 
 Quebec, 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 A letter from the St. Croix settlement. 
 
 " Helene " tells what she saw when she reached Quebec. 
 
 Champlain describes his return to Quebec. 
 
 MILES STANDISH 
 
 COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE PILGRIMS 
 
 ONE cold winter day, thirteen years after the foimd- 
 ing of Jamestown, a ship was tossing about in the 
 wild breakers off the coast of Cape Cod. It had been 
 on the ocean for more than two months, much of the 
 time in gales and tempests. Once the sailors had rebelled 
 and declared that it must return to England. "We 
 won't risk our lives in the shattered old hulk," they said; 
 but the leaky seams were calked as best they could be 
 
60 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 and the vessel sailed on. The passengers had expected 
 to go farther south, but the storms had driven them far 
 out of their course, and they saw that the best thing to 
 do was to get inside the point of Cape Cod for shelter. 
 
 THE DEPARTURE OF THE PILGRIMS 
 From a painting by C. W. Cope 
 
 These people had not come to America to find lumps 
 of gold or to search for the Korthwest Passage; they 
 had come, men, women, and children, to make them- 
 selves homes in the IS^ew World. In England, as in 
 most other places at that time except Holland, people 
 were obliged by law to attend the same church as the 
 
MILES STANDISH 61 
 
 king; and if they did not, they were fined or imprisoned 
 or sometimes put to death. And yet, when they wanted 
 to leave the kingdom, King James forbade their going ! 
 A httle company, however, succeeded in escaping to 
 Holland. They lived there for twelve years; but they 
 were English, and badly as their country had treated 
 them, they loved it. They could not bear to have their 
 children speak Dutch and grow up Dutch rather than 
 English. So they concluded to go to America, where they 
 could worship God as they thought would be pleasing to 
 Him and bring up their boys and girls to be English men 
 and women. King James w^ould not give them a char- 
 ter, a parchment saying that they had a right to settle 
 in America; but he said rather grudgingly that they 
 might go if they wished, and so long as they "■ carried 
 themselves peaceably," he would not molest them. 
 
 Only a very hard-hearted ruler would have troubled 
 these honest, earnest people, for they certainly had 
 enough to bear. They had come in the middle of the 
 winter to a wild country, full of unknown dangers. It 
 was bitterly cold. Icy rain and snow and sleet fell upon 
 them as if trying to drive them from the land. Food 
 was none too plenty, and the captain was saying, " What- 
 ever happens, I shall keep enough for my crew on the 
 way back." The sailors muttered, " If they don't get a 
 place soon, we '11 drop them and their goods on the 
 shore and leave them." 
 
62 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 There was nothing to do but to search for a place at 
 once, and a company of explorers set out. The one and 
 only soldier among them was made the leader. His name 
 was Miles Standish. They were put ashore near the 
 end of Cape Cod; and, waving a farewell to their 
 friends on board the Mayflower, started off boldly on 
 their exploring trip. After going a mile or two, they 
 saw five or six Indians and a dog. They were glad, for 
 they hoped to make friends with them ; but the Indians 
 whistled to the dog and ran into the woods. The next 
 interesting sight was some heaps of earth that had evi- 
 dently just been piled up, for they could see the marks 
 of fingers where the Indians had patted and smoothed 
 the sides. Within these mounds were big baskets of 
 corn. They had never seen Indian corn befoi'e, but 
 they knew it must be some kind of grain and good 
 to eat. "Shall we take it?" they questioned. Finally 
 they decided to carry it home, and, when they met the 
 Indians, to pay them well for it. They saw rivers and 
 ponds and deer and geese. They saw, too, a trap that 
 had been set for deer; and before he knew it, one of 
 the gallant explorers was caught by the leg and tossed 
 up into the air. 
 
 Again and again the colonists searched for a good 
 place to make their home ; but when they returned to 
 the Mayflower arid their friends called, " Have you 
 found it yet ? " they could only say, " 'Not yet." At 
 
THE PILGRIMS ON THE MAYFLOWER 
 From the painting by H. O. Walker in the State House at Boston 
 
64 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 last there came a day when they repHed, " We have 
 found a place where the soil seems better than any we 
 have seen before. It is marked ' Plymouth ' on John 
 Smith's map. There is clay for bricks, good sand for 
 mortar, and stone for wells and chimneys." 
 
 " Is there any river ? " 
 
 " ^ot large enough for boats, but there are several 
 streams of good clear water." 
 
 " Did you see any Indians ? " 
 
 " No, but we saw clearings that looked as if they had 
 planted corn there three or four years ago. The land 
 rises from the water to a high hill. We climbed to the 
 top, and we could see a long way over the country. 
 That hill would be just the place to mount our cannon. 
 There is a spring of good water on the hillside, and we 
 can put our houses near it." 
 
 There was no question that this was the best site they 
 had found, and very soon a boat left the Mayflower, 
 landed its passengers on a great rock at the water's 
 edge, and went back for another load. There were no 
 idlers at Plymouth; as soon as a man Avas set ashore, he 
 went to work. The first thing to do was to build a log 
 house large enough to hold their goods and to shelter the 
 w omen and children from the rain — and those first w eeks 
 it seemed to rain most of the time. The women, too, 
 were hard at work, cooking at camp-fires; and even the 
 little children ran about and gathered twigs for the fires. 
 
MILES STANDISH 65 
 
 The Pilgrims, as they were called from their wander- 
 ings, had heard frightfnl stories of the fierceness of 
 the Indians, bnt there were other tronbles than fear of 
 savages. Food was scanty and sickness came npon 
 them. They had been in Plymouth only a month when 
 Rose Standish, wife of the captain, died. He himself 
 was well ; and " he went about from one bed to another, 
 doing everything that he conld to he]p the sick and 
 suffering. At last the spring came, but half of the 
 whole number were dead. The Indians did not molest 
 the white men, but it was plain that they were watching 
 closely. '' How many camp-fires did you see last night ? " 
 the settlers would ask those whose turn it had been to 
 keep guard. The number grew larger night by night. 
 The men worked as fast as they could to get their log 
 huts done, so they could have some little protection, for 
 they were afraid that the savages meant to unite and 
 come in large numbers to attack them. They did not 
 dare to raise mounds over the graves of those that died 
 lest the Indians should count them and see how few 
 were left. Sometimes in the darkness they could hear 
 the yells of the savages. One day Miles Standish and 
 another man left their axes in the woods Avhile they 
 went home to dinner; and when they returned, they 
 found that the Indians had stolen them. 
 
 The colonists met to decide who should be their 
 leader if the Indians should make an attack. There was 
 
66 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 not much question about it with one brave, well-trained 
 soldier among them. Of course they chose Miles Stand- 
 ish, and they all agreed to obey his orders. While they 
 were talking, one of the men said softly, "Look — over 
 on that hill ! " There stood two Indians beckoning, and 
 Captain Standish and one other man went out boldly, 
 hoping to make friends with them. They carried only 
 one musket, and soon they laid that down to show that 
 they were not enemies; but the two red men ran away. 
 As the colonists stood and listened, they could hear the 
 sound of many Indians running through the woods, but 
 not one was to be seen. " The cannon must be mounted 
 at once," declared the captain. So the three cannon 
 were dragged to the top of the hill. 
 
 The next Indian they saw, however, was not in the 
 least afraid of them or their cannon. He walked boldly 
 along close to the little houses ; and when the men stood 
 before him with their guns, he did not turn back, but 
 said cordially, " Welcome, Englishmen, welcome ! " He 
 told them that his name was Samoset, that he had been 
 near Monhegan Island and had learned a little English 
 from the fishermen who went there. He was ready to 
 tell all that he Iniew, and he knew many things that the 
 colonists w^anted to hear. He said that some of the In- 
 dians were angry with the English because an English 
 captain had captured twenty-seven of their tribe and 
 carried them away to Spain to sell as slaves. He talked 
 
MILES STANDISH 67 
 
 all the afternoon except when he was eating, — no small 
 part of the time. At dusk the English tried to say fare- 
 well to him, but he said he was willing to stay all night. 
 So they made him a bed; but they kept watch of him, 
 for no one knew but he might be a spy. In the morning 
 he said, " Good-by ; I am going to visit Massasoit, the 
 chief of the Wampanoags." And he went away happy 
 with a laiife, a bracelet, and a ring. 
 
 It was not long before Samoset came again; and this 
 time he brought a friend, Squanto, one of the very 
 men who had been carried off by the Euglish cap- 
 tain. A kind-hearted Englishman had rescued him and 
 sent him home. Squanto could talk English very well. 
 After a little while he said, '' Massasoit, chief of the 
 Wampanoags, and sixty braves are coming to see you." 
 And even while they were talking, Massasoit and his 
 warriors came marching across the crest of a hill to the 
 south of the settlement. '' They cannot come into the 
 village," declared Captain Standish. Squanto went back 
 and forth with messages, and it was decided that 
 Massasoit and twenty braves, unarmed, might enter. To 
 show the chieftain due honor, a drum was beaten, a 
 trumpet was blown, and six muskets were fired. After 
 a long talk, Massasoit and the whites agreed to be 
 friends and to help each other in war if there should be 
 need. 
 
 It seemed as if need woidd soon come, for one day a 
 
68 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 strange Indian strode into the little village, bringing 
 a bundle of arrows wrapped in a rattlesnake's skin. 
 Squanto explained that Canonicns, King of the N^arra- 
 gansetts, was angry because they had made friends with 
 his enemy Massasoit and that the arrows meant war. 
 "If he will have war, let him! " cried the captain; and 
 he stuffed the snakeskin with bullets and powder. " Tell 
 Canonicus," the settlers bade their messenger, " that we 
 do not wish to fight, but if he does, we are ready for 
 him." Canonicus was a badly frightened Indian when he 
 saw the snakeskin. It seemed that Squanto had wished 
 to give the impression that his English friends were all- 
 powerful, and he had declared that they kept the plague 
 in a box to let it loose when they chose. The chief was 
 afraid it had come. 
 
 But Canonicus's fright might not last long, so the 
 captain decided that it was best to make the village 
 stronger. They built a close high fence, or palisade, of 
 stout posts around the group of houses, and the cap- 
 tain reviewed his little army of forty-eight men and 
 appointed an otficer for every twelve. They built a 
 strong fort with a heavy flat roof on the top of the hill. 
 This building was church as well as fort. When Sun- 
 day morning came, the drum was beaten, and the men 
 assembled before the captain's door, muskets in hand. 
 They took their places three abreast. The last in the 
 line was the governor, tall and dignified in his long 
 
MILES STANDISH 
 
 69 
 
 black robe. On his right hand the minister walked, 
 and on his left strode Captain Standish. Behind them 
 came the women and children. In this order they 
 marched into the fort and seated themselves, each man 
 with his musket beside him. Over their heads, on the 
 
 PILGRIMS GOING TO CHURCH 
 From a painting by G. H. Boughton 
 
 thick flat roof, the cannon were mounted ; and so they 
 were ready either to listen to the sermon or to fight the 
 Indians if an attack was made. 
 
 The colonists had to be on their guard all the time; 
 but although there had been many alarms, there had 
 been no fighting since they had landed at Plymouth. 
 The Indians knew that their only hope of getting the 
 better of the whites was by sm*prising them, and they 
 never could surprise the captain, for he was always 
 
70 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 ready for an attack. He showed them that he wished 
 to be friendly, but that he would not be imposed upon; 
 and once Avhen a sachem, or under-chief, had seized 
 Squanto, he had set out in the night with but ten men, 
 dashed into the large wigwam, and demanded either his 
 friend Squanto or the sachem who had murdered him. 
 The story of his courage went from one tribe to an- 
 other, and many sachems sent messengers to ask for the 
 friendship of the whites. 
 
 The Pilgrims were so fair and just to the Indians 
 that they would perhaps have had little trouble with 
 them, had it not been for some new companies of colo- 
 nists that came from England and settled near them. 
 Many of these newcomers were dishonest. They cheated 
 and abused the Indians shamefully. " We will kill them 
 all," said the red men. 
 
 " But the little captain at Plymouth," objected one, 
 " he and his men will avenge them." 
 
 " "We will kill him and his friends at Plymouth, too," 
 declared the plotters. 
 
 The Pilgrims heard of this, and they said, " We must 
 fight." Then Captain Standish and eight men set out 
 for the new settlement. Soon four Indians came boldly 
 up to the house where he and four other Englishmen 
 were Avaiting. " We are not afraid of your little captain," 
 cried the red men. " He thinks he can kill us, but let 
 him try." They pushed into the house, and the other In- 
 
MILES STANDISH 71 
 
 dians crowded around it. " Go and live with the women, 
 little captain," they called, " you are no fighter ! " One 
 of them began to whet his knife. " My knife eats, it does 
 not speak," he said. Then the " little captain," as strong 
 and wiry as he was slender, sprang upon the tall savage, 
 caught his knife away from him, and killed him with his 
 owai weapon. Two of the others were also killed, and 
 one carried away as prisoner. This was the first time 
 that an Indian had been slain by the Pilgrims. It was 
 the custom in England then to put the heads of crimi- 
 nals on posts in some public place to serve as a warning 
 to all who passed by; so the head of the Indian leader 
 was put up on the fort. 
 
 As the years passed, many other colonists came to 
 Plymouth. More land was needed, and some of the 
 settlers moved to places near by where they found fer- 
 tile ground. Captain Standish and the minister, Elder 
 Brewster, made homes for themselves nine miles to the 
 north of Plymouth. The home of the captain's ances- 
 tors in England was called Duxbury, and this name was 
 given to his new abode across the bay. There the two 
 friends cut down the trees, and cleared fields for plow- 
 ing. Whenever there was any trouble, however, the 
 Pilgrims always sent for the captain, and he was ready 
 for whatever must be done. 
 
 Once he had to leave his peaceful home to fight with 
 the Pequots of Connecticut. These Pequots, the fiercest 
 
72 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 warriors of the wilderness, were determined to destroy 
 the whites. They began by hanging around the settle- 
 ments, and often when a few men went out to work in 
 the woods or the fields, these savages would seize them 
 and put them to death with most fearful tortures. The 
 colonies decided to uiiite and strike one blow that should 
 end such deeds. Plymouth sent fifty soldiers, and of 
 course Captain Standish was called upon to lead them. 
 The Pequots had built a strong palisade around their 
 houses; but the English came upon them in the dark, 
 got possession of the two entrances, and set fire to the 
 fort. ^Nearly all the Pequots perished. It was a dread- 
 ful scene, but it freed the settlers from all trouble with 
 the Indians for forty years. 
 
 The last days of Miles Standish passed quietly and 
 happily. It was not at all lonely at his house on " Cap- 
 tain's Hill," for he had married a second time, and he had 
 four sons and a daughter. Besides Elder Brewster, John 
 Alden and others of his friends made their homes near 
 him. Among them was his faithful Indian friend, Hob- 
 bomak, who built himself a wigwam near the house of 
 his captain. When he grew old and feeble, the stern 
 fighter of the red men took the red man to his own 
 house, and cared for him tenderly to the end of his 
 life. 
 
PETER STITYYESANT 73 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 The hard voyage of the colonists — why they had come to Amer- 
 ica — their troubles on reaching land — searching for a home — 
 Plymouth — landing at Plymouth — hunger and sickness — fear 
 of the Indians — choosing a captain — going to meet the Indians 
 
 — the coming of Samoset — what he told the white men — 
 Squanto — the visit of Massasoit — the message of Canonicus — 
 the settlers' reply — Canonicus's fright — the settlers prepare for 
 war — going to church — why the settlers were not attacked — 
 the rescue of Squanto — the new colonists make trouble — the 
 " little captain " fights with the Indians — the founding of Duxbury 
 
 — the war with the Pequots — the last days of Miles Standish. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 A Puritan boy writes home of his first day at Plymouth, 
 Samoset describes his first visit to Plymouth. 
 Two pilgrims talk together in Holland about going to America : 
 oiie wishes to go, the other does not. 
 
 PETER STUYYESANT 
 
 LAST DUTCH GOYERNOR OF NEW YORK 
 
 WHILE England was sending colonists to Vir- 
 ginia, and France was making a settlement on 
 the St. Lawrence, another European country was plan- 
 ning not to be shut out of the IvTew World. This was 
 Holland. One of her ships under Henry Hudson ex- 
 
74 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 plored the Hudson River, and soon the Dutch founded 
 trading posts along its banks, and extended them ahnost 
 as far south as where Philadelphia now stands. All this 
 country between the Hudson and the Delaware they 
 called ^ew ^etherland. Their most flourishing settle- 
 ment was on Manhattan Island. This was named New 
 Amsterdam. One morning in May, 1647, there w as great 
 excitement in the little Dutch village. All the people 
 put on their Sunday clothes and went down to the bank 
 of the East River. " He 's coming ! " cried some one, 
 and they were so glad that they all shouted their wel- 
 come, though the vessel was much too far away for 
 the new governor to hear them. It came slowly u^) the 
 East River and anchored off the fort. Then the cannon 
 blazed out a greeting; the people shouted louder than 
 ever; the governor was rowed ashore and marched up 
 the street to the ,fort in all the glories of gold lace 
 and ruffles, drum and fife, and an escort of soldiers. 
 " He came like a peacock, with great state and pomp," 
 wrote some one of his arrival. 
 
 This governor, Peter Stuyvesant, made a speech to 
 the people. " I shall rule you as a father rules his chil- 
 dren," he said. They all cheered, for they did not know 
 that he meant that he should do exactly as he chose 
 and that they must obey him. He began b}^ making laws 
 and seeing to it that they were enforced. He forbade 
 selling liquor to the Indians. "Whoever broke this law 
 
 I 
 
PETER STUYVESANT 75 
 
 had to pay for all the damage that the drunken Indian 
 might do. It was forbidden to build any more wooden 
 chimneys. When a house was burned, four fire-wardens 
 were to look into the matter. If they decided that the 
 owner had been care- 
 less, he had to pay a 
 fine besides losing his 
 house. This fine went 
 to hel]3 buy hooks and 
 ladders and leather 
 fire-buckets for future 
 emergencies. 
 
 The colony grew 
 fast, and after a while 
 it began to call itself 
 a city. It was a very 
 quiet, village-like lit- 
 tle city, even though 
 it was giving up its 
 wooden buildings and 
 thatched roofs. Every 
 citizen who could af- 
 ford it made the end of his house which fronted the 
 street of little yellow and black bricks l)rought from 
 Holland and arranged in checker-board fashion. The 
 roofs were gorgeous with yellow and black tiles. These 
 Dutchmen liked plenty of room for themselves and their 
 
 PETER STUYVESANT 
 
76 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 homes, and eveiy one wanted to have around his house 
 a garden where he could raise vegetables and flowers 
 and plant the tulip bulbs that came from Holland. He 
 wanted a horse, a cow, some hens, and a pig or two. 
 Every morning the town herdsman drove the cows to 
 pasture; and every night he drove them back, leaving 
 each cow at her own gate, and blowing a horn to let 
 her master know she had come. 
 
 Within the house, there was one room that was kept 
 sacred from common use. This .was the parlor, and 
 there the household treasures were collected. Car- 
 pets had not yet come into use, but fine sand was first 
 sprinkled upon the floor and then a broom was drawn 
 over it lightly in graceful figures. There was a high- 
 posted bedstead in the parlor, heaped up with a thick 
 feather bed, which only the skillful housewife knew how 
 to make round and smooth. There was a down quilt, 
 and there were heavy curtains and a valance. Two other 
 pieces of furniture were the special pride of the good 
 housekeeper. One was a solid oaken chest. When the 
 lid was raised there was a gleam of snowy linen, spun 
 and woven by the busy hands of the women of the house- 
 hold, and bleached on the grass to a dazzling whiteness. 
 The second was a cupboard, always made with glass 
 doors, for its duty was not to hide the silver and por- 
 celain but to show it. There were no rocking chairs 
 or sofas in the D.utch parlor, or anywhere else in the 
 
PETER STUYVESANT 77 
 
 house for that matter; and how the good people could 
 ever have felt comfortable, as they sat up straight 
 
 NEW AMSTERDAM IN STUYVESANT'S TIME 
 
 and stiff in the leather-covered, high-backed chairs, is a 
 mystery. 
 
 The parlor was used on festive occasions only; the 
 kitchen was the home room. There was the immense 
 fireplace with pothooks and crane. There were dressers 
 with I'ows of pewter plates and mugs and porringers 
 that must never be allowed to become dull if their mis- 
 tress hoped to be called a good housekeeper. There was 
 a heavy square dining table, wide and roomy, for the 
 Dutch wives and daug-hters knew well how to cook deli- 
 
78 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 cioiis dishes, and the husbands and sons knew how to 
 appreciate them. 
 
 Those early New Yorkers were sociable people, and 
 they did not by any means give all their time to s])inning 
 and cooking and planting gardens. There were quilt- 
 ings and huskings and apple-paring bees; there were 
 birthday parties and weddings; there were parties at 
 New Year and Easter and Christmas and between times. 
 When one was to take place, the gentlemen made them- 
 selves gorgeous in their coats of silk or plush or velvet, 
 trimmed with lace and big, round silver buttons. These 
 coats came down almost to their ankles. Their shoes 
 were fastened with broad silver buckles. The ladies wore 
 jackets, and skirts which were almost as short as the 
 men's coats were long. These skirts were quilted in 
 patterns until they were fairly stiff with the stitching. 
 Below the skirt were home-knit stockings of red or blue 
 or green, and high-heeled shoes. Rings and brooches 
 were much Avorn ; Imt the one ornament that every Dutch 
 lady felt she really could not do without was gold beads, 
 strings upon strings of them, to wind about her neck. 
 
 The great merrymaldng of the year was at Christmas. 
 The Pilgrims had seen that holiday made the excuse for 
 so much drinking and low amusement in England that 
 they were determined to have no Christmas celebrations ; 
 but the Dutch saw no reason why both grown-ups and 
 children should not enjoy the day, or rather, days, for 
 
 n 
 
PETER STUYVESANT 79 
 
 one was not nearly enough for the general jollity 
 and merriment. No one did any more work than was 
 really necessary during that time. The night before 
 
 A DUTCH HOUSE ON SANTA CLAUS MORNING 
 
 Christmas the children all hung up their stockings in 
 the chimney corner. Then they joined hands and sang 
 a song to Santa Claus which ended, 
 
 " If you '11 to me a present give, 
 I '11 serve you truly while I live." 
 
80 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 As the years passed, there was more silver plate in 
 the houses and handsomer furniture was brought from 
 Holland. There were velvet chairs, watches, clocks, 
 silken gowns, jewelry, broadcloth suits, embroidered 
 purses, shirts and neckcloths trimmed with lace, and 
 breeches made of silk and flowered with silver and gold. 
 More colonists had come, and 'New Amsterdam was 
 quite a different place in 1664 from what it haS. been 
 in 1647 when the whole village turned out to welcome 
 the new governor. For seventeen years he had ruled 
 the Dutch town, and he had done well by it, for he was 
 honest and he meant to do what he thought was for the 
 best. He had treated the Indians kindly but firmly, and 
 there had been little trouble with them. Difficulties 
 were soon to appear, however. One day a young man 
 who had just come from Boston to New Amsterdam 
 told the governor some startling news. " King Charles 
 of England has given this land to his brother James, 
 the Duke of York," he said, " and there is a rumor 
 that a fleet of armed vessels is already on the way to 
 take possession of it." 
 
 Then there was excitement from one end of the Dutch 
 city to the other. The governor l:)ought powder and food 
 and did his best to strengthen his fortifications. He had 
 but one hundred soldiers, one little fort, a few guns and 
 a small supply of powder. The three-foot wall of earth 
 and the crumbling wooden palisade might help to keep 
 
PETER STUYVESANT 81 
 
 out the arrows of the Indians, but they would be small 
 protection against King Charles's cannon balls. Still the 
 governor had no thought of surrender. He " stumped" 
 about from one place to another, giving orders to the 
 men who were working on the fortifications, sometimes 
 encouraging them, sometimes storming at them for their 
 slowness, and stamping angrily with his wooden leg. 
 
 The fleet came. Colonel Nichols, who was in com- 
 mand, took possession of a blockhouse on Staten Island 
 and landed some of his soldiers on Long Island. Then 
 the governor sent a formal demand to know what this 
 behavior might mean. The colonel in reply ordered 
 him to surrender. " Yield peaceably, and I promise 
 freedom and his property to every citizen," he said. 
 Xow 'Ne^N Amsterdam had become so well-to-do that 
 many English had come there to live, and of course 
 they preferred to be under the English king. Even the 
 Dutch believed that the company had not treated them 
 fairly, and so they did not feel very unhappy at the 
 thonght of having a new ruler. Certainly they would 
 rather live under English rule than have their homes 
 destroyed by English soldiers. The Council urged the 
 governor to surrender, but he said no. The citizens 
 begged him to yield. Still he declared, " I won't sur- 
 render." 
 
 While they were talking, Colonel I^ichols sent an- 
 other letter, promising that, if they would yield, the 
 
82 A^IERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 trade with Holland should go on as usual, and settlers 
 should come from that country as freely as ever. The 
 governor knew very well that if the people saw that 
 letter they would refuse to fight, so he would not read 
 it to them. A rumor then went through the city, " The 
 English have sent a letter offering good terms," and a 
 crowd gathered around the council room. Even the 
 men who were at work on the defenses dropped their 
 tools and ran crying, " The letter, the letter ! Show us 
 the letter!" 
 
 " The letter must be read to them," said the Comicil. 
 
 " It shall never be ! " roared the governor, pounding 
 the floor with his wooden leg and tearing the letter into 
 pieces. 
 
 " Show us the letter ! " the crowd still called. The 
 secretary picked up the pieces and put them together, 
 and it was read aloud from the steps of the building. 
 
 The governor wrote a strong, manly reply to Colonel 
 I^ichols, saying that the Dutch had discovered ]N"ew 
 ^N'etherland, had bought it of the Indians, had settled 
 upon it; and surely it belonged to them. He trained his 
 guns on the English ships, and he marched down to the 
 landing, ready with his hundred soldiers to fight five or 
 six times that number. The ships had ninety-four gmis, 
 and the colonists had about twenty. The gunners on 
 the vessels and the gunners on the land stood waiting 
 the signal to fire. Then a j^aper was brought to the 
 
PETER STUYVESANT 83 
 
 governor, signed by all the princijDal citizens, his own 
 son among them, begging him not to allow the destruc- 
 tion of the town. Women crowded about him, weeping 
 and praying him to save their homes. Little children 
 clung to him and cried, " Save us, save us ! " 
 
 " I would rather be carried out to my grave," cried 
 the dauntless governor; but he was helpless, for the 
 people refused to obey his orders. The white flag of 
 surrender was finally rmi up, and the governor marched 
 out of the fort at the head of his men with flags flying 
 and drums beating. Down on the shore the English 
 soldiers were already drawn up in line, and soon the 
 English flag was floating over Fort Amsterdam, which 
 now became Fort James. The town had saved its 
 houses, but it had lost its name; it was no longer 
 ]^ew Amsterdam, but in honor of the Duke of York it 
 was called A^ew York, and Colonel Nichols became its 
 governor. 
 
 Whether the town was English or Dutch, Governor 
 Stuyvesant had no idea of leaving it. He owned a large 
 bowery, or farm, and there he spent his last years. 
 He had fine horses and cattle and the best of fruit 
 trees. He had a prim flower garden laid out in stiff 
 regular beds. Behind the garden was the roomy 
 two-story house to which he delighted to welcome his 
 friends — and among them was his old enemy. Colonel 
 Nichols ! 
 
84 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 The Dutch settle in America — the coming of the new governor 
 
 — his speech — his laws — description of the Dutch houses and 
 gardens — the parlor — the kitchen — social pleasures — the com- 
 ing of luxuries — the rule of Governor Stuyvesant — startling news 
 from England — fortifying the town — Colonel Nichols's demand 
 
 — feelings of the citizens — Nichols's second letter — Stuyvesant's 
 refusal to have it read to the people — his reply to Nichols — the 
 citizens' petition — surrender — Stuyvesant and his howery. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 The coming of Governor Stuyvesant. 
 A visit to a home in New Amsterdam. 
 Governor Stuyvesant descrihes the surrender. 
 
 KING PHILIP 
 
 CHIEF OF THE WAMPANOAGS 
 
 IT will be remembered that before the Pilgrims had 
 been long in Plymonth, Massasoit, chief of the 
 Wampanoags, paid them a visit. He promised to be 
 their friend, and that promise was never broken. 
 
 One day a little brown-skinned baby was born in his 
 wigwam. A white mother wonld have bought her baby 
 a cradle, but an Indian mother would have said, "No, a 
 cradle is not safe, it may tip over. It is heavy, too, 
 and I want to carry my baby with* me wherever I go." 
 
KING PHILIP 85 
 
 So this child, like other Indian children, was rolled 
 in soft furs and bound to a board a little larger than 
 himself. A hoop, or a sort of hood, was put up above his 
 head; and then, even if the board had a hard fall, the 
 baby was not hurt. Little playthings hung from the 
 hoop; but he had small need of them, for there were 
 always so many interesting things to watch. 
 
 When his father had gone out to hunt that they might 
 have food, his mother would go into the forest for wood; 
 and while she was gathering it, the board and the baby 
 hung on the l^ranch of a tree. The l3reeze swayed them 
 to and fro, the green leaves fluttered and glittered in 
 the sunshine. The squirrels chattered all around him; 
 sometimes the birds lighted on the branches near him 
 and looked curiously to see what kind of bird he was 
 and what kind of nest that strange cradle could be. 
 Then when his mother was tired and sat down under 
 the tree to rest, she sang him songs about the bravest 
 men of his tribe, how they had saved their people in 
 time of war and how many of their enemies they had 
 slain. '^ By and by, my little Metacomet," she would 
 say, " you, too, will be a brave fighter. You must lead 
 your people on the warpath, and you must ncA er yield." 
 
 When Metacomet grew older, he found that there 
 were many things for him to learn. Stories were told 
 him of deeds of courage, and he must remember them 
 and be able to tell them again. He must learn to use a 
 
86 
 
 AMERICAN HERa STORIES 
 
 bow and arrow. " You must shoot straight and quickly," 
 his father would say, " and you must not give your 
 enemy a chance to shoot first." He must learn the dif- 
 ference between the footprints made by the moccasins 
 of his own people and those made by other tribes. He 
 
 METACOMET LEARNING HIS LESSONS 
 
 must learn how to put on the wai- paint and what the 
 different colors meant. He must learn not to scream 
 when he was frightened or to cry when he was liurt. 
 He must not whine for fire if he was cold or for food 
 if he was hungry. He had no books about plants and 
 animals, but he must learn about them. He must know 
 which roots were good to eat, on which side of the trees 
 the moss grew thickest, how to tell the marks made in 
 
 I 
 
KING PHILIP 87 
 
 the bark of a tree by a bear from those made by a moose, 
 how far a wildcat could spring, and how to escape from a 
 rattlesnake. He must learn to make nooses and snares, 
 to hunt and to fish; not for amusement by any means, 
 but because when he became a man and had a wife and 
 children, they would starve if he could not bring them 
 anything to eat from the forest. 
 
 Even in his games the Indian boy was ever learning 
 to be strong and skillful and to make his own way in 
 life. The boys wrestled, they ran races, they had shoot- 
 ing and swimming matches and sham battles. The older 
 people were always interested in these contests. If a 
 boy had won in a swimming race, for instance, some 
 one would be sure to remember that one of his family 
 had been a great sw^immer and would say to him, " The 
 brother of your grandfather could swim well. He be- 
 came a mighty warrior. We will see what you will do." 
 Then the little Indian boy was happy indeed, and he 
 made up his mind to be a greater wari-ior than any of 
 his family. 
 
 So Jt was that the little son of Massasoit grew up. 
 The white people had come to Massachusetts long before 
 he was .born, and he, together with his older brother, 
 Wamsutta, must have gone many a time to their settle- 
 ments. When Massasoit died, Wamsutta became chief 
 in his father's place, and he, too, was friendly with the 
 people at Plymouth. The Indians had bought guns of 
 
88 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 the whites before this, and Wamsutta and Metacomet 
 used to go to them to buy powder. They told their 
 Plymouth friends that they would like to have names 
 like those of the white people. Then the Plymouth 
 court chose for them the names of two heroes of ancient 
 times, and declared that Wamsutta should be called 
 Alexander and Metacomet should be called Philip. 
 
 The whites never felt as sure of Alexander's friend- 
 ship as they had felt of his father's; and after a Avhile 
 reports began to come to them which said, " Alexander 
 is friendly with the Narragansetts. Beware ! " Massa- 
 soit's tribe and the I^arragansetts had long been bitter 
 enemies. " If they and Alexander have become friends," 
 thought the whites, " it must be that they are planning 
 to attack us." So they sent to the chief a request to 
 come to Plymouth and explain what this meant. He 
 came, ])ut on the way he was taken sick, and a few days 
 later he died. This sudden illness seemed very myste- 
 rious to Philip, and he suspected that his brother had 
 been poisoned. 
 
 Philip was noAv chief of the Wampanoags. ^Every 
 little while the English heard that he was not their 
 friend. " He said he wanted the land back that his tribe 
 had sold to the white men," declared one. ''Many In- 
 dians from other tribes are coming to see him," said 
 another, " and they have long councils together." " The 
 young men among the Wampanoags and the ^NTarragan- 
 
KING PHILIP 89 
 
 setts want to fight and show themselves as brave as 
 their fathers," said still another. 
 
 The colonists talked over these things. Then they 
 asked Philip to make a treaty of peace; but he seems 
 
 A FANCIFUL PORTRAIT OF KING PHILIP 
 By Paul Revere 
 
 not to have kept it very well, for three or four years 
 later he was asked to make another. Then he replied 
 proudly, " Your governor is but a subject of King 
 
90 A3IERICAX HERO STORIES 
 
 Charles of England. I shall not treat with a subject. 
 I shall treat of peace only with the king, my brother, 
 ^^hen he comes, I am ready." 
 
 Pliilip lived at Mount Hope, and not far from his 
 home was the little ^dllage of Swanze}'. One day in 
 1675, men from Swanze}^ came galloping into Boston 
 for help. " The Indians ! " they cried, " the Lidians are 
 
 upon us ! They have 
 ^^yf/^^^^J3 a.£aj,^*^^^<^ C(y/)tSl' ^^t fire to two houses 
 
 • both Boston and Plym- 
 
 KTS'G PHILIP'S yiARK , 
 
 outh sent messengers 
 straight to King Philip. '• Yom- men have broken the 
 treaty," they were to say. '' Send us the ones who 
 burned those houses, that we may pimish them, or there 
 will be war at once I " The men never gave their mes- 
 sage to King Philip, for when they came near Swanzey 
 they saw that war had already broken out. The savages 
 had attacked the town, and mmxlered men, women, and 
 Uttle children. 
 
 Then there was no more dela}. ]Men set out from 
 Boston and Plymouth for Momit Hope, and marched 
 night and day. Philip had no idea that any one would 
 attack him so soon, and he was quietly eating his dinner 
 when the English burst in upon him. He fled, but the 
 Enghsh pursued him so closely that one man caught 
 the chief's cap from his head, just as he was run- 
 
KING PHILIP 91 
 
 ning into a swamp, where the English could not follow 
 him. 
 
 This was the beginning of fierce war. One place 
 after another was attacked by the Indians. At Brook- 
 field, Massachusetts, there was one large house so»much 
 stronger than the others that all the whites crowded into 
 it. The Indians fired through the walls ; they tied long 
 poles together with burning rags on the end, and tried to 
 get near enough to set fire to the house. But the bul- 
 lets of the men within drove them back. They tied the 
 burning rags to arrows, and shot them up into the air, 
 so they would fall on the roof and kindle it; but the 
 people in the garret cut through the roof, and put out 
 the fires. Then they built a rude sort of platform sev- 
 eral yards long, put ha}^, chips, and flax on the end, set 
 the mass afire, and, using a barrel for a wheel, rolled it 
 with long poles toward the house. The Indians were 
 sheltered by the planks, and the bullets of the white 
 men could not touch them. The fire was too large to be 
 put out by throwing water upon it from the windows. 
 " We can do nothing more," groaned the brave defend- 
 ers. " But see, God himself is coming to our help ! '' 
 cried one, for a thick cloud was hanging over them, 
 and suddenly a heavy rain began to fall. The fires went 
 out ; and before the Indians could make any new attack, 
 soldiers came, and they fled. 
 
 The Connecticut River was the " far west " in those 
 
92 AMERICAN PIERO STORIES 
 
 days, and the little villages near its banks were in terrible 
 danger. Springfield, Hatfield, Deerfield, Hadley, and 
 many others were attacked by the savages. A strange 
 story is told of the attack on Hadley. It was a fast 
 day, and all the people were in church. In the midst 
 of the prayer, they heard the awful warwhoop of the 
 Indians. The men rushed out with their guns, but the 
 Indians were here, there, and everywhere ; there seemed 
 to be thousands of them. It was all so sudden that for 
 an instant the men were dazed and stood staring and 
 clutching their weapons. One more instant, and the 
 savages would have been upon them. Suddenly a tall, 
 white-bearded man appeared. He had the .bearing of a 
 military commander, and in a moment the men of Hadley 
 found themselves obeying his orders. They formed in 
 line, shot, and charged; the Indians ran, and Hadley 
 was saved. They turned back to their leader, but he 
 was gone. " Who was he ? " they asked, but no one had 
 ever seen him before. They never saw him again, and 
 when in after years they told their children of him, they 
 said in hushed and reverent voices, " It was an angel 
 from heaven." 
 
 The next that was known of Philip, he and his men 
 attacked the little village of Lancaster. The people 
 there had been told by spies that the Indians meant 
 to l3urn their town, and they had sent their minister 
 to Boston, thirty-five miles away, to ask for soldiers to 
 
94 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 protect them. The soldiers were coming, but the Indians 
 came sooner. Just at snnrise the terrible warwhoop was 
 heard. In a few hours the English troops arrived, but 
 the village had been burned, many people killed, and 
 many others carried away as prisoners. Among these 
 was the wife of the minister. " We will not kill her," 
 they said. " She is the Avife of the great medicine man 
 of the village. He will pay us well by and by to get her 
 again." They treated her as well as they could, for if 
 she died they would lose the ransom that they hoped 
 to get. IS^evertheless, she had a very hard time. At first 
 there was j^lenty to eat, for they had stolen from Lan- 
 caster all that they could carry away. Soon, however, 
 the food gave out, and they had to eat acorns, roots, 
 pounded bones, the bark of trees, and any kind of ani- 
 mal they could catch or shoot. Once she had a feast. 
 Philip's little son, a boy of nine of whom he was very 
 fond, was with him. " "Will you make my boy a cap ? " 
 he asked his prisoner. "Yes," she replied, and soon the 
 little fellow was strutting about in it. Then the father in 
 payment invited her to dinner, and gave her a pancake 
 " about as big as two fingers." She said afterwards, 
 " It Avas made of parched aa heat, beaten, and fi-ied in 
 bear's grease ; but I thought I never tasted pleasanter 
 meat in my life." After three months of this w^ander- 
 ing, she Avas ransomed for about one hundred dollars, 
 and given up to her husband in Boston. 
 
KING PHILIP 95 
 
 At last Philip was pursued to his old home at Mount 
 Hope. The only way that he could escape by land was 
 by a narrow isthmus, and that the English held. One of 
 the chief's men said to him, "We cannot get away; we 
 must yield." But this unyielding chieftain was so angry 
 that with a single blow of his tomahawk he killed the 
 man who had advised surrender. This man's brother 
 slipped away from his chief and went to the English. 
 " Philip has killed my brother. I can tell you where he 
 is," he said. Without a moment's delay, the English 
 marched upon the hiding-place of the chief. " When he 
 tries to escape, he will have to go by this spot," said the 
 commander, and he ordered an Englishman and the In- 
 dian deserter to watch for him. Soon they saw him run- 
 ning at full speed, and both men fired. The white man's 
 gun missed fire, but the Indian's bullet went straight, 
 and the chief fell dead. It woidd have broken his heart 
 if he had known the fate of his little boy, for the child 
 was sent with hundreds of other captives to the West 
 Indies and sold as a slave. He was the last of the race 
 of Massasoit, the faithful friend of the Englishmen. 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 The treatment of little Metacomet — what he learned — his 
 games — Massasoit's sons and the Pilgrims — new names for the 
 Indians — the whites suspect Alexander — his death — why the 
 whites distrusted Philip — the treaty of peace — the attack on 
 Swanzey — the whites march to Mount Hope — the repulse at 
 
96 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 Brookfleld — the commander at Hadley — A prisoner among the 
 Indians — death of Philip — fate of his son. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 Metacomet and a white boy tell each other what they have to 
 learn. 
 
 The two boys describe their games. 
 
 A Brookfield colonist describes the Indian attack. 
 
 THE MEN WHO EXPLORED THE MISSISSIPPI 
 
 IN 1675. at the time of King Philip's War, there were 
 colonies in all the states bordering- on the Atlantic 
 from Maine to South Carolina, and they were all sub- 
 ject to England. Most of the French settlements were 
 on the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes. The 
 Indians had told the French of a mighty stream to 
 the southward; and w^henever a group of Frenchmen 
 were sitting around the fire some long evening in the 
 little village of Montreal, some one was sure to ask, 
 "Where do you suppose the Mississippi River emp- 
 ties?" 
 
 " The men who went with the Spaniard De Soto de- 
 clared that it emptied into the Gulf of Mexico," one 
 would reply. Another would retort, " That tale is a 
 hundred years old. De Soto went off on a wild-goose 
 chase to search for gold. He did not find any, and of 
 
THE MEN WHO EXPLORED THE MISSISSIPPI 97 
 
 course his men had to tell some big story when they 
 came back." Then another would say more thought- 
 fully, " The Indians who live to the west of us declare 
 that far to the west of them are strange people who 
 have no beards. They must be Chinese, and I believe 
 that the Mississippi flows into the Pacific Ocean. What 
 fortunes we could make if we could only find that river 
 and trade with China ! " 
 
 " Who knows whether there is any river V " another 
 would demand laughingly. " The Indians talk about ' big 
 water,' but who can tell whether they mean a great river 
 or the ocean ? " 
 
 There was a yomig man named Robert la Salle who 
 was so much interested in this mysterious sti'eam that 
 he thought of it by day and dreamed of it by night. At 
 last he made up his mind to go in search of it. He* had 
 little money to pay for canoes and provisions and pre- 
 sents for the Indians through whose country he must 
 pass, but he owned some land eight or nine miles from 
 Montreal. So he sold it and started on his exploring 
 trip. Through the forest and down the Ohio he made 
 his way. Then his men refused to go any farther, and 
 he had' to return to Canada. Every one laughed at him. 
 " There 's the man who went to China," they said. 
 They pointed out the land that he had sold, saying, 
 " There 's La Salle's China," or La CJmie, as it is in 
 French. 
 
98 AMERICAN HERO 'STORIES 
 
 Even though this expedition had failed, it made people 
 think more about the unknown i^iver, and finally Gov- 
 ernor Frontenac determined to send explorers in search 
 of it. The men whom he chose were Louis Joliet, a 
 fur trader, and Father Marquette, a priest. All that the 
 two men did to prepare for their long journey was to 
 buy two birch-bark canoes, some smoked meat, and 
 Indian corn. Five men were engaged to go with them, 
 and they set out. They hoped to find Indians to show 
 them the way; and surely they needed guides, for their 
 only map was one that they had drawn as best they 
 could from the stories of the red men. 
 
 The}^ went west as far as Green Bay, at the northern 
 end of Lake Michigan. The Indians who lived there 
 were friendly. After they had feasted the strangers, 
 they asked, "Where are you going. Frenchmen?" 
 
 " We are going to find the great river, the Missis- 
 sippi," they replied. 
 
 " O Frenchmen," the Indians pleaded, " do not go 
 there. The tribes whose wigwams are on the banks of 
 that river are terrible. They kill every one who comes 
 near them. There is an evil spirit, too, that lives in a 
 great gulf of waters, and he will drag you down into 
 his den." 
 
 " We are Christians," replied Marquette, " and evil 
 spirits cannot hurt Christians." 
 
 '' There are two dreadful monsters that stay on a 
 
THE MEN WHO EXPLORED THE MISSISSIPPI 
 
 99 
 
 great rock beside the river," continued the Indians. 
 " They will eat you and your canoes." 
 
 " ^ot when we show them this," replied Marquette, 
 holding his crucifix high up before the red men. " If 
 you will listen to me, I will tell you hoAv you may go 
 among monsters and not be harmed." Then he told 
 
 THE DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI BY MARQUETTE 
 
 From a painting by J. N. Marchand 
 
 them about the religion of Christ and taught them to 
 say a prayer. 
 
 The explorers said good-by and went on their way. 
 Soon they came to another little Indian village. In the 
 
 Lore 
 
100 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 midst of the cluster of wigwams stood a great cross. 
 Furs and bows and arrows and red belts w^ere hangins: 
 on it. " What does that mean? " Joliet asked. 
 
 " The cross belongs to the God of the Frenchmen," 
 the Indians replied. " We heard of him from a Black 
 Robe like you," and they turned to Marquette. " We had 
 plenty of food last winter, and so we have given him 
 offerings because we are grateful. But where are you 
 going? " 
 
 "My friend, the Black Robe, is going to tell the Indians 
 about God," answered Joliet, " and I am going to search 
 for the Mississippi River and explore new countries so 
 I can tell our governor at home about them. Will you 
 give us guides to show us the way? " 
 
 " Yes," they cried, and soon the Frenchmen had left 
 the little village far behind them. 
 
 At last they w ere in the " big w^ater," the mighty 
 river that they had come to discover. Every night they 
 ran their canoes ashore, built a fire, and slept. Every 
 day they floated onward. It was a w^onderful country 
 that they were passing through. June had come, and 
 everything was fresh and bright. There were beautiful 
 groves, dense forests, prairies, cliffs, and great masses 
 of tangled grapevines. There w^ere flowers of all colors. 
 Buffaloes and deer and many other animals stared at 
 them from the river banks. Strange fishes bumped 
 against their canoes. One morning when they w ere near 
 
THE MEN WHO EXPLORED THE MISSISSIPPI 101 
 
 the shore, one of the company cried snddenly, " See, 
 those are men's f ootprmts there In the mud ! " " And 
 that is surely a path," said another. " It must lead to 
 an Indian village." " We will go and see," declared 
 the two leaders. After they had walked up the path 
 for nearly six miles, they caught sight of a group of 
 wigAvams. They shouted so that the Indians might 
 know they were coming as friends and not trying to 
 surprise them. In a moment the whole village, men, 
 women, and children, had run out of doors to see who 
 had come. Four tall, dignified men came' toward the 
 explorers, holding up two peace pipes. That meant, 
 " Let us be friends," and so they all walked together 
 into the village. The chief made a speech of wel- 
 come, and after that the whole company of Indians es- 
 corted the strangers to another village where a greater 
 chief lived. Then there was speechmaking indeed. The 
 second chief told them the smi shone brighter and 
 the whole earth was more beautiful because they had 
 come. " You have even made our river calm," he 
 declared, " for your canoes removed the rocks as you 
 came." There was a feast, of course, and then the 
 travelers w^ent away. 
 
 "When they had floated on to where the city of Alton, 
 Illinois, now stands, they looked up on a high cliff, and 
 there were the monsters that the Indians had told them 
 about. These monsters were figures painted on the 
 
102 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 rock. Their faces were a little like those of men, but 
 their bodies were scaly and ended like the tails of fish. 
 They had horns and fiery red eyes. A little farther on, 
 the Frenchmen heard the roar of the evil spirit that they 
 had been told about. That was made by the water 
 rushing among the rocks in a little bay. Then they 
 came to the mouth of the Missouri, and there they found 
 something worse than painted monsters to be afraid of, 
 for the river plunged so madly into the Mississippi that 
 the little canoes were tossed and whirled about and 
 almost overturned in the flood. 
 
 Still the explorers went on till they had come to where 
 the Arkansas Indians lived. " You 'd better not go any 
 farther," said they. " There are tribes to the south of 
 us who will kill you. They do not shoot with bows and 
 arrows, but with fire-sticks like yours that they have 
 bought of the Spaniards." The French leaders talked 
 together about what was best to do. "We may be sure 
 that the river empties into the Gulf of Mexico," they 
 said. '' If we go on any farther, we shall certainly be 
 captured by the Indians or the Spaniards. Let us go 
 back to Canada and tell the governor what we have 
 seen." It was a hard journey, for now there was no 
 easy floating, but instead many hundred miles of pad- 
 dling upstream. For eleven weeks they toiled, and at 
 last they were again at Green Bay. Marquette was 
 ill and could not go any farther for a long while, but 
 
THE MEN WHO EXPLORED THE MISSISSIPPI 103 
 
 Joliet went on and told Governor Frontenac of all the 
 wonders they had seen. 
 
 Of coui'se La Salle was much interested in Joliet's 
 report, and a few years later he had a plan to propose 
 to the governor. " Let us build a line of forts along the 
 Mississippi," he said, "and put a strong colony at its 
 mouth. Then neither the Spanish nor the English can 
 buy furs of the Indians along the river. France will 
 have all that fur trade, and we ourselves shall become 
 rich men." 
 
 La Salle went to France to ask the king for leave to 
 build forts, and the king told him he might build as 
 many as he chose. As soon as he came back, he made 
 ready for a journey to the mouth of the Mississippi. 
 " Will 3^ou go with us ? " he asked a number of Lidians. 
 
 " Yes," was the answer, " but braves do not cook. 
 We must have our squaws to cook for us." 
 
 " The squaws may go," La Salle agreed. 
 
 " But they will not go without their children," de- 
 clared the Lidians. 
 
 So it was that betAveen fifty and sixty persons, white 
 men, red men, women, and children, set off. Joliet had 
 gone in the spring, but now it was the depth of winter, 
 and until they reached the place where St. Louis now 
 stands, they had to drag their canoes and provisions on 
 sledges over the ice and snow. Glad enough they were 
 when at last they could get into their boats and float 
 
104 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 down the stream. Once they were badly startled. A 
 dense fog had set in. They were close to the shore, 
 when suddenly they heard loud yells and the beating 
 of an Indian drum. " That means a war dance," said 
 the explorers. " Let us cross to the other side." They 
 crossed, and worked with all their might to build a rude 
 fort of logs for fear the savages would attack them. 
 All in a moment the fog cleared away, and across 
 the river they saw the Indians, who stood listening to 
 the strange sounds and wondering what they could be. 
 These Indians were all ready to be friendly. Another 
 tribe showed La Salle a most unusual honor, for, as he 
 was not well, the chief himself came in all state to visit 
 the white man. The master of ceremonies walked first, 
 followed by six tall Indians to make sure that the way 
 was clear. Then came two men carrying great fans of 
 white feathers, and one man with a Inroad copper disk 
 that shone and gleamed in the sunshine. After all these 
 the chief aj^peared, dressed in a fine white blanket. He 
 and La Salle made speeches to each other. La Salle 
 presented knives, beads, red cloth, and mirrors; and the 
 little procession turned about and went gravely away. 
 
 At last the explorers came to the mouth of the river. 
 The Indian braves and the squaws and the children must 
 have been greatly amazed at the next move, for all the 
 Frenchmen took their stand with their gims. They 
 chanted the Te Deum, "■ We praise Thee, O God," and 
 
THE MEN WHO EXPLORED THE MISSISSIPPI 105 
 
 LA SALLE TAKING POSSESSION OF THE jNUSSISSIPPI VALLEY 
 From a painting by J. N. Marchaud 
 
 some other Latin hymns. The guns were fired. La Salle 
 stepped into the centre of the group and planted a tall 
 post on which was written, " Louis the Great, King of 
 France and I^avarre, April 9, 1682." He made a long 
 speech, declaring that he claimed for his sovereign all 
 the land that was drained by the Mississippi and by all 
 the rivers that flow into it. " Long live the king ! " the 
 men shouted. " Long live the king ! " Again there was 
 firing of guns. Then a great cross was set up near the 
 post, and at its foot was buried a leaden plate on which 
 
106 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 the arms of France were engraved. Another Latin hymn 
 was snng. That was ah; but it was because of this lit- 
 tle ceremony on the lonely shore of the Gulf of Mexico 
 that France claimed as her own all the land between the 
 Alleghanies and the Rocky Mountains. 
 
 La Salle did not give up the rest of his plan, — to 
 found a colony at the mouth of the Mississipj^i. Not 
 Ions: after his return to Canada he went to France. 
 Wonderful stories had gone before him. " Louisiana is 
 full of peaches and plums and berries of all sorts," they 
 said. " There are all kinds of trees. The soil is so rich 
 that if you only scratch the surface of the gromid, you 
 can raise whatever you choose to plant." 
 
 " I 'd like to go there to live," said one after another. 
 "When La Salle went back, eight or ten families went 
 with him. They did not go by Canada, but sailed di- 
 rectly for the Gulf of Mexico. 
 
 The rest of the story is a sad one. The pilots made a 
 mistake and went four hundred miles beyond the mouth 
 of the Mississippi. The food ship and one other vessel 
 were lost. Sickness set in, and more than a hundred 
 men died within a few days. The others would gladly 
 have gone back to France, but only one ship was left, and 
 that was not large enough to carry them all across the 
 ocean. La Salle set out on foot for Canada to get help, 
 a terrible undertaking. On the way he was murdered 
 by some of his own men. The lonely colonists met a 
 
THE MEN WHO EXPLORED THE MISSISSIPPI 107 
 cruel fate, for some of them were killed by the Indians, 
 and the others were made prisoners by the Spaniards. 
 
 Such was the end of La Salle's attempt to start a 
 colony at the mouth of the Mississippi. The colony was 
 finally founded, and was called ^ew Orleans ; but this 
 was after La Salle had been dead for many years. 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 The English and the French colonies in 1675 — "Where does 
 the Mississippi empty?" — La Salle's journey do\vn the Ohio — 
 Governor P'rontenac sends Joliet and Marquette to find the Mis- 
 sissippi — the Indians urge them not to go — the cross in the In- 
 dian village — they come to the " big water " — the shores of the 
 Mississippi — a visit to the Indian chiefs — the monsters on the 
 cliff — the evil spirit — the mouth of the Missouri — the warning 
 of the Arkansas Indians — the return of the explorers — La 
 Salle's plan for forts and a colony — the king's permission — La 
 Salle's preparations — the journey to St. Louis — a war dance — 
 the chief's visit — the ceremonies at the mouth of the Mississippi 
 — La Salle tries to found a colony — its troubles and its fate — 
 murder of La Salle. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 A Frenchman tells his family why he wishes to go to Louisiana. 
 What Joliet told Governor Frontenac of his journey. 
 One of the Indians describes the greatest danger that the ex- 
 plorers met. 
 
108 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 WILLIAM PENN 
 
 WPIO FOUNDED PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 WHILE La Salle was on the Mississippi River 
 planning a colony that failed, an English Quaker, 
 named Wilham Penn, was getting ready to fomid a 
 colony that was to succeed. Long before this the 
 Quakers had thought of America. " The Puritans have 
 gone to Massachusetts," they said, "■ and the Roman 
 Catholics have gone to Maryland. Why should not we 
 have a home of our own in the 'New World ? " A num- 
 ber of Quakers crossed the ocean and made little set- 
 tlements on the banks of the Delaware. Penn said to 
 himself, " What a glorious thing it would be if we could 
 have a country where not only Quakers but every one 
 else could worship God as he thought right ! " At last 
 he planned a way in which this might be brought about. 
 King Charles had owed Penn's father a large sum of 
 money, so the young man asked, "' Friend Charles, wilt 
 thou give me land in America instead of that money?" 
 The king was more than willing. Land in America was 
 of no great value, he believed, and so he readily gave 
 Penn a piece almost as large as the whole of England. 
 "It shall be called IN^ew Wales," said Penn; bnt the 
 king had the good taste not to like this name. " Then 
 let it be Sylvania," Penn suggested. " Pennsylvania," 
 
WILLIAM PENN 
 
 109 
 
 declared the quick-witted king. Penn thought that 
 might look as if he wished to honor himself, but the 
 king said 
 
 yom^ 
 
 " Oh no, it is to honor the admiral, 
 father." So Pennsyl- 
 vania — Penn's wood- 
 land — A\ as written on 
 the maps of the new 
 state. 
 
 Just where his set- 
 tlement was to be, he 
 did not know, but he 
 sent three men across 
 the ocean to find a 
 good place and treat 
 with the Indians. The 
 town was to be named 
 Philadelphia, or the 
 City of Brotherly 
 Love. He had a de- 
 lightful time planning it. He did not mean to have the 
 houses dropped down anywhere and to have the streets 
 wriggle and twist to go by the houses. His town was 
 to have streets running north and south, cut at right 
 angles by other streets running east and west. Those 
 that went north and south were to be numbered, First 
 Street, Second Street, and so on ; those that went east 
 and west were to be named for the trees of the forest, — 
 
 WILLIAM PENN 
 
110 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 Chestnut, Walnut, Spruce, and Pine. The river banks 
 were never to be built upon, but always to be open 
 to the people. The streets were made narrow because 
 Penn was not planning for a large city but for a " green 
 country town." He marked on his plan just where the 
 city hall was to be, where he meant to have open parks, 
 and where his own house was to stand. He wrote a 
 friendly letter to the English and the Swedes who were 
 already settled on his land, teUing them he hoped they 
 would not dislike having him as governor, for they 
 should be treated fairly and make whatever laws they 
 thought best. He also wrote to the Indians that he was 
 their friend and that he wanted to live with them in 
 love and peace. He sent his cousin across the ocean to 
 deliver these letters and act as governor until he him- 
 self could come. Then he set to work and wrote a busi- 
 nesslike advertisement. It told how much it would cost 
 to cross the ocean, how much he would sell land for, 
 what kind of country Pennsylvania was, and what things 
 colonists would need. It was not long before ships 
 began to cany settlers to Pennsylvania. It is thought 
 that three thousand came the first year. 
 
 These settlers, even the earliest of them, had none of 
 the hard times that the people of Plymouth and James- 
 town had to endure. Of course there were no houses ; 
 and when the first ship sailed up the, beautiful Delaware 
 Piver, her passengers had to scramble up the b.ank and 
 
WILLIAM PENN 111 
 
 shelter themselves as best they could until their houses 
 were built. Some of them made huts of bark. Some 
 dug into the river bank and beat down the earth for 
 floors. For walls they piled up sods, or they cut down 
 bi'anches and small trees and set them up around the 
 floor. For chimneys, they mixed grass and clay to- 
 gether. Some of them drove forked sticks into the 
 ground, laid a pole in the crotches, and hung a kettle 
 on the pole. A fire was built under it, and there the 
 cooking was done. It was a busy time, for while all this 
 was going on, the surveyors were marking off lots as 
 fast as they could. The settlers were in a hurry, for 
 they wanted to build their houses. Some made them of 
 logs, and some had brought the frames with them, each 
 piece marked and numbered, so they could be put up 
 very quickly. The Indians were much interested. They 
 gazed with wonder at a wooden house growing almost 
 as rapidly as a wigwam. They often did more than 
 gaze; they helped those who were in need. On the 
 voyage a man had died, and his widow, with eight or 
 nine children, found herself alone in a strange country. 
 The white people, busy as they were, saw that she had 
 a cave-house at once, and the Indians hurried to bring 
 venison and corn for her and her little family. 
 
 The next year, in 1682, Penn himself came to America. 
 He landed first at N^ewcastle, and there he took formal 
 possession of his land in the old English fashion; that 
 
112 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 is, he took a cup of water, a handful of soil, a bit of 
 turf, and a twig. When he saw his new town, he was de- 
 lighted. The situation, the air, the water, the sky, — 
 everything pleased him, and he wrote his friends most 
 enthusiastic letters. He told them about the nuts and 
 grapes and wheat, about the wild pigeons, the big tur- 
 keys, the ducks, and the geese, all free to whoever chose 
 to shoot them. The water was full of fish and the forest 
 abounded with deer. It is no wonder that settlers hur- 
 ried to Pennsylvania. 
 
 Of course the Indians were eager to see the new 
 governor, and very Ukely a group of them stood on the 
 bank when he first kmded. He was quite as eager to 
 meet them, and soon they came together for feasting 
 and a treaty of peace. Penn was exceedingly hand- 
 some. His hair was long and lay on his shoulders in 
 curls, as was the fashion of the day. His clothes had 
 not the silver trimmings and the lace that most young 
 men of Avealth were used to wear, but he liked to have 
 them of rich material and well made. " He was the 
 handsomest, best-looking, and liveliest of gentlemen," 
 declared a lady who saw him at that time. Tradition 
 says that he and the Indians met under a great elm that 
 stood on the river bank. The deep blue stream was 
 flowing softly by, the blue sky was overhead, the leaves 
 of the elm were gently fluttering, and little birds were 
 peering down curiously between the branches. The 
 
114 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 chief seated himself for a council. His wisest men sat 
 close behind him in a half circle. Behind them sat the 
 younger braves. Peim stood before them and told them 
 about his colony. He said that he wished to be a good 
 friend to the Indians and to treat them kindly. As each 
 sentence was translated to them, they gave a shout of 
 pleasure. At the end they said, "We will never do any 
 wrong to you or your friends;" and Penn declared, 
 " We will live in love as long as the sun gives light." 
 Penn paid the Indians for their land just as the settlers 
 of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New I^^etherland 
 had done. He gave them cloth, bells, guns, kettles, 
 axes, scissors, knives, mirroi's, shoes, beads, combs, and 
 shirts. Of course all these things together Avould hardly 
 buy a rod of land in Philadelphia to-day; but they 
 were of great value to the Indians, and they were well 
 pleased with the bargain. They were also well pleased 
 with the governor. He was dignified and courtly in his 
 
 bearing; but when he 
 spoke to them, he was 
 simple and friendly. 
 
 15ELT OF WAMPUM GIYEX TO PENN ^^ in- • i i 
 
 The Indian and White Man clasp hands in Hc WOuld Sit With them 
 
 ^"'^"'^^"P and eat of their hominy 
 
 and roasted acorns as if he were one of them. At col- 
 lege he had been fond of outdoor sports, and there is 
 a story that once when the red men were leaping to 
 show what they could do, he suddenly stepped out and 
 
WILLIAM PENN 115 
 
 leaped higher and farther than they. The Indians were 
 dehghted. " He is a great man," they said, " bnt when 
 he comes among ns, he is our brother." They called him 
 " Onas," the Indian word for pen or quill. " Onas al- 
 ways does what he says he will do," they told the other 
 tribes. 
 
 Penn stayed two years in America, but not all the 
 time in Philadelphia. Once he went to Maryland to have 
 a talk with Lord Baltimore about boundaries. America 
 was so large, and a few miles of wilderness seemed of 
 so little value, that the English kings gave away broad 
 slices of the country without taking much troul^le to 
 make sure that no two men had the same piece. Lord 
 Baltimore claimed the very land on which Philadelphia 
 had been settled. It became known that he was on his 
 way to England to la}^ his claim before the king. Then 
 Penn had to cross the ocean to defend his grant. He 
 expected to return soon, but one trouble after another 
 kept him in England for fifteen years. 
 
 At last the time came Avhen he and his wife and chil- 
 dren could come to Philadelphia. He built a fine brick 
 house at a place which he named Pennsbury, twenty 
 miles up the river. It was handsomely furnished. There 
 were dishes of silver and china, plush couches, embroi- 
 dered chairs, satin curtains, and a heavy carj)et — perhaps 
 the first one that ever came across the ocean. There were 
 gardens, made beautiful not only with plants brought 
 
116 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 from England, but with wild Howers of America. Lawns 
 and terraces ran down to the river bank. There was a 
 stable for twelve horses, there was a " coach and four," 
 there was a barge to be rowed by six oarsmen. The In- 
 dians came freely to visit him, and he entertained them 
 on his lawn or in the great hall of his handsome house. 
 He roamed over the country on horseback, and was once 
 lost in the woods near Valley Forge as completely as if 
 he had not been on his own ground. Once when he 
 was riding to meeting, he came up with a child who 
 was also going to the same place. The shy little bare- 
 foot girl must have been half afraid but much delighted 
 when the governor caught her up, set her behind him 
 on his great horse, and trotted on to meeting with her. 
 It would be pleasant if we could think of Penn as spend- 
 ing the rest of his days in the comitry life that he en- 
 joyed; but he had been in America only two years when 
 he was obliged to return to England. Never again did 
 he see beautiful Pennsbury, his Indian friends, the city 
 that he loved, or the smoothly flowing Delaware. 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 The Quaker colonies — Penn's plan for a colony — a royal grant 
 — his plan for the city — his letters to the settlers on his land 
 and to the Indians — his*advertisenient — the shelter of the first 
 settlers in Philadelphia — the first houses — kindness of the In.- 
 dians — the coming of Penn — his letters home — the welcome 
 of the Indians — Penn's appearance — the treaty of friendship — 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 117 
 
 Penn's payment to the Indians — his behavior to them — what 
 they thought of him — Penn's journey to Maryland — he leaves 
 America — his return — Pennsbury — stories of Penn. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 A settler describes his first days in Philadelphia. 
 Penn writes his wife about Pennsylvania. 
 An Indian tells a distant tribe about Penn. 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON 
 
 THE YOUNG SOLDIER 
 
 IT would seem as if a few groups of colonists might 
 live in peace together when they had a whole con- 
 tinent on which to choose places for their homes ; but 
 during the half century following the settlement of 
 Philadelphia there was a great deal of fighting in 
 America. Much of it was caused by the fact that when- 
 ever England, France, and Spain were at war, their 
 colonies also fought. After a while, however, the colo- 
 nists of England and France had a quarrel of their own. 
 Its occasion was the land along the Ohio River. This 
 message came to the French : " Those Englishmen are 
 planning to send out settlers to the Ohio«" 
 
 " That will not do," declared the French. " We want 
 to be able to float dowai the Ohio into the Mississippi, 
 and so on to the Gulf of Mexico. La Salle explored 
 
118 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 the Ohio. Moreover, we discovered the Mississippi, 
 and the Ohio flows into it; therefore the Ohio is ours." 
 
 The Enghsh laughed at this. " The French claim all 
 the rivers that flow into the Mississipjoi ! " they cried. 
 " They might as well claim all the countries that drink 
 French brandy." 
 
 Both nations knew that a strong fort built at the 
 point where the Allegheny joins the Monongahela would 
 hold the river, for no enemies could sail by such a forti- 
 fication. Governor Duquesne of Canada began quietly 
 to build forts, each one a little nearer this spot. Gov- 
 ernor Dinwiddle of Virginia was wide aAvake and keep- 
 ing a close watch on the doings of the French. When 
 he heard that a third fort had been begun, he said to 
 himself, " That has gone far enough. I will send some 
 one to warn them that this land belongs to us." 
 
 It was not easy to choose a messenger. The governor 
 thought it over. " It is a hard journey," he said to him- 
 self. " There will be ice and snow and Indians and all 
 sorts of dangers. We must have a man who knows how 
 to make his way through the forest and will not be afraid 
 of diflEiculties. That young surveyor who has done so 
 much work for Lord Fairfax is a good woodsman. He 
 is cool and sensible, and whatever he undertakes he does 
 well. He is not the man to be imposed upon, either; and 
 even if those smooth Frenchmen treat him as if he were 
 the king of France, he will not forget what he was sent 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 
 
 119 
 
 THE YOUNG SURVEYOR 
 
 for." There was something else to be careful about. " It 
 won't do to send any rude, blunt messenger," thought 
 the governor. " Such a fellow would get us mto a fight 
 in three days. This young Washington knows how to 
 behave in a parlor as well as in the forest. The young- 
 ster is only twenty-one, but I believe he is the man 
 to go." 
 
 Then the governor sent for the young man and told 
 him what was needed. He set out Avith a little company 
 of white men and Indians. The mountains were covered 
 with snow, and the cold November rains were falling. 
 
120 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 Drip, drip, came the water from the branches as the men 
 pushed on in Indian file through the wilderness. For 
 two weeks it either rained or snowed, and it was always 
 cold and wet. The wind blew upon them in tempests 
 whenever they left the shelter of the forest. The heavy 
 rains had swollen the brooks to creeks, and the creeks 
 to rivers; but, large or small, they must all be crossed. 
 
 At last Washington saw through the trees the gleam 
 of the French flag and smoke rising from a chimney. 
 This was the nearest of the three forts, though it was 
 hardly a fort as yet. The French were most polite to 
 their English visitors; but they were exceedingly care- 
 ful not to say a word that would show^ what their plans 
 were. " The commander is at FortLe Boeuf," they said, 
 "and the reply must come from him. It is time for 
 supper now; come and eat with us." At supper they 
 drank a good deal of wine, and then they forgot their 
 caution. "We are going to have the Ohio," they de- 
 clared; and went on good naturedly, " Of course you 
 can raise two men to our one, but your English are slow 
 folk. We can build our forts and take the whole coun- 
 try while you are getting ready." Washington did not 
 boast about what the English could do, but he wrote 
 all this carefully in his journal to show to Governor 
 Dinwiddle. 
 
 The next day he went on to Fort Le Boeuf. He pre- 
 sented the governor's letter, which reminded the French 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 
 
 121 
 
 that they were on land belonging to the English. The 
 coramander replied, " I will send the letter to Governor 
 
 
 
 -?-:!;W^'^"P;'7J''-" /^||^9| 
 
 K ' 
 
 
 ^^^^^^Bbi 
 
 
 it- 
 
 I^^^B^^^H^^^k ''^■^^^ 
 
 WASHINGTON ON HIS MISSION TO THE OHIO 
 
 Duqnesne; but this is where he has j)laced me, and here 
 I must stay until he sends me somewhere else." 
 
 Washington took his leave. The horses went so slowly 
 through the snow that, to save time, he returned on foot 
 
122 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 with only one man. The coming had been hard enough, 
 but the return was much worse. The cold had become 
 more intense ; the rivers were full of floating ice. Wash- 
 ington was knocked off the raft into ten feet of bitterly 
 cold water, and had to spend that night on a little island 
 without fire or shelter. There was danger from the In- 
 dians, and more than once he was fired upon by them; 
 but he came out safely from all dangers and gave Gov- 
 ernor Dinwiddle the French commander's reply. 
 
 " We must get ahead of them," declared the governor. 
 " We will build a fort just where the Allegheny joins 
 the Monongahela, and we will hold the Ohio." So he 
 sent men there to build the fort; but the French drove 
 them away, and in high glee built a fortification of 
 their own which they named for the governor. Fort Du- 
 quesne. Governor Dinwiddle had sent another band of 
 men to help the first, with Washington at its head. He 
 heard that the French had driven the first colonists 
 away and were coming to attack his company. With his 
 few men he could not meet them, so he went back a 
 little way to wait for more ti'oops. 
 
 It was not long before a few militiamen and fifty regu- 
 lar soldiers came. Their captain put on a great many 
 airs because his regulars were paid by the king. "We 
 belong to the king's army," he declared, " and the king's 
 soldiers do not take orders from a young fellow in the 
 colonial militia." His men followed their captain's lead 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 123 
 
 and refused to help make a road or drag the cannon. 
 They were soon frightened into helping, however, for 
 the scouts told them that the French were coming upon 
 them. Then they forgot that thiey were taking orders 
 from a colonial major and worked as hard as they could 
 to help make an intrenchment, dig a ditch, and cut down 
 trees for breastworks. The French came upon them, 
 twice as many as the colonists. The fight lasted for nine 
 hours. The powder gave out and the provisions gave 
 out. There was nothing to be gained by lying down 
 behind the logs and starving ; so Washington surren- 
 dered. The French were jubilant. They had driven off 
 the English and they held the Ohio. 
 
 But somehow the English would not stay driven off. 
 At length the king of England began to find out that 
 the French were trying to crowd his colonies into a lit- 
 tle strip of land near the coast, and that if he expected 
 to have any more than that he must fight. Then he 
 sent General Braddock to Virginia with one thousand 
 
 men. 
 
 Long before the vessel came to the wharf, the colo- 
 nists could see the red coats of the soldiers. The regu- 
 lars were with them, and they were delighted. Braddock 
 made Washington one of his officers, but he had no idea 
 of listening to his advice. Washington was much trou- 
 bled. " The general knows how to fight the French," 
 he thought, " but he seems to think that the Indians will 
 
124 AMERICAX HERO STORIES 
 
 march out in line like white men." So he told him 
 respectfully how the Indians behaved in a fight. " They 
 hide behind rocks and trees," he said, " and there will 
 be a storm of bullets when no one is in sight." 
 
 " Regulars know how to return bullets," replied Brad- 
 dock. " It would be a strange thing if British ti'oops 
 could not meet a handful of naked Indians." 
 
 The line of redcoats and of colonial soldiers set out on 
 the long hard march through the forest. They crossed 
 the Monongahela. They were climbing a hill when 
 suddenly shots began to come from all directions and the 
 forest echoed with the yells of the Indians. The French 
 were in front, the Indians were on both sides, but hidden 
 behind trees. The regulars were so dazed at this new 
 kind of fighting that they ran like sheep. The colonists 
 had learned how to meet Indians, and so they hid be- 
 hind trees and returned the fire. Even then Braddock 
 could not see that there was any other way to fight than 
 the one he had learned, and he shouted to his men to 
 come out and form in line. Of course the only end to 
 such a battle was the wild retreat of the English. Can- 
 non, provisions, food, arms, clothes, horses, and money 
 were forgotten in the mad rush for safety. Braddock 
 was mortally wounded and soon died. When the fugi- 
 tives dared to stop, he was buried in the forest, and 
 wagons were rolled over his grave lest the Indians 
 should find it. 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 125 
 
 It was owing chiefly to Washington's skill and cool- 
 ness that any of the men escaped. Fonr bullets were 
 shot throngh his coat, but he was not hurt. Afterwards 
 an Indian chief said, " He will never die in battle. I 
 told all my braves to aim at him, but they could not hit 
 him." If the Indian had known what severe fighting lay 
 before the young officer, he might not have been so sure 
 that Washington would never die in battle. 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 Why the colonies fought — Governor Duquesne builds forts — 
 Governor Dinwiddie's warning — choosing a messenger — Wash- 
 ington's journey through the forest — he is entertained at the 
 French fort — the Frenchmen's boast — Washington at Fort Le 
 Bceuf — his return to Virginia — Governor Dinwiddle attempts 
 to build a fort — Washington is sent to help the builders — the 
 coming of the militia and the regulars — the attack of the French 
 
 — General Braddock comes to Virginia — Washington warns 
 Braddock — Braddock's reply — Braddock is conquered and slain 
 
 — Wasliington's escape. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 Governor Dinwiddle tells Washington what he is to do on his 
 mission to the French. 
 Washington's report of the journey. 
 A colonial soldier describes Braddock's defeat. 
 
126 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 JAMES WOLFE 
 WHO CAPTURED QUEBEC 
 
 AFTER Braddock's defeat at the Monongahela, the 
 French gained battle after battle. Then they be- 
 gan to lose and the English to win. There was only one 
 thing which could end the war, and that was the capture 
 of Quebec. So long as the French held the city on the 
 rock, they could laugh at the attempts of the English to 
 conquer Canada ; and so long as they held the city, the 
 English would never give up trying to capture it. 
 
 This was what an Englishman named William Pitt 
 was saying to himself. He was prime minister of Eng- 
 land, and therefore he had to make plans for the war 
 and choose the men to carry them out. " Quebec must 
 be taken," he thought, " and James Wolfe can take it 
 if any one can." 
 
 Wolfe had been a soldier ever since he was a boy of 
 fifteen. He was so earnest and so eager to succeed 
 that some one once said to the king, " That young Wolfe 
 is mad." 
 
 " Mad, is he ? " the king growled. " Then I only hope 
 he will l^ite some of my generals." 
 
 Before long, Montcalm, who was in command at Que- 
 bec, heard that the English were coming. " They can 
 never get up the river without pilots," he said ; but he 
 
JAMES WOLFE 
 
 127 
 
 was too good a soldier not to make ready to receive them 
 in case they did get through the zigzag channel. Quebec 
 stood high and safe on the great rocky promontory. 
 
 
 ^^^' :/W 
 
 
 
 #J W-f 
 
 JAJIES WOLFE 
 
 Below it was the St. Charles River, flowing into the St. 
 Lawrence. Beyond the St. Charles was a steep bank 
 which stretched along the St. Lawrence for seven or 
 eight miles. Montcalm chained heavy logs together and 
 fastened this " boom " across the St. Charles so no ships 
 
128 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 could sail up the stream and attack the city from the rear. 
 He stationed his forces along the steep bank. He built 
 earthworks and batteries to make sure that Wolfe could 
 not land at that place. Then he waited. After a long 
 while the English ships were seen. " They cannot get up 
 to the Isle of Orleans," declared the French, and they 
 crowded to the shore to see them rmi upon the rocks. 
 Behold, the ships sailed on as easily as if they were in 
 a mill pond. That was no wonder, for the English had 
 captured some French pilots and had said to them, " You 
 are to steer these vessels up the river ; and if one runs 
 aground, you will be hanged." Of course every vessel 
 went through the channel safely, and the men were 
 landed on the Isle of Orleans. Wolfe walked to the far- 
 ther end of the island, and stood looking at Quebec only 
 three or four miles away. There was the Lower Town, 
 that is, the houses on the flats near the river. Above 
 that was the Upper Town with its green trees and gray 
 stone buildings. Still higher was the citadel, and around 
 it was a thick stone wall wherever the cliffs were not 
 protection enough. Batteries were everywhere with 
 their guns pointing toward the river, and Wolfe must 
 have felt almost discouraged when he saw them. Then 
 he looked beloAv the town. There was -the St. Charles 
 guarded by the boom of logs. Beyond it were the steep 
 banks, and along these banks thousands of French sol- 
 diers were encamped. 
 
JAMES WOLFE 129 
 
 Wolfe did not know what to do, but Montcalm knew 
 precisely what he would do. " Wolfe cannot land within 
 seven or eight miles of the city," he thought, " and there * 
 is no use in my going out to meet him. Let him stay 
 until his provisions begin to give out, and then he will go 
 home. If he stays a little too long, the frost will catch 
 him and he will be frozen into the river as tight as a 
 rat in a trap." The governor of the town, however, 
 wanted to make one effort to destroy the fleet. He made 
 his arrangements; then he climbed up into the steeple of 
 a church and stood there in the darkness watching the 
 river to see what would happen. 
 
 A little while before midnight the English soldiei's 
 saw black, vague shapes coming slowly toward them. 
 Suddenly there were explosions, tongues of fire, sheets 
 of flame. Missiles hissed and screamed and roared and 
 shrieked; muskets and cannon and bombs exploded; 
 shot rattled away among the leaves like hailstones. 
 These were the governor's fireships, coming to burn the 
 English fleet. Fortunately for the English, they had been 
 set afire too soon and were nowhere near the fleet. The 
 English sailors sprang into their boats, caught hold of 
 the monsters with grappling irons, and towed them to 
 the shore. There they spluttered and fizzed awhile, and 
 then burned out harmlessly. The governor climbed down 
 from the steeple and went back to the camp in the dark, 
 strangely surprised at the failure of his plan, and won- 
 
130 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 dering what the king of France would say about his 
 spending so much money for nothing. 
 
 It was June when Wolfe went to Canada. The sum- 
 mer was going swiftly. June had passed ; July was 
 almost gone. Still Wolfe thought and planned, but he 
 could not find any way to conquer Montcalm. He had 
 fired hundreds of shells into the town, he had destroyed 
 many buildings; but that was not taking Quebec. He 
 must meet Montcalm in battle and conquer him, and 
 Montcalm would not be met. " The wary old fellow 
 avoids battle," Wolfe wrote to his mother. " But he 
 shall fight," he said to himself; and he determined to 
 land his men on the shore below the St. Charles close 
 to Montcalm's intrenchments, make a dash up the bank, 
 and force the French to meet him. 
 
 ^ow the soldiers had been waiting week after week, 
 and they were half wild with eagerness and impatience. 
 " Why don't we do something ? " they had grumbled. 
 When the first companies of these men were put ashore, 
 they forgot that they ought to wait for orders or for the 
 other troops, they forgot that they had a commander, 
 they forgot everything except that the enemy were before 
 them. So they began to scramble up the bank. Of coui-se 
 the French came out then. Their volleys alone would 
 have been enough to drive the few Englishmen away; 
 but a storm suddenly burst upon them, and in a moment 
 the bank was so slippery that no one could climb it. 
 
JAMES WOLFE 
 
 131 
 
 LANDING OF THE BRITISH TROOPS ABOVE QUEBEC 
 
 There was nothing to do but to retreat. The French 
 were dehghted. " The war is as good as ended," they 
 declared. Wolfe was almost in despair. 
 
 Befoi-e Wolfe came to Canada, he had thought that 
 he could go up the river beyond Quebec, land his 
 troops on some level fields loiown as the Plains of 
 Abraham, and attaclrthe city from that side. But when 
 he saw the place, he found that the Plains of Abraham 
 were a high plateau whose bank was as nearly perpen- 
 dicular as a bank of earth could be. Still, every other 
 attempt had failed, and September had come. Wolfe 
 determined to try this plan as a last hope. Up the river, 
 beyond the city, went the English warships, though the 
 guns of Quebec bellowed and thundered at them as 
 they passed. " They mean to try to land somewhere," 
 thought Montcalm, and he sent men to prevent them. 
 
132 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 They did mean to land somewhere, but it was in the 
 very place where Montcalm had felt sure that no one 
 could land. One dark night sixteen hundred English 
 soldiers got into the small boats and floated gently down 
 the river toward the town. Wolfe and some of his offi- 
 cers were together in one boat. A little while before, 
 Wolfe had received letters from home, and in one of 
 them was a beautiful poem that had recently been pub- 
 lished, describing rural scenes and the lives of country 
 people. It is known as Gray's " Elegy." In the midst 
 of his preparations for battle, lines of this poem kept 
 coming into Wolfe's mind, and in the boat that night 
 he began, — 
 
 " The curfew tolls the knell of parting clay," 
 and repeated the stanzas softly to his officers. " Gen- 
 tlemen," he said, " I would rather have written those 
 lines than take Quebec to-morrow." 
 
 They floated on silently, but nearer and nearer the 
 shore. " Who is there ? " rang out the voice of a 
 French sentinel. 
 
 " France." 
 
 '' What is your regiment ? " 
 
 " The Queen's." 
 
 This conversation was in French, and the sentinel 
 never suspected that a Scotchman, who knew the lan- 
 guage, was answering his questions. A little later an- 
 other sentinel cried, " Who is there ? " and the Scotch- 
 
JAMES WOLFE 133 
 
 man replied, '' Provision boats. Hush, the Enghsh will 
 hear ns ! " So again they were allowed to pass. They 
 came to shore at the foot of the precipice. The Scotch- 
 man and twenty -three others had volunteered to go 
 first. '' If you can climb it, the rest of the men may 
 follow," said A¥olfe. He sat in the boat listening, but 
 not a sound could he hear save the ripple of the river. 
 Suddenly guns were fired at the top of the bank, and 
 the soldiers leaped from the boats and tore their way 
 up the steep. Even here the careful Montcalm had left 
 a small force of men, but they were taken by surprise 
 and easily captured. 
 
 Wolfe had left some of his soldiers below the city, 
 and they had pretended to be about to attack Montcalm 
 in his intrenchments. While the French were watching 
 for them, a man came up at full gallop. " The English, 
 the English ! " he cried, " they are on the Plains of 
 Abraham ! " Montcalm spurred his horse, and in three 
 hours he had his thousands of soldiers drawn up on 
 the Plains only half a mile from the English lines. The 
 French dashed forward, shouting and firing, but not an 
 Englishman stirred. When the French were forty yards 
 away, " Fire ! " shouted the English commanders, and 
 such a volley blazed out as few armies have to meet. 
 This was the beginning, and the whole battle was hardly 
 more than a beginning, it was so swift and so soon 
 ended. The English had conquered. '' But where is 
 
134 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 the general ? " demanded the men. The word went 
 from hne to Hue, '' The general is killed," and all their 
 rejoicing was turned into sorrow. Wolfe had been 
 wounded three times. At the third blow he fell. 
 
 " Shall I get a surgeon ? " asked one of his men. 
 
 " l^o, it is all over," he replied, and closed his eyes. 
 
 The wild retreat had begun, and an officer cried, 
 " See how they run ! " 
 
 That cry aroused the dying general. " Who run ? " 
 he demanded. 
 
 " The enemy ! they give way everywhere ! " was the 
 reply. 
 
 " God be praised ! " he said. " I shall die in peace." 
 And these were the last words of the eager soldier 
 whose life had been passed in war. 
 
 Another brave general was also struck by a fatal 
 ball. " How long have I to live? " Montcalm asked the 
 surgeon. " ^ot more than twelve hours," was the reply. 
 " So much the better," said the wounded man. " I am 
 happy that I shall not live to see the siu'render of 
 Quebec." 
 
 So it was that Quebec and Canada fell into the hands 
 of the English, and with it all the land claimed by the 
 French east of the Mississippi. When the treaty was 
 signed, France was obliged to give up all her posses- 
 sions in America except two little islands in the Gulf 
 of St. Lawrence. 
 
WHEN PONTIAC BESIEGED DETROIT 135 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 William Pitt's plan — Wolfe's character — what Montcalm 
 thought of Pitt's plan — preparations to defend Quebec — Wolfe 
 comes up the river — he looks at Quebec — Montcalm will not 
 fight — the governor's attempt to destroy the Enghsh fleet — 
 Wolfe's summer — he tries to force a battle — his retreat — he 
 concludes to adopt his first plan to attack the city — sails up the 
 river — floats down at night — recites Gray's " Elegy " — the 
 sentinels' challenges — the surprise — the news carried to Mont- 
 calm — the battle — death of the generals — result of this vic- 
 tory. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 Pitt tells Wolfe his plan. 
 Wolfe describes Quebec and its defenses. 
 
 A Frencli soldier describes tlie attempt of the Enghsh to climb 
 up the slippery bank below the town. 
 
 WHEN POI^TIAC BESIEGED DETROIT 
 
 AFTER Wolfe had captured Quebec, and the Al- 
 gonquin Indians had found that the English had 
 become the rulers of Canada, they were much troubled. 
 " There is no one to help us now," they said. " The 
 Iroquois will attack us and the English settlers will 
 take our lands. What shall we do ? " 
 
 A wary old chief named Pontiac was thinking the 
 matter over. " We cannot drive the English into the 
 ocean," he thought, " but if all our tribes should unite 
 
136 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 and help the French, then the Frenchmen might rule 
 in Canada again, and they would help us against all 
 our enemies." He sent messengers to many tribes to 
 say : " The English hate us. They want to kill us, or 
 drive us far away from the hunting grounds that the 
 Great Spirit gave to our fathers. Will you join w^ith 
 us to thrust these enemies of ours from the land ? The 
 French say that their king has been asleep, but that 
 he will soon awake and send soldiers as many as the 
 stars of the heavens." 
 
 Far and near the Indians replied, " We have heard 
 your message ; we have danced the war-dance ; we are 
 ready to fight." This dance was performed at night. 
 The warriors put on their war-feathers and painted their 
 faces with the colors that meant war. They seated them- 
 selves on the ground in a circle around a painted post, 
 the firelight flashing on their beads and other orna- 
 ments. Behind them was the dark and gloomy forest. 
 Soon the war-chief, the one chosen to lead them to the 
 fight,' sprang forward and dashed into the ring. He 
 recited the deeds of the heroes of the tribe, how many 
 enemies they had slain, how many scalps they had 
 brought home. He rushed at the post and struck it 
 fiercely with his hatchet as if it were his foe. He drew 
 his scalping knife and pretended to be taking a scalp. 
 He howled and shouted and yelled. The other warriors 
 sprang from their places and leaped into the ring. They 
 
WHEN PONTIAC BESIEGED DETROIT 137 
 
 danced wildly about, brandishing knives and clubs and 
 hatchets and tomahawks. They whooped and screeched 
 until the whole forest echoed with the horrible clamor. 
 Then they were ready to go on the warpath. 
 
 Pontiac planned that several of the principal forts or 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 ^HK "^ ^ 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 J 
 
 / 
 
 
 
 INDIAN DANCE 
 
 settlements of the English should be attacked on the 
 same day. Detroit was the strongest of these settle- 
 ments. " Detroit is mine," said Pontiac. " I know how 
 to get into the fort." N^ow Pontiac's home was not far 
 from Detroit. He and his braves went on the hunt in 
 the winter; but when spring had come, they returned 
 
138 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 to their village. One fine spring day he went to the 
 gate of the fort at Detroit with fifty of his men and 
 said, " We wish to do honor to our friends, the English, 
 and we are come to dance the cakmiet dance before you." 
 The English did not like to admit so many Indians, but 
 finally they replied, " You may come in." The braves 
 who did not dance strolled about the fort as the Indian 
 visitors usually did. They were noticing carefully just 
 how the streets ran and where the houses w^ere placed; 
 but the English paid no special attention to what they 
 were doing. After they had gone, the English said, 
 '' The Indians are friendly. There will be no trouble." 
 
 A little later a white woman saw the Indians filing off 
 the muzzles of their guns. " They are planning some 
 trickery," declared one of the settlers, and he warned 
 Gladwyn, who commanded the fort. Another warning 
 came from a young Indian girl. " Pontiac and his chiefs 
 are coming here," she said. " They have made their 
 gmis short, and every brave will bring one hidden in his 
 blanket. They will say they wish to hold a council with 
 the whites, but when Pontiac gives the signal with a 
 wampum belt, they will kill every Englishman in the 
 fort." 
 
 Pontiac came as she had predicted, and asked for a 
 council. The gates were flung open, and he and his 
 braves walked in. Indians do not like to show their feel- 
 ings, but Pontiac was so taken by surprise that he could 
 
WHEN PONTTAC BESIEGED DETROIT 139 
 
 UNVEILING OF CONSPIRACY OF FONTIAC, DETROIT, 1763 
 
 From a painting by J. M. Stanley, in possession of the Historical Society, Detroit, 
 
 Michigan. 
 
 not keep back a grunt of disappointment. " They have 
 found it out," he thought; and well he might think so, 
 for all the soldiers of the place, fully armed, were drawn 
 up in line on either side of the entrance. The fort w^as 
 really a little village of about one hundred houses, and 
 the council house was at the farther side. The Indians 
 passed through the narrow streets and entered its doors. 
 There sat Gladwyn and some of his officers, every one 
 with sword and pistols. 
 
140 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 " Why do my father's yoimg men meet a friend with 
 their guns? " asked the chief. 
 
 "The young men need exercise and drill," replied 
 GladAvyn. 
 
 Pontiac hesitated, but at last he began to make a 
 speech. He told the English how much he loved them 
 and what a true friend he was. " I am come to smoke 
 the peace-pipe with you," he said. The wampum belt 
 was in his hands. He began to raise it as if to give a^ 
 signal to his warriors ; but Gladwyn also had a signal. 
 He moved his hand, and in a moment they Avere deaf- 
 ened by the rolling of drums, the clash of arms, and the 
 tramp of feet just outside the door. Then all was silence 
 again. Gladwyn made his speech. 
 
 " AYe are your friends," he said, " and we have 
 smoked the peace-pipe with you. But we are strong. 
 We have many guns and many cannon. Our cannon 
 speak with a loud voice, and they say, ' If the Indians 
 are true, be good to them; but if they are not true, kill 
 them and burn their villages.' " 
 
 " We are always the friends of the English," replied 
 Pontiac. "We shall soon come again and bring with 
 us our squaws and our children, that they may shake 
 the hands of our fathers, the English." 
 
 " That speech is worth nothing," said Gladwyn to 
 himself, and he set about strengthening the palisades 
 and drilling his men. Early one morning, the attack 
 
WHEN PONTIAC BESIEGED DETROIT 141 
 
 which he expected was made. The air was filled with 
 yells and shrieks. Bullets flew in showers. Hundreds 
 of Indians were near the fort, but few could be seen, for 
 they were hiding behind trees and rocks. The soldiers 
 returned their fire with a will, and they were driven 
 away. 
 
 Gladwyn hoped that this was the end of the attack, 
 but the trouble had only begim. Soon the Indians came 
 again, and this time they came to stay. They made their 
 camp a mile and a half away. IS^ight and day they kept 
 up their attack on the fort. Most of the little houses in 
 the fort were thatched with straw, and the English did 
 not dare to leave them a moment miguarded, for the 
 Indians were shooting arrows to which burning rags 
 were tied. Month after month the siege went on. The 
 defenders were worn and weary. " Oh, if the English 
 vessels would only come ! " they said. 
 
 At last the vessels came. They could see the English 
 flag, and they shouted for joy. But the answer was the 
 yell of savages. The Indians had seized the boats and 
 slain the white men. 
 
 It was the beginning of May when the siege began. 
 Week after w^eek had passed, and October had come. 
 To besiege a fort so long was new to the Indians, and 
 many of them went away. Others took their places, 
 but provisions were scarce and their powder nearly 
 gone. Then one of the chiefs came to the fort. 
 
142 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 "We are sorry for what we have done," he said, 
 " and we have brought the pipe of peace to smoke with 
 you. We have always been your friends." 
 
 "I did not begin this fight," rej^hed Gladwyn. 
 " When my king tells me to stop, I will stop, and not 
 till then; but I am willing to have a truce." 
 
 In reality, Gladwyn was more than willing, for he, 
 too, was short of provisions. While the truce lasted, he 
 got in as much food as possible. It was all needed, for it 
 was more than fifteen months from the beginning of the 
 siege to its end. In the sixteenth month, the imprisoned 
 soldiers once more saw the red flag of England on the 
 river. They hardly dared to cheer for fear of being 
 deceived again, but now all was well. The boats were 
 English vessels with English troops on board. Cheer 
 after cheer rose from the fort, and never was the sound 
 of a cannon more welcome than that which they heard 
 in reply. The siege of Detroit was raised. Some of the 
 Indians fled, some begged for pardon, A little later a 
 council of whites and Indians was held. Here Pontiac 
 said, " I declare, in the presence of all the nations, that I 
 have made peace and taken the king of England for my 
 father." 
 
 The English never trusted Pontiac, and whenever 
 they heard that he was among the French they were 
 afraid of an attack. At length, an English fur trader 
 whispered to one of the Illinois Indians, " Do you want 
 
THE FIRST DAY OF THE REYOLUTIOX 143 
 
 a barrel of rum? Go into those woods and kill Pontiac, 
 
 and it is yours." This was done, but fearful revenge 
 
 followed the deed, for Pontiac's followers attacked the 
 
 Illinois and destroyed almost their whole tribe. A 
 
 French officer who had long been a friend of the dead 
 
 warrior sent for his body and buried it with warlike 
 
 honors, 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 How the Algonquins felt at the capture of Quebec — Pontiac's 
 l)lan — the war-dance — Pontiac visits Detroit — warnings given 
 to the whites — Pontiac's council — GlachA^n prepares for an at- 
 tack — Pontiac besieges tlie fort — the English vessels come in 
 sight — Indians on board — Gladwyn grants a truce — English 
 vessels come a second time — Pontiac's surrender — murder of 
 Pontiac — revenge of his friends. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOPt WRITTEN WORK 
 
 The Indians tell stories of the kindness of the French. 
 One of Pontiac's men describes the council at Detroit. 
 An Englishman at Detroit tells his friends about the siege. 
 
 THE FIRST DAY OF THE REVOLUTION 
 
 WHEIS^ Braddock crossed the ocean to help fight 
 the French and Indians, the colonists were glad 
 to see the red coats of the British soldiers ; but a few 
 years later they were angry and indignant at having 
 soldiers from England on American soil. The king had 
 sent the troops to Boston because the colonists had 
 
144 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 refused to obey some unjust laws that he had made. He 
 thought they would not dare to resist if the British 
 regulars were among them. 
 
 The colonists were angry, but they were not fright- 
 ened. "If we must fight, we will get ready," they said. 
 In Miles Standish's time there had been companies of 
 men that agreed to start for battle at half an hour's 
 notice. Companies were now formed that said they 
 would start at one minute's notice, and therefore they 
 were called minute-men. The best soldiers cannot do 
 much without ammunition. So the colonists began to 
 store in Concord powder, and shot, bombs and cartridge 
 paper, sjDades and pickaxes, as well as beef, rice, salt 
 fish, flour, and oatmeal. 
 
 Paul Revere, a goldsmith and engraver of Boston, 
 was at the head of thirty men who made it their busi- 
 ness to watch the British troops and the British man- 
 of-war, the Somerset, anchored out in the harbor. One 
 day they noticed that there was bustle and commotion 
 among the redcoats on land, and that it was not as 
 quiet as usual on board the Somerset. " Something is 
 afoot," thought these wide-awake colonists. They kept 
 their ears open as well as their eyes, and they caught 
 a word or two that told them the whole story. " The 
 British are going to Concord to destroy our stores," 
 they said, " and to Lexington to capture our champions, 
 Samuel Adams and John Hancock." 
 
THE FIRST DAY OF THE REVOLUTION 145 
 
 Some little time before this, General Gage had seized 
 cannon and stores belonging to the colonists, and they 
 did not mean to be caught napping a second time; so 
 
 ^^^^^'^^^^^ 
 
 i^|^^HP^-^i!^«P^^^H 
 
 
 9 
 
 ^^^HI^^^^^^^M^^ 
 
 1 
 
 THE RIDE OF PAUL RE^TERE 
 
 they decided to send William Dawes by way of Rox- 
 bury and Paul Revere by way of Charlestown to warn 
 Adams and Hancock and the farmers who lived on the 
 way. They could not find out whether the troops were 
 
146 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 to march from Boston by the Koxbnry road or the 
 Charlestown road. If by Roxbury, they would leave 
 Boston by land ; if by Charlestown, they would leave by 
 water. Revere arranged a signal. " Hang a lantern in 
 the tower of the N^orth Church if they go by land," he 
 said; "and hang two if they go by water." Then he 
 rowed over to Charlestown. On the shore he waited 
 and waited. It was nine o'clock, ten, eleven, and then 
 a faint light gleamed in the tower. In a moment there 
 was a second light. The British had started by water. 
 
 Then he sprang upon his horse and galloped toward 
 Medford. "Halt!" cried a sharp voice, and there stood 
 two British soldiers on guard, for Gage had given 
 orders that no colonists should be allowed to leave 
 Boston that night. "Dismount !" they commanded. But 
 Revere dashed on. He roused every little village on 
 the way and every farmhouse. " The regulars are com- 
 ing ! " he cried. " Get up and arm ! " 
 
 The regulars were coming. They had been rowed 
 across the Charles River and were marching on to Lex- 
 ington. " Those stupid farmers will be surprised for 
 once," they said to one another. " We '11 wake them 
 up." But over the fields they began to see lights in 
 the windows of the farmhouses. They could hear in the 
 darkness the village bells clanging out an alarm. Now 
 and then a gun was fired. " The rebels have found it 
 out ! " they muttered. " PerhajDS they do not know in 
 
• THE FIRST DAY OF THE REVOLUTION 147 
 
 Lexington yet," thought the commander, and he hur- 
 ried his men onward. But on Lexington Green were 
 sixty or seventy minute-men, their guns in their hands. 
 
 MINUTE-MEN HURRYING TO CONCORD BRIDGE 
 
 " Disperse, you villains ! You rebels, disperse ! " shouted 
 the British officer. The minute -men stood looking 
 sti'aight at the soldiers. " Fire ! " shouted the officer, 
 
148 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 and the soldiers fired. Eight colonists were killed and 
 ten were wounded. The minute-men returned the fire 
 and wounded two soldiers. Another companj^ of red- 
 coats was coming up the road, and the colonists re- 
 treated. " Hurrah ! " cried the soldiers. " Hurrah ! 
 Hurrah ! " 
 
 Hancock and Adams had been warned and had left 
 the place. There was no hope of getting them, but the 
 stores could be destroyed at any rate, thought the Brit- 
 ish. So they marched on to Concord. They found the 
 place where the stores had been, but they had disap- 
 peared, — the Concord men could have told where. The 
 troops relieved their minds by setting the court-house 
 afire and knocking in the heads of a few barrels of floiu". 
 Then came the minute-men, four hundred of them. 
 They met two hmidred British at the North Biidge. 
 Both sides fired, then the colonists charged and the 
 British retreated. 
 
 It was nearly ten o'clock in the morning. The Brit- 
 ish soldiers had been up all night. They had marched 
 eighteen miles. They were tired and hungry. The 
 commander stayed in Concord two hours to give them 
 a chance to rest. He did not know how much the 
 colonists could do in two hours, but he soon found out; 
 for all this time the minute-men had been gathering 
 from near and far. If they had marched out in, rank and 
 file and stood still to be shot at, the British would have 
 
THE FIOHT AT CONCORD BRmGE 
 From the painting by Edward Simmons in the State House at Boston 
 
150 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 won the day; but these farmers had learned a good deal 
 from their wars with the Indians. Every man hid behind 
 a barn or a wall or a rock or a tree and fired. The Brit- 
 ish were as dazed as Braddock's men had been. They 
 ran for their lives. They threw away their guns. They 
 did not stop even to pick up the wounded. 
 
 ]^ews of what had been done had reached the British 
 in Boston, and twelve hundred of them with two cannon 
 came out to Lexington. They formed a hollow square, 
 and into this the soldiers rushed and flung themselves 
 on the grass, completely exhausted. They were on open 
 gi'omid, and the cannon soon drove the minute-men 
 away. Indeed, they were not at all anxious to stay. The 
 British would have to start again before long and march 
 into Boston; they would do their fighting then — and 
 they did. More and more minute-men came from all 
 directions. They fired at the British from behind, from 
 both sides, and even from ahead. At first the British 
 stopped sometimes, swung their cannon around and 
 returned the fire; but it was not so easy to loiow where 
 to aim when the enemy seemed to be everywhere and 
 nowhere at the same time. The British went fast 
 and faster; they broke into a wild run. If they could 
 only get to Charlestown, they thought, the guns of the 
 Somerset would defend them. At last they reached 
 Charlestown, but two hundred and forty-seven of their 
 men had been killed and wounded. The colonists had 
 
ISRAEL PUTNAM 151 
 
 lost eighty-eight. All this took place April 19, 1775, 
 
 and that date marks the beginning of the Kevolutionary 
 
 War. 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 British troops in Boston — minute-men — preparations for de- 
 fense — a commotion among the British — the Americans plan to 
 warn the farmers — Paul Revere's ride — the regulars march 
 to Lexington — the meeting on Lexington Green — the march to 
 Concord — the Concord fight — a two-hours' rest — the regulars 
 return to Lexington — the march back to Boston. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 The colonists plan to form companies of minute-men. 
 The talk of the regulars on the way to Lexington. 
 How the Concord men hid the stores. 
 
 A British soldier begins a letter, " On the night of the eigh- 
 teenth of April : " Fmish the letter. 
 
 ISRAEL PUTNAM 
 
 SOLDIER OF THE REVOLUTION 
 
 THERE was once a boy who made two visits to Bos- 
 ton, on each of which he got into a fight. The first 
 time was when he was a little fellow, and a boy much 
 larger than he kept calling after him, " Country, coun- 
 try ! " Thereupon he gave the saucy Boston boy a hard 
 whipping, and went home to Salem. After some years 
 he married, bought himself a piece of land on top of a 
 Connecticut hill, and became a farmer. He was as fond 
 
152 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 of his farm as if it had been one of his children, and was 
 especially proud of his fine breed of sheep. One morn- 
 ing he found that sixty or seventy of them had been 
 killed by a wolf. He and his neighbors joined in a 
 
 wolf - hunt and soon 
 had the beast shut 
 into its cave. Put- 
 nam lighted a torch, 
 went boldly into the 
 cave, shot the crea- 
 ture before it could 
 spring at him, and 
 came out dragging it. 
 When the French 
 and Indian War broke 
 out, he was ready to 
 fight. In one battle 
 his blanket was shot 
 through fourteen 
 times, but he was not 
 touched. Once the 
 barracks of a fort caught fire. Hundreds of barrels 
 of powder stood near them. N^either the commander 
 nor an}^ one else seemed to have any idea what to do. 
 Putnam was not there, but he saw the smoke, ran to the 
 fort, and began to give orders. " Form in line ! " he 
 cried. " Pass the buckets along ! " He took his stand 
 
 ISRAEL PUTNAM 
 
ISRAEL PUTNAM 153 
 
 between the powder and the fire, and threw on the buck- 
 ets of water as fast as they could be passed to him. The 
 smoke and the whirl of the ashes in the wind almost hid 
 him from the soldiers. The fire blazed around him. 
 His heavy mittens were burned off his hands. " Take 
 these ! " cried some one, and gave him a pair soaked 
 with water. The fire came nearer and nearer to the 
 powder. One partition fell, another and another. Only 
 a thin board wall stood between him and an awful ex- 
 plosion. Still he did not run, and at last he conquered. 
 The flames died down, and he pulled off his wet mittelis. 
 The skin came with them, and then for the first time he 
 discovered that he had been terribly burned. 
 
 Even that experience was less dreadful than a day 
 that he spent with the Indians. His gun missed fire, 
 and he was captured. They tied him to a tree and piled 
 wood around him. It was kindled, and the flames blazed 
 up. Then the Indians sang and danced and howled 
 with delight. A few minutes more would have ended 
 his life, but just then a French ofiacer appeared on the 
 scene. He rushed through the yelling crowd, kicked 
 the fire to pieces, and cut the bonds. 
 
 During this same war, Putnam was on the St. Law- 
 rence with General Amherst when he heard the general 
 say, " We could soon capture the fort if it were not for 
 the schooner over there that protects it." 
 
 " I '11 take the schooner for you," Putnam offered, " if 
 
154 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 yon '11 give me some wedges and a mallet, and let me 
 choose half a dozen men." 
 
 The general was beginning to find ont that the Amer- 
 icans had their own way of doing things, and at length 
 he actnally gave Pntnam permission to try his plan. 
 When night came, the men got into a light boat, mnffled 
 their oars, and in the darkness rowed np to the stern of 
 the schooner. They drove wedges between the rndder 
 and the stern-post. Then they rowed in the shadow 
 aronnd to the bow and cnt the anchor loose. The 
 French soon foimd that they were adi'ift; bnt the rnd- 
 der wonld not move, they were helpless, and they floated 
 ashore with nothing to do bnt surrender. The fort fol- 
 lowed their example. 
 
 At the close of the war, in 1764, Pntnam went home, 
 hung np his sword, swung over his door a signboard 
 with General Wolfe's picture on it, and for ten years 
 was a quiet farmer and innkeeper. On the 20th of 
 April, in 1775, he had eaten his dinner and gone out to 
 the field with his oxen. Suddenly he heard the sound 
 of a drum. A man was galloping furiously along the 
 road. Ideating his drum and calling, " To arms ! To arms! 
 The British have fired upon us ! The country is ablaze ! " 
 Then Putnam forgot his beloved farm. He forgot to 
 say good-by to his family. He forgot that he was an 
 ofl[icer, and was going to war witliout his uniform. He 
 forgot everything except which of his horses was the 
 
ISRAEL PUTNAM 
 
 155 
 
 THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 
 
 swiftest. He leaped upon its back, and while the oxen 
 stood in the field waiting patiently for him to return, he 
 was galloping along the road to make his second visit 
 to Boston, one hundred miles away. 
 
 The Continental Army had gathered from all direc- 
 
156 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 tions. The British were in possession of Boston. " We 
 must seize those hills," declared the British General 
 Gage, "■ if we are to stay in the city." 
 
 " We must seize those hills," declared the Americans, 
 " if we are to drive the British out of the city." Colonel 
 Prescott and General Putnam marched out by night and 
 began to fortify Breed's Hill and Bunker Hill. 
 
 At daybreak the British discovered what was going 
 on. " We might take Charlestown ^N^eck," said one offi- 
 cer, " and starve them out." 
 
 " That 's too slow," objected another. " I believe the 
 best way will be to charge upon them." * 
 
 " T^ot so easy to charge up that hill." 
 
 "" Why not ? They 're only farmers. They don't know 
 anything about fighting. The chances are that they will 
 run long before we are at the foot of the hill." 
 
 So the British talked, and at length they decided to 
 make a charge. The march began. The scarlet lines 
 came nearer and nearer. Prescott and Putnam were 
 going back and forth among their men at the top of the 
 hill. "Remember there isn't much powder," they said. 
 And Putnam added, "Men, you know how to aim. Don't 
 fire till you can see the whites of their eyes." 
 
 Up the hill marched the British, stoj^piug only to 
 fire; but the Americans stood motionless. It seemed to 
 them hours before the word rang out, " Fire ! " That 
 fire was like a cannonade, and the British, brave old 
 
ISRAEL PUTNAM 157 
 
 soldiers as they were, ran pell-mell down the hill. 
 "Hurrah! hurrah !" shouted the Americans. The Brit- 
 ish formed and rushed up the hill again ; again the lines 
 broke, and they retreated. They came a third time, but 
 now no volleys met them; the powder had given out. 
 The Americans had no bayonets, but they fought furi- 
 ously with stones and the butt ends of their muskets, 
 with clubs, knives, even with their fists; but no such 
 weapons could withstand British veterans, and the Amer- 
 icans had to retreat. 
 
 News of the battle went through the colonies like 
 wildfire. All their lives the Americans had looked up 
 to the British regulars as the greatest of soldiers : and 
 they, the mitrained colonists who had never seen two 
 regiments in battle, had twice driven them back ! The 
 hill was lost, but to repulse the British regulars was 
 a mighty victory. Couriers galloped from one colony 
 to another to carry the news. Everywhere there was 
 rejoicing; but Putnam could not bear to think that 
 after such a fight the hill had at last been given up, 
 and he growled indignantly, " We ought to have stood. 
 Powder or no powder, we ought to have stood." 
 
 OUTLmE 
 
 Putnam's first visit to Boston — his life on a farm — the wolf 
 hunt — in the French and Indian War — how he put out a fire 
 — Putnam among the Indians — he captures a schooner — he 
 becomes an innkeeper — what happened on April 20, 1775 — 
 
158 AMERICAN- HERO STORIES 
 
 British and Americans both determine to seize the hills overlook- 
 ing Boston — British scorn of the colonists — the battle of Bunker 
 Hill — feelings of the Americans. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 A soldier describes Putnam's putting out of the fire. 
 
 Putnam's ride to Boston. 
 
 Putnam tells his family about the battle of Bunker Hill. 
 
 A CHRISTMAS SUEPEISE 
 
 IT was Christmas night in 1776, the second year of 
 the Revolutionary War, and the Hessian soldiers 
 were making merry at Trenton. They were Germans 
 who had been hired by the king of England to help him 
 conquer the American rebels. Just then there was no 
 fighting on hand. They had good warm quarters, plenty 
 to eat, and plenty to drink. They feasted and they 
 drank, they sang songs, and they told stories. They 
 were in the best of spirits, for Washington, the com- 
 mander-in-chief of the Americans, was retreating. 
 " There won't be much more trouble from him," de- 
 clared one soldier. " He had to leave the Hudson, and 
 we have chased him out of 'New Jersey and into Peim- 
 sylvania." 
 
 "We'll soon be in Pennsylvania ourselves, in Phila- 
 delphia," said another, " and that will be the end of the 
 
A CHRISTMAS SURPRISE 
 
 159 
 
 WASHINGTON AT THE DELAWARE 
 
 war. They say Washington's troops are deserting by 
 the hundred." 
 
 The carousing went on until late in the night, and 
 then the men went to their warm beds and to heavy 
 sleep. 
 
 About the time that their feasting began, Washing- 
 ton marched his men down to the opposite bank of the 
 Delaware. The ground was covered with snow. It 
 was bitterly cold. The sleet was driving furiously. The 
 river was full of masses of floating ice, pitching, tum- 
 bling, and plunging in the strong current; but boats 
 were waiting at the shore. They were rowed by fisher- 
 
160 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 men from Marblehead who knew how to meet storms. 
 The soldiers got into the boats. The fishermen rowed 
 and paddled, and pnshed away the cakes of ice with long 
 poles. The wind blew more fnrionsly, the sleet was' 
 more biting; bnt at last the boats came to the ^ew 
 Jersey side of the river. The men leaped or tnmbled 
 ashore as well as they conld in the storm and darkness. 
 Then they swung their arms, they stamped their feet, 
 they marched back and forth, they jumped, and they 
 ran — anything to keep from freezing. The storm was 
 growing worse; there was no shelter; and on the I'iver 
 bank they must wait till the boats had been back and 
 forth many times and had broiight the whole force across. 
 Ten hours they waited, all through that terrible night 
 of tempest. 
 
 Trenton was nine miles away, but Washington had 
 given the word to march on. One man was frozen to 
 death, and a little later a second was overcome by the 
 cold. " The muskets are wet and cannot be fired," an 
 officer reported. 
 
 " Use the bayonets, then," replied Washington ; " the 
 town must be taken." And he pushed on toward Tren- 
 ton. He divided his men into two parties, and in the 
 early gray of the morning they entered the town by 
 two different roads. 
 
 Washington planted his cannon so as to sweep the 
 streets. The Hessians rushed out, almost dazed by the 
 
A CHRISTMAS SURPRISE 161 
 
 sudden attack. They ran in one direction, and a volley 
 of musket balls met them ; they ran in another, and the 
 cannon mowed them down; in another, and a bayonet 
 charge drove them back. The commander ran out half- 
 dressed and tried to form his lines, but he was shot 
 down. In one hour Washington was master of the 
 place. He had lost two 
 men, and he had taken 
 nearly one thousand pris- 
 oners. 
 
 The British general, 
 Cornwallis, was in New 
 York, getting ready to 
 return to England; for 
 he thought the rebellion 
 of the colonies Avas so 
 nearly over that he need 
 not stay in America any 
 longer. The news from 
 Trenton was an unplea- 
 sant surprise, but he 
 started out promptly to 
 crush that troublesome 
 Washington, who never 
 seemed to understand 
 that he was beaten and who would not stay beaten. 
 
 Cornwallis had more men than the Americans, and 
 
 A HESSIAN GREXADIEK 
 
162 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 Washington did not want to fight a battle with him. 
 " Cornwallis will come upon us, but keep him away as 
 long as you can," was Washington's order to part of his 
 troops; and therefore the British had a hard time in 
 their march across N^ew Jersey to Trenton. A storm of 
 bullets would come suddenly from some little thicket 
 on one side of the road ; and by the time the trees had 
 been well peppered with British shot, another leaden 
 storm would come from some thicket on the other side. 
 A few hundred men with two cannon were continually 
 attacking him in front. He could make them retreat, 
 but he could not make them hurry; and it was late in 
 the afternoon when he came to Trenton. Washington 
 was not in the town, but just across a stream that flows 
 into the Delaware. The troops that had been such a 
 torment to Cornwallis retreated across the bridge and 
 joined their comrades. 
 
 The British officers said, "Let us attack him at once." 
 But Cornwallis replied, " No, our men are tired out, and 
 it will soon be dark. He is safe enough. In the morning 
 we shall have two thousand more troops, and we can 
 shut him in between the stream and the Delaware. He 
 will have to surrender, and then the rebellion will be 
 over." He wrote a letter home which said, " We have 
 run down the old fox, and we will bag him in the 
 morning." 
 
 There seemed nothing that Washington could do but 
 
A CHRISTMAS SURPRISE 163 
 
 prepare to fight. All night long his camp-fires burned 
 along the south side of the stream. The British senti- 
 nels on the north side could see the men piling on wood, 
 they could hear the noise of spades and pickaxes, they 
 
 THE SITRRENDER OF COLONEL RALL AT THE BATTLE OF TREXTON 
 
 could even hear the soldiers talking together. But when 
 it began to grow light, the British found that Wash- 
 ington and his army had slipped away quietly in the 
 middle of the night. A few men had remained behind 
 to keep the fires burning and make as much noise as 
 possible with their spades and pickaxes; but they, too, 
 were gone. They had run through the woods and joined 
 
164 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 their commander. The British were welcome to the 
 gravel that had been shoveled np and to the ashes of 
 the camp-fires, bnt nothing else was left for them. 
 While Cornwallis stood on the bank of the stream gaz- 
 ing across at the deserted camp, he heard the booming 
 of cannon ten miles away. " That was from Princeton," 
 he thonght. " The old fox is there already, and he will 
 try to destroy onr stores at Brunswick." 
 
 This was exactly what AVashington had planned to 
 do. At Princeton he met the British forces just start- 
 ing to go and help Cornwallis conquer him. There was 
 a sharp fight, and the Americans won the day. Corn- 
 wallis was in pursuit, of course, but there were several 
 streams between the armies. They were badly swollen 
 by a sudden thaw, and Washington had unkindly burned 
 the bridges. The British marched with dripping uni- 
 forms into the streets of Princeton, but Washington 
 was not there. He had hoped to go on to Brunswick, 
 but his men were too tired and too nearly barefooted 
 for a march of eighteen miles. So he made his way to 
 the heights of Morristown, and there he was safe for the 
 winter. 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 The Hessians at Trenton — the Christmas celebration — the 
 soldiers talk of Washington — Washington crosses the Delaware 
 — the storm — waiting on the shore — the march to Trenton — 
 the capture of Trenton — Cornwallis pursues Washington to the 
 
A WINTER AT VALLEY FORGE 165 
 
 Delaware — Cornwallis postpones his attack — Washington sUps 
 away — the battle of Princeton — Washington goes to Morris- 
 town. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 One of Washmgton's soldiers describes the crossing of the 
 Delaware. 
 
 A Hessian soldier tells the story of Christmas night. 
 
 The letter that Cornwallis wrote home on Christmas Eve, and 
 the postscript that he added the day after Christmas. 
 
 A WINTER AT YALLEY FORGE 
 
 DURING the Revolution the British had the idea 
 that it would be a great thing if they could take 
 Philadelphia. They called it " the rebel capital," be- 
 cause Congress had met there; and they did not seem 
 to reahze that Congress could easily meet somewhere 
 else. They marched into the city with colors flying and 
 bands playing, and Washington could not prevent them. 
 When they were once in, the best thing for him to do 
 was to see that they did not get out to do any mischief; 
 and so he chose for his winter quarters Yalley Forge, 
 a place only a few miles from Philadelphia. There he 
 could easily defend himself if he was attacked, and he 
 could keep close watch of the British. 
 " It would have been easier to fight many battles than 
 to spend that winter in Yalley Forge. It was December, 
 
166 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 and thei-e was no shelter of any kind. Men and officers 
 set to work bravely to build huts for themselves. These 
 huts were of all sorts. Some were built of heavy logs. 
 Their roofs were made of small trees wrapped with 
 straw and laid side by side. Clay was spread on top of 
 the straw, and s]3lints were laid on top of that. The 
 windows were simply holes cut through the logs and 
 covered with oiled paper. 
 
 A house like this was looked upon as the height of 
 luxury. Most of the huts were made of sods piled up, 
 
 /, 
 
 WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS AT VALLEY FORGE 
 
 or fence rails or poles held together by twigs twisted in 
 and out and daubed with clay. The snow sifted in at 
 every little opening, the rain dripped thi-ough even the 
 
A WINTER AT VALLEY FORGE 167 
 
 best of" the roofs, and the wind howled and roared and 
 blew in at every crevice. There were few blankets, and 
 many brave defenders of their country lay on the frozen 
 ground because they had not even straw to put under 
 them. Sometimes they sat up all night, crowding up to 
 the fires to keep from freezing. 
 
 They were no better off for clothing than for houses. 
 The whole army was in rags, which the soldiers' most 
 skillful mending could hardly hold together. Many of 
 the men had no shirts, even more were without shoes. 
 Wherever they walked, the snow was marked with 
 blood. Some cut' strips from their precious blankets, 
 and wound them about their feet to protect them from 
 the frozen ground. Food was scanty; sometimes for 
 several days they were without meat, and some com- 
 panies were once without bread for three days. When 
 the word went around, " ^o meat to-night," the soldiers 
 groaned, but they never yielded. 
 
 The cause of these hardships was the fact that Con- 
 gress had no power. It could say to a state, "We need 
 money f oi* the army, and your share will be so much ; " 
 but if the state did not choose to pay the tax. Congress 
 could not force it to pay. It is said that while these 
 brave soldiers were suffering in their rags, whole hogs- 
 heads of clothes and shoes and stockings were waiting 
 at different places on the roads until money to pay for 
 teaming could be found. Sometimes the soldiers them- 
 
168 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 selves took the places of horses and oxen, and when 
 they could learn of any supplies, dragged the wagons 
 into camp. 
 
 Washington shared all this suffering with his men, 
 and he had even more to bear from fault-finders. The 
 Pennsylvania legislature thought he ought not to shel- 
 ter his men in huts at Valley Forge. " Why does n't he 
 camp out in tents in the open field," they demanded, 
 " and attack the British ? " This was too much for even 
 Washington's patience, and he wrote a blunt letter to 
 the legishiture, telhng them how little they were doing 
 for the army. He said it was much easier to find fault 
 " in a comfortable room by a good fireside than to camp 
 upon a cold, bleak hill and sleep under frost and snow 
 without clothes or blankets." 
 
 T^ot all the soldiers were Americans by any means. 
 Some of them were foreigners who had come to America 
 to get what they could out of the country ; but there 
 were also many who came, because they believed that the 
 United States was in the right, and they wanted to help 
 her win her independence. One of these true friends was 
 a young Frenchman, the Marquis de Lafayette. For 
 some time the Americans had been trying to persuade 
 France to help them, but Lafayette could not bear to 
 wait for his country to act. " The moment I heard of 
 America, I loved her," he wrote. He fitted out a ship 
 at his own cost and crossed the ocean. Then he asked 
 
A WINTER AT VALLEY FORGE 169 
 
 two " favors " of Congress, — to serve as a volunteer, and 
 to pay his own expenses. Congress made him an officer, 
 although he was only nineteen. He won the heart of the 
 commander-in-chief at their first meeting, and from that 
 day Washington trusted him as he trusted few people. 
 
 WASHINGTOX AND LAFAYETTE AT VALLEY FORGE 
 
 Lafayette was rich, a nobleman, and a favorite at the 
 French court. He had lived in luxury all his days ; but 
 he shared with Washington the hard hfe at Yalley 
 Forge, never complaining, always bright and cheerful. 
 All this time he was vn:-iting letters home, which did 
 much to bring about something that delighted Washing- 
 
170 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 ton and " the boy," as the British scornfully called La- 
 fayette. Word came across the sea that the French 
 king had decided to help America. Then there was 
 rejoicing at gloomy Yalley Forge. A day of thanks- 
 giving was appointed. Prayer was offered, the troops 
 were reviewed, thirteen cannon were fired, and at a 
 signal the whole army shouted, " Long live the king 
 of France !"- 
 
 The French government had asked many questions 
 about the American army. The answer was always the 
 same, " They are brave and patient and determined, but 
 they lack drill and discipline. They are splendid fight- 
 ers, but they need to be taught how to fight together." 
 There was a Prussian officer. Baron von Steuben, who 
 was better prepared than any one else to teach what the 
 army ought to know, and the French persuaded him to 
 cross the ocean. 
 
 The baron was amazed when he went to Yalley 
 Forge and saw the miserable little huts and the starv- 
 ing, half -naked men. " There is not a commander in 
 Europe who could keep troops together a week if they 
 were suffering like this," he declared. There was 
 hardly any artillery and almost no cavalry. Many of 
 the guns were not fit to use. Few of them had bayo- 
 nets. That was a small matter, however, for the 
 soldiers did not know what to do with bayonets, and 
 had used them chiefly to broil meat with — when they 
 
A WINTER AT VALLEY FORGE 171 
 
 were so fortunate as to have any meat. Baron von 
 Steuben was horrified. He drilled and drilled. One 
 minute he stormed at the ignorance of the men, and 
 
 BARON VON STEUBEN 
 
 the next he praised their quickness in learning some 
 difficult movement. Then at their next blunder he 
 stormed a^ain in a comical mixture of German and 
 
172 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 French and English. In spite of his scoldings, how- 
 ever, he was devoted to the men and exceedingly 
 proud of them. During that cruel winter many fell 
 ill, and the hot-tempered baron went about from one 
 wretched hut to another, doing everything that he could 
 to help and cheer them. It is no wonder that they loved 
 him and were eager to learn. 
 
 The terrible winter at Yalley Forge came to an end 
 at last. Out of the cold and hunger and sickness and 
 suffering an army came forth that was stronger than 
 before, an army that was " never beaten in a fair fight." 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 The British march into Philadelphia, and Washhigton encamps 
 at Valley Forge — the huts at Valley Forge — the need of l)lan- 
 kets, clothes, and food — the cause of these hardships — gmmi- 
 bhng of the fault-finders —Washington's reply — foreign soldiers 
 — Lafayette — France promises help — the rejoicing at Valley 
 Forge — character of the American army — the coming of Von 
 Steuben — the condition of the soldiers — Von Steuben drills 
 them — his kmdness to them. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 A soldier tells his children of his hut at Valley Forge ; of La- 
 fayette ; of Von Steuben, 
 
HOW "MAD ANTHONY" TOOK STONY POINT 173 
 
 HOW "MAD ANTHONY" TOOK STONY 
 t ' POINT 
 
 IN the Revolutionary War the British were especially 
 anxious to get possession of the Hudson Kiver. If 
 they could only hold that, they could separate the 
 American army into two parts, one in New^ England 
 and one in the Middle and Southern States. Neither 
 part could get out of its corner, and the British could 
 conquer first one and then the other. In their first 
 attempt to capture the Hudson they failed. Neai-ly two 
 years later they seized a foi't on the i-iver at Stony 
 Point. Then they began to send parties of soldiers to 
 burn towns and kill Americans in Connecticut. 
 
 Washington thought, " The British want me to send 
 my men to protect the jjeople of Connecticut, and when 
 my soldiers are fighting there, they will take more forts 
 on the Hudson. I will not send my men away, but I 
 will storm the fort at Stony Point, and then the British 
 will have to leave Connecticut to help the army in New 
 York." 
 
 Stony Point was '' little but mighty." It was on a 
 high point of land that ran out into the Hudson, and 
 it was cut off from firm land by a swamp. Across 
 the swamp ran a raised walk, but even this was over- 
 flowed by the tide twice a day. The Americans had 
 
174 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 begun this fort; then the British had captured it and 
 done eveiything they could to make it strong. They 
 had piled entirely around it two rows of logs, rocks, 
 briers, earth, or whatever else would be hard to cross. 
 Farther up the hill were fortifications fairly bristUng 
 with cannon. More than six hundred British were 
 guarding the place. Such was the fort that Washing- 
 ton determined must be taken. 
 
 Who should be the leader? The fort must be cap- 
 tured by a sudden dash; a man was needed who was 
 not afraid of guns or soldiers, and he must be cool 
 enough to think while balls were flying and bombs were 
 exploding around- him. "• Anthony Wayne is the one," 
 thought Washington. "- He does not know what it 
 means to be afraid, and he always has his wits about 
 him. He '11 storm anything on earth. If Stony Point 
 can be taken, he will take it." 
 
 Soldiers always nickname their favorite generals, and 
 General Wayne they called " Mad Anthony " because 
 he w^as so daring. They were ready to follow him any- 
 where. When the night came that Washington had set, 
 Wayne and his troops marched in Indian file silently 
 up the bank of the Hudson. They came near enough 
 to the black fort to hear the sentinel call, " Tw^elve 
 o'clock ! All 's well ! " They crept on softly. It was 
 high tide, and the swamp was a pond; but they marched 
 straight in. Then the alarm was given. There was a 
 
HOW "MAD ANTHONY" TOOK STONY POINT 175 
 
 clash of arms, a firing of muskets, a terrific blaze of 
 cannon ; but the Americans pressed on as if the tempest 
 of grapeshot were only a summer shower. Every man 
 knew his place and his work. They formed in two col- 
 umns, each headed by twenty men with axes, whose 
 business it was to clear a way through the logs and rub- 
 bish. They were mowed down by the grapeshot, but their 
 work was done, and the two columns rushed in through 
 the two gaps that 
 they had made. In 
 the cap of every 
 man was a bit of 
 white paper, so that 
 in the darkness he 
 would not be mis- 
 taken for an ene- 
 my. ]N^ot a gun was 
 loaded. Such forts 
 as Stony Point are 
 not taken by mus- 
 ket-balls. One col- 
 umn tore up the 
 hill from the right; 
 General Wayne 
 headed the other from the left. He was struck by a 
 ball and fell. But his voice rang out in the horrible 
 tumult, " Carry me into the fort, for I will die at the 
 
 ANTHONY WAYNE 
 
176 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 head of my column ! March on ! " They caught him up 
 and dashed forward. 
 
 ISTothing could drive them back. They swarmed 
 over the ramjDarts. They fought their way with better 
 weapons than powder and shot. They were like a mov- 
 ing wall of bristling steel, for Baron von Steuben had 
 taught them how to use bayonets. The attack was so 
 sudden, so well planned, so irresistible that nothing 
 could turn them. In a few^ minutes Wayne's column 
 was in the centre of the fort, and in front of them was 
 the other line that had come up the other side of the 
 hill. There was no silence then, but wild shouts, "Hur- 
 rah ! hurrah ! hurrah ! " The fort was theirs, and the 
 British garrison were their prisoners. Cannon, muskets, 
 balls, powder, provisions were all in their hands. The 
 general's wound was not so serious as he had thought, 
 and he lived to do much more brave fighting for his 
 country. 
 
 The capture of the British stronghold without the 
 firing of a gun was talked over in every camp. Baron 
 von Steuben cried, " That is good, that is good. Now 
 we are beginning to walk!" From Philadelphia came a 
 letter to Wayne w hich said, '' You will be stunned with 
 your own praises. Our streets for many days rang 
 with nothing but the name of General Wayne. You 
 are remembered constantly next to our good and great 
 Washington ! " 
 
HOW "MAD ANTHONY" TOOK STONY POINT 177 
 
 THE srortMlN(r OF STONY POINT 
 " Cari-y ine into the fort, for I will die at the head of my column ! " 
 
 One story that shows how quickly Wayiie could see 
 what was the best move to make ought to be told here. 
 He was in Virginia just before the end of the war. 
 " The British have crossed the river. Only a small rear- 
 
178 AI^IERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 guard are left on this side. Attack them ! " This was 
 the order given to him. He marched straight toward 
 the British lines; but some one had made a mistake; be- 
 fore him was no rear-guard, but the whole force of the 
 British army, and he had only seven hundred men ! The 
 enemy was already coming toward him. There were two 
 or three things that he could do. He could surrender; 
 but he objected to surrenders. He could retreat; but 
 the British were in line ready to pursue, and he would 
 be captured before he could fairly get to running. He 
 could charge upon the great army and go down in his- 
 tory as a man who would rather die than yield; but he 
 preferred to stay alive and strike a few more blows at 
 the British. In a moment he had decided. " Charge ! " 
 he commanded, and the little band dashed forward so 
 fearlessly that Cornwallis, the British commander, sup- 
 posed a large force was behind them and began to bring 
 his men together to repulse a general attack. Five min- 
 utes more, and he would have learned his mistake; but 
 Wayne did not give him the five minutes. The instant 
 that Cornwallis had set his men in motion, Wayne cried, 
 "About face! " And before the enemy had discovered 
 what had happened, he was retreating in safey. 
 
 There are many such stories as these of " Mad 
 Anthony," the man who would dash upon the enemy 
 like a tornado, and be as clear-headed in the midst of a • 
 battle as in his own home. 
 
THE " SWAMP FOX " 179 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 Why the British wished to hold the Hudson — their object in 
 sending men to Connecticut — Washington plans to take Stony 
 Pomt — situation of Stony Point — the choice of a leader — why 
 called " Mad Anthony " — the march to the fort — the attack — 
 Wayne is wounded — using the bayonets — capture of the fort — 
 praise of the soldiers — the story of Wayne's charging the British 
 army. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 Washington tells his plan for storming Stony Point to " Mad 
 Anthony," and asks him if he will take the lead. 
 The march up the Hudson. 
 A British soldier who was at Stony Point describes the attack. 
 
 HOW THE "SWAMP FOX" MADE THE 
 BRITISH MISERABLE 
 
 AFTER the Britisli had been trying- for four years 
 to conquer America and had not succeeded, they 
 concluded that it would be an excellent plan to begin 
 at the south and work toward the north. They did not 
 find this an easy thing to do, and they had an especially 
 hard time in South Carolina, all because of a slender, 
 dark, silent, courteous little gentleman named Francis 
 Marion. 
 
 Marion brought together a few men and proceeded to 
 make the enemy miserable. He had no money for uni- 
 
180 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 forms, and his men wore whatever they conld get. For 
 arms, they carried anything that looked hke a gun; and 
 if they wanted swords, they took saws to the country 
 blacksmith and had them hammered into weapons which 
 were not very handsome, bnt which they knew how to 
 make useful. For bullets they melted pewter dishes and 
 
 ran the metal into 
 moulds. When there 
 was nothing better, 
 they used buckshot 
 or even swanshot. 
 For rations they ate 
 whatever they could 
 get; Marion himself 
 could live for weeks 
 on hominy or rice or 
 potatoes. They had 
 no pay, no hope of 
 promotion, hardly 
 any blankets ; but 
 they had horses that 
 could go like the wind, they had keen wits and muscles 
 that were like steel, and they were devoted to their 
 country. 
 
 These were the men who were such a torment to the 
 British. No one ever knew where they were. No one 
 could tell how to avoid them. When twilight came. 
 
 FRANCIS MARION 
 
THE "SWAMP FOX" 181 
 
 Marion gave the order and they started for somewhere, 
 he alone knew where. Sometimes they waded through 
 a swamp, sometimes crept through fields and valleys 
 close to the camp of the enemy, sometimes galloped 
 fearlessly along the open road, sometimes stealthily 
 followed on the track of the hostile lines. If ever 
 any company of soldiers straggled away from the main 
 army, then let them look out for Marion and his men ! 
 There would be a sudden rush from some valley or 
 thicket, the bullets would fly from all sides, and in 
 five minutes those that had not been shot would find 
 themselves prisoners. Wherever Marion's men went, 
 some deed of daring always ended their journey. Once 
 Marion actually galloped into a village where a com- 
 pany of the enemy were encamped and seized the com- 
 mander. There were not always guns enough to go 
 around. Then the men waited patiently or fought with 
 their blacksmith swords till guns could be taken from 
 the enemy. One night Marion's scouts reported, " Some 
 British soldiers are coming down by the river to-mor- 
 row, and they will have with them one hundred and 
 fifty American prisoners." " ForAvard march ! " com- 
 manded Marion. He knew that the British would have 
 to go through a narrow pass. He took possession of 
 this, and when they came along early in the morning, 
 his men attacked them both in front and behind so sud- 
 denly that they lost their heads completely. They fired 
 
182 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 once and then forgot their prisoners and ran for their 
 hves, while the rescuers laughed to see them go. 
 
 Marion could look upon the British soldiers as men 
 who were doing what they thought was their duty, but 
 he had no patience with the Tories, as those Americans 
 were called who stood by the king. If any Tories tried 
 to hold a meeting, Marion was sure to find it out, and 
 his bullets would go rattling among them. If he could 
 hear of a Tory camp, his men would fall upon it like a 
 whirlwind. Once after such a raid, one of his boldest 
 riders chased the Tory commander at full gallop till 
 both were far away from the rest of Marion's men. The 
 other Tories, too, were fleeing for their lives; but sud- 
 denly they turned. This pursuer saw nothing but the 
 man whom he was chasing until in a moment he found 
 the whole Tory force coming upon him. He did not 
 hesitate an instant, but waved his sword and shouted 
 over his shoulder^ "Come on, boys; here they are!" 
 and then charged. The Tories never dreamed that he 
 was alone, and they ran away faster than ever, lest they 
 should be captured by the terrible " Swamp Fox." 
 
 Marion's headquarters were on an island in the Pedee 
 River. There the horses were always saddled, the men 
 always ready. More volunteers flocked to this island, 
 as daring, fearless, and devoted as his first followers. 
 When they wished to go home, they went, l^o authority 
 ever brought them back, but they always returned. 
 
THE "SWAMP FOX" 
 
 183 
 
 Marion was not always fortunate. His island encamp- 
 ment was utterly destroyed, and for once he was dis- 
 
 MARION ON A RAID 
 
 couraged. " Go to my men," he said. " Tell them I may 
 be forced to the mountains, and ask them if they will 
 stand by me till the British are driven from the land." 
 
184 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 The answer came back, " Every man will stand by you 
 till death." Then Marion was ready for anything. He 
 set out to help General Lee capture a fort. At first 
 matters looked almost hopeless. There stood the fort 
 forty feet above them, safe and strong on a little mound. 
 It would be the easiest thing in the world for the gar- 
 rison to shoot any number of men trying to storm it. 
 One of Marion's followers thought of a plan. At the 
 word of command, they all disappeared into the forest. 
 For five days and nights they chopped down trees, 
 measured and cut and fitted the logs. Then came a 
 night when they dragged them out and put them in 
 place, and, behold, when the men in the fort gazed 
 around in the morning, there stood a wooden tower, 
 high enough to overlook their fort. A platform at the 
 top was covered with men, all ready to fire at the word 
 of command, and more of these sure marksmen were at 
 the base. It is no wonder that the fort surrendered. 
 
 Marion and his men did not make these wild raids 
 for the sake of adventure. It was partly to torment and 
 weaken the enemy and partly to encourage the patriots. 
 Some soldiers fought for gain, for honors, for promo- 
 tion ; but he and his followers fought for patriotism, for 
 pure love of their country and devotion to freedom. 
 
GEORGE ROGERS CLARK 185 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 The British plan to begin at the south and work toward the 
 north — Marion's army — tlieir expeditions — some of their at- 
 tacks — Marion and the Tories — Marion's headquarters — his 
 misfortune and appeal to his men — how he captured a fort — 
 why Marion fought. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 One of Marion's men tells how he got his arms and clothes; 
 how the men rescued the prisoners at the pass; how the Tory 
 commander was pursued. 
 
 GEORGE ROGERS CLARK 
 
 WHO GAVE THREE STATES TO THE UNION 
 
 r 
 
 OI^E day during the Revolution a bill was brought 
 before the English Parliament for supplies needed 
 to carry on the war with the colonies. One item on this 
 bill was for scalping-knives. " What does this mean ? " 
 demanded a member. " Have our soldiers become sav- 
 ages ? Are they scalping our colonists ? " He was 
 almost right. The English soldiers were not using 
 scalping-knives, but Colonel Hamilton, governor of 
 the country north of the Ohio, was giving them to the 
 Indians to use in scalping Americans. 
 
 This land had been in the hands of the French until 
 Canada was conquered. Then the British took posses- 
 
186 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 sion of the forts. South of the Ohio there were many 
 American colonists. They were bold, hardy people who 
 had not been afraid to strike out into the wilderness 
 and make homes for themselves far away from the cities 
 and villages of the East. Hamilton hired the Indians to 
 make attacks on these settlers. A colonist working in 
 his field would be struck down by an Indian bullet; his 
 wife and children would be fastened into their log cabin 
 and burned to death. Some were taken prisoners, some 
 were burned at the stake, some were horribly tortured. 
 The settlers, men and women, held out bravely. Their 
 guns were always loaded, they were always on their 
 guard. " These are our homes," they said, " and we 
 shall defend them." 
 
 One of these courageous settlers was a young sur- 
 veyor named George Rogers Clark. He was a good 
 fighter; he was also a good thinker. He thought a 
 good deal about the Indian attacks, and then he said 
 to two young hunters, " Will you go north of the Ohio 
 and find out how the French settlers feel toward us *? " 
 A¥hen the hunters came back, they said, " Sometimes 
 the French start out with the British and Indians and 
 do a little fighting, but they don't really care a straw 
 who wins. They are mightily afraid of us backwoods- 
 men, though." 
 
 Clark did not explain why he wanted to know about 
 the people of the Ohio country. He said good-by and 
 
GEORGE ROGERS CLARK 
 
 187 
 
 set off over the mountains for Virginia. He had a long 
 talk with Patrick Plenry, who was then governor. Gov- 
 ernor Henry said, " It is a brilliant plan ; ])nt if it is 
 going to succeed, not 
 even the legislature 
 must know of it, for it 
 would be sure to leak 
 out." 
 
 " How much help can 
 you give me ? " asked 
 Clark. 
 
 "We can give you a 
 little money," the gov- 
 ernor replied, " and we 
 can publish a notice 
 saying that you have 
 the right to raise men 
 to defend our colonists 
 south of the Ohio. 
 There i^ no need of 
 saying how you mean 
 to do it. We cannot do anything more without the vote 
 of the legislature." 
 
 For several months Clark worked to raise men, and 
 then he and his fighters went on board their flatboats at 
 Pittsburg. It was a thousand miles to the Mississippi, 
 but on the way they heard news that cheered their 
 
 GEORGE ROGERS CLARK 
 
 From the portrait by Jarvis in possession 
 of the Wisconsin Historical Society 
 
188 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 courageous hearts. " The king of France has decided 
 at last," were the tidings, " and he is going to help us. 
 He will give us money and ships and men." Ko better 
 news could have come to Clark than this. He called 
 his men together and told them his plan. " We try to 
 defend one settlement," he said, " and the savages come 
 down upon another. The only way to stop it is to keep 
 the British from sending the Indians." 
 
 *' That 's true enough," the men agreed, " but how do 
 you propose to do that little thing ? " 
 
 " I propose," replied Clark, " to go straight into the 
 country north of the Ohio and capture their forts." 
 
 " Whew ! " said the men. 
 
 Clark went on, " The French don't care whether we 
 or the English win ; but say to them, ' Your King 
 Louis is on our side,' and they will prick up their ears. 
 There '11 be no trouble with*the French." 
 
 The men became as enthusiastic as their leader, and 
 set off on a march of fifty miles. They forded rivers, 
 waded through swamps, tramped over prairies, forced 
 their way through forests, and finally came in the dark- 
 ness close to the settlement of Kaskaskia. Clark had 
 about two hundred men. One hundred he ordered to 
 surround the village; to the other hundred he said, 
 "Follow me. Our work is to take the fort." 
 
 Clark had expected cannon balls, but there is a story 
 that he was received with another kind of ball. As he 
 
GEORGE ROGERS CLARK 189 
 
 quietly approached the fort, he heard laughter and mer- 
 riment; then music struck up and dancing began. He 
 slipped in through a little gate and stood in the doorway 
 a minute before any one noticed him. Some Indians 
 were in the room. One caught sight of him and gave a 
 warwhoop. The dancers stopped as if they were turned 
 to stone. The fiddler stood with his bow in the air and 
 his mouth wide open. " Go on with your dancing," said 
 Clark, " but understand that you are no longer subjects 
 of the king of Great Britain. This place is in the hands 
 of Virginia." This was true, for while Clark w^as con- 
 quering the ballroom, his men had captured the officers 
 of the fort. 
 
 IS'obody thought of resisting. " Go to your houses," 
 bade Clark. " The streets are in the hands of my men, 
 and they have orders to shoot any one who appears 
 outside his door." All night long the French hid away 
 in the darkness of their houses, dreading what might 
 come with the daylight. In the morning some of the 
 principal men of the little place asked to see Clark. 
 " Will you give us our lives ? " they pleaded. " We 
 ask for nothing else, but do not put us to death." 
 
 Now Clark never dreamed of such a thing as putting 
 them to death, but he thought he could manage them 
 better if they had first been badly frightened. " I am 
 not here to kill any one," he replied. " The British have 
 made slaves of you, and I have come to set you free. 
 
190 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 All I want is that yon should swear to be true to the 
 Americans. I can give you a piece of news. Your King 
 Louis of France is our friend, and he is going to send 
 us ships and money." Then the people of the frightened 
 little village were wild with delight. Take the oath of 
 allegiance? Of course they would. They were only too 
 hajDpy to take it. Vincennes and two or three other 
 forts yielded. Many of the French joined Clark's lines 
 and agreed to help fight the British. 
 
 When Hamilton heard of this, he dashed off with a 
 strong force and took Yincennes. Then he stopped. 
 " There is no use in makin,g that hard march to Kas- 
 kaskia before spring," he thought. " One hundred men 
 can garrison this place." So he sent most of his troops 
 back to Detroit. 
 
 Unluckily for Hamilton, Clark was not afraid of a 
 winter march, even one that was two hundred and forty 
 miles long. Perhaps even he, however, did not guess 
 what lay before him. He had a worse enemy to meet 
 than bullets or cold or snow; and that was a February 
 thaw. Floods came rolling down into the rivers, and 
 every little stream became an angry torrent. The forest 
 was deep in water, but the men clung to trees and bushes 
 and floated on logs. A little " antic drummer," as Clark 
 called him, floated over one river on his drum. The 
 next stream was so deep that even these courageous 
 men di'ew back. Clark lifted the little drummer to the 
 
GEORGE ROGERS CLARK 191 
 
 shoulders of the giant of the company. The little fel- 
 low beat thQ charge. " Forward march ! " cried Clark, 
 and the men plunged into the river in the best of spirits. 
 Sometimes the water was frozen over, and they had not 
 
 THE LITTLE "ANTIC DRUMMER" 
 
 only to wade through water breast-high, but to break 
 their way through the thin ice. 
 
 Hamilton saw tlT,eir cam23-fire one night, and sent out 
 soldiers to find what it meant; but it did not occur to 
 them to wade through a mile or two of deep water, and 
 therefore they did not discover the Americans on what 
 
192 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 Clark called " a delightful dry sjiot." Clark dashed up 
 to the fort and began to fire. Hamilton defended himself 
 as well as he could, but soon he had to send out a flag 
 of truce and surrender. 
 
 Without these forts the British could not hold the 
 Ohio country. American settlers poured into it; and 
 when the Revolution was over and the time came to 
 make a treaty of peace, the Americans said to England, 
 "Your Canada comes as far south as the Great Lakes; 
 but south of those the land is ours and is occupied by 
 our settlers." Of this land, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois 
 were made; and therefore these three states are the 
 gift of George Rogers Clark. 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 A bill for scalping- knives — settlers in the Ohio country — at- 
 tacks of the Indians — George Rogers Clark sends out spies — 
 their report — Clark's talk with Patrick Henry — Clark's jour- 
 ney to Pittsburg — he hears good news — his plan — the march 
 to Kaskaskia — Clark goes to a ball — an anxious night for the 
 French — they go to see Clark — Hamilton takes Vincennes, but 
 goes no farther — Clark meets a February thaw — how the 
 drummer traveled — Hamilton surrenders — the Ohio country 
 in American hands. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 Clark tells his plan to Patrick Henry. 
 AYhat Clark's men said of liis plan. 
 The Kaskaskia fiddler tells of Clark's coming. 
 The drummer tells how he crossed the rivers. 
 
JOHN PAUL JONES 193 
 
 joh:n^ PAUL jo:n^es 
 
 AND HIS SEA FIGHTS FOR AMERICA 
 
 "fT^HAT little boat will never get into harbor in such 
 J- a squall," cried a ship-owner excitedly. • 
 
 " He '11 fetch her in," declared a Scotchman who sat 
 calmly watching the small craft in her struggle against 
 the wind. " That 's my boy John in the boat. This 
 is n't much of a squall for him." 
 
 The boat came in, and the ship-owner said, " John, 
 I have a fine new vessel that is going to make a voyage 
 to Virginia. If your father is willing, I will ship you 
 as sailor." However the father may have felt, the boy 
 was willing. He was only twelve, but for two years he 
 had been begging to go to sea. 
 
 So he made the voyage to Virginia and also many other 
 voyages. Before he w^as twenty he was a captain, and 
 a well-known one, too. He lived in Virginia for a time, 
 and while there he made up his mind that England and 
 her colonies would be at war before many years had 
 passed. On leaving Virginia, he said to George Wash- 
 ington, " Colonel, when the time comes that the colonies 
 need me, I '11 be ready." The battle of Lexington took 
 place only four months after he had made that sj^eech, 
 and he immediately sailed away, in the service of the 
 colonies. He captured a number of small English 
 
194 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 cruisers. One big frigate chased him, firing l)roadsides 
 after him, and the captain probably became exceedingly 
 angry, as Captain Jones saucily returned his broadsides 
 with an occasional musket-shot. Two vessels that he 
 took were full of supplies that had been meant for the 
 # British army; and there was joy in Boston when two 
 whole shiploads of tents, blankets, saddles, ammmiition, 
 
 medicines, guns, cloaks, 
 boots, and woolen shirts 
 were landed. 
 
 This was all very well, 
 but Captain Jones want- 
 ed to cross the ocean 
 and show Bi'itain on her 
 own coast what the new 
 States could do. In 
 Portsmouth ,jN^ew Hamp- 
 shire, a ship named the 
 Ranger had just been 
 launched, and he was 
 put in command. A 
 few days earlier. Con- 
 gress had decided that the flag of the United States 
 should be " Thirteen Stripes, Alternate Red and White; 
 that The U:n^ion be Thirteen Stars in a Blue Field." 
 There was no flag for the Ranger ; but the Portsmouth 
 girls put their heads together and planned a "quilting 
 
 PAUL JONES 
 
 From the portrait Ijy Peale in 
 
 Independence Hall 
 
JOHN" PAUL JONES 195 
 
 party." They did not sew on calico patchwork, how- 
 ever, bnt on pieces of silk cut from their own best 
 gowns. When they went home, they carried with them 
 a beautifnl silken flag; and this they presented to Cap- 
 tain Jones. He hnrried down from Boston to fly the 
 new banner on the Fonrth of July, 1777, for the first 
 time. Then he sailed away to see how many English 
 banners he could lower. 
 
 His first cruise was around the north of Ireland. In 
 the hai'bor of Carrickfergus was the British man-of- 
 war, the Drake. " The wind is wrong, and I will wait a 
 little," thought Jones. So he sailed past the harbor and 
 waited. Three days later, some fishermen said, " The 
 Drake is coming out in search of you." 
 
 " Good," cried Jones. " That will save me the trouble 
 of going in after her." 
 
 The Drake came out and hailed the stranger with, 
 " What ship is that ? " 
 
 " The American Continental ship Ranger," was the 
 reply. " Come oU; we are waiting for you." 
 
 Then came a battle. A Narragansett Indian boy from 
 Martha's Yineyard was one of the seamen, and a most 
 excellent one. His account of the battle was, '' I like 
 to see the big gun shoot. I like to hear the big noise 
 of much battle. It delights me to walk on the deck of 
 the enemy's big boat when we have taken it. I think, 
 by and by, we will take a much bigger boat than the 
 
196 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 Drake." This Avas quite big enough, however, to star- 
 tle all England. Never before in modern times had 
 a regular British man-of-war been captured by a less 
 powerful vessel. For two hundred years England had 
 been mistress of the seas, and she did not like this new 
 way of doing things. 
 
 England was still more angry before Captain Jones's 
 work was over. He gave up the Ranger, though he 
 held on to the silken flag that the Portsmouth gii'ls had 
 made; and soon he was put in command of a larger ves- 
 sel, the Bon Homme Richard. Off he sailed for the 
 British Isles. He went up the Irish coast and around 
 Scotland, capturing a vessel now and then to keep his 
 hand in. Off Flamborough Head he caught sight of a 
 fleet of merchant vessels protected b3^the Serapis. The 
 merchant vessels sj^read all sail and scudded away for 
 their lives. Captain Pearson of the Serapis hailed the 
 stranger with, "What ship is that ? " There was no re- 
 ply, but the Bon Homme Richard put herself in a good 
 position for a fight. " That is probably Paul Jones," 
 said Captain Pearson. " If so, there is work ahead." 
 
 There was " work ahead." For two hours the firing 
 went on. Then there was a moment's quiet. " Have you 
 struck your colors yet ? " called Captain Pearson. 
 
 " I have n't yet begun to fight," Captain Jones rephed. 
 In the smoke and the darkness the two ships swung 
 alongside. Captain Jones ordered them to be lashed 
 
JOHN PAUL JONES 197 
 
 together, and he Mmself ran to help tie the ropes. Then 
 came a most awf nl hand-to-hand combat in the darkness. 
 Gnns bnrst, and a great heap of cannon cartridges caught 
 fire and exploded. Wide gaps were torn ont of the 
 
 FIGHT BETWEEN THE SERAl'IS AND THE BON HOMME RICHARD 
 Frum a painting by Richard Paton 
 
 sides of l3oth vessels. Worst of all, one of the French 
 ships that should have assisted the Bon Homme Kichard 
 was stuj^idly firing straight at her. " The ship is sink- 
 ing ! " cried a gunner, "Quarter, quarter!" Captain 
 Pearson heard this cry, and again called, '^ Have you 
 struck?" 
 
 " No ! " thundered Captain Jones. 
 
 The master-at-arms had also heard the gunner's cry 
 and had set free the prisoners that they had captured. 
 " Go to the piunps," the captain commanded them. " If 
 
198 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 you won't pump, the ship goes to the bottom and you 
 go with her!" 
 
 At last the jBghtmg stopped. One ship had yielded, 
 but in the tumult and the darkness hardly any one knew 
 which. It was the Serapis. 
 
 But the Bon Homme Richard was fast sinking. The 
 water was six feet deep in her hold. Captain Jones 
 left her and took possession of the Serapis. The Bon 
 Homme Kichard rolled from side to side. She lurched 
 and pitched and plunged. At the last her taffrail rose 
 in the air for an instant, and the little silken flag that 
 had never been conquered waved for the last time in 
 the morning breeze. " And even now it is still flying 
 somewhere at the bottom of the Korth Sea," said Cap- 
 tain Jones, " over the battered wreck of the good old 
 ship that sank, disdaining to strike it." 
 
 After the war closed, there was nothing more for 
 Captain Jones to do in America, and he entered the 
 service of Russia. His love for the countr}^ for which 
 he had done so much never grew less; and just before 
 he went to Russia, he wrote to friends in America, " I 
 can never renounce the glorious title of a citizen of the 
 United States." When he died, he was buried in Paris; 
 but many years later his body was brought to America 
 and laid near the I^^aval Academy at Annapolis. He was 
 the real founder of the American navy, and therefore it 
 is most fitting that he should lie where American boys 
 
THE CAPTURE OF THE SERAPIS 
 
200 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 are trained to become brave seamen and defenders of 
 
 their comitry. 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 "John "in a squall — he goes to sea — his promise to Wash- 
 ington — how he kept it — he plans a voyage to the British Isles 
 — a flag for the Ranger — he meets the Drake — the Indian boy's 
 account of the battle — England is startled — the Bon Ilomme 
 Richard meets the Serapis — a terrible sea figh? — the Bon Ilomme 
 Richard is abandoned and sinks — Jones enters the service of 
 Russia — his love for America — his burial place. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 A Portsmouth girl tells the other gi s of her plan to make a 
 flag. 
 
 The letter that they wrote to Captain Jones. 
 
 His reply, promising to be with them July 4, 1777. 
 
 DANIEL BOONE 
 
 THE KENTUCKY PIONEER 
 
 NOT ev^ry American who was Hving at the time of 
 the Revohition fought in the army. Some helped 
 to raise money ; some aroused the interest of the Fi'ench 
 in the strugghng colonies ; and some extended the power 
 of the United States by pushing their way into what w\as 
 then the " far West." Daniel Boone was one of these 
 bold settlers. When he was a boy, he lived in the wil- 
 derness of North Carolina. His father's house w^as built 
 
DANIEL BOONE 
 
 201 
 
 of great logs, notched at the ends so that they fitted 
 together firmly. The spaces between them were made 
 tight with clay. The roof was of rough boards, hewn 
 
 from logs. The floor was 
 
 made by cutting logs 
 open in the middle and 
 laying them side by side 
 with the level surface 
 up. A fireplace was 
 built of stones; and it 
 one, for 
 
 was a 
 
 large 
 
 there was plenty -^^^f 
 wood to be had for the 
 cutting. Mr. Boone 
 made his table by bor- 
 ing four holes into the 
 floor, driving in stakes, 
 and putting split logs 
 on top of them. It was 
 not a very handsome 
 table, but it never tipped 
 
 over. The bedstead was made by letting two poles into 
 the wall a few feet from the corner. At the place where 
 they crossed, a stake was driven into the floor to hold 
 them up. Upon these poles other poles and pieces of 
 bark were laid. On top was placed a thick cushion of 
 dried grass, and the whole was covered with a fur robe. 
 
 DAXIEL BOONE 
 
202 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 As the boy grew up, other houses were built near this, 
 and in one of them he found the young girl who became 
 his wife. One day their home was visited by a hunter 
 who had been far beyond the mountains to what is now 
 Kentucky. He said it was a beautiful land, with mild 
 climate, fertile soil, plenty of game and fruit, wide prai- 
 ries, iioble rivers, and fine old forests. The more the 
 two men talked of this wonderful land, the more Boone 
 wanted to see it, and at length he and five others set 
 out on a journey of hmidreds of miles through the wil- 
 derness and over the mountains. He learned the coun- 
 try thoroughly, and the more he saw of it the better he 
 liked it. 
 
 A little later, the governor of Virginia made war upon 
 the Indians of Kentucky, and in this war Boone was one 
 of the leaders. The Indians finally agreed to give up 
 Kentucky to the whites; but when they found that a 
 road was being cut through from the east to their old 
 hunting-grounds, they were not pleased. Boone was in 
 charge of this road-making. He and his party were fired 
 at and several were killed. They w^ere only a little com- 
 pany of backwoodsmen far away in the wilderness, but 
 they had no idea of yielding. " ^ow is the time to keep 
 the country, — while we are in it," Boone declared; and 
 he set to work at once to build a fort on the Kentucky 
 River. 
 
 This fort, like many of those built in the forest in the 
 
DANIEL BOONE 203 
 
 early days, was half fort and half village. First a clear- 
 ing was made, and a rectangle marked out about twice 
 as long as it was wide. Around the sides of this rectan- 
 gle ten log ho;uses were built. Between the houses, 
 heavy timbers, ten or twelve feet high and sharpened 
 at the top, were driven into the ground close together; 
 and in this way a stout fence, or palisade, was made. Few 
 of the Indians of that part of the country had guns, and 
 their arrows could not go through either the log houses or 
 the palisade. If they attempted to come near, they would 
 have to cross the large clearing, where there were no 
 trees to dodge behind to escape the white men's bullets. 
 If they succeeded in getting across the clearing and tried 
 to put up ladders against the palisade in order to climb 
 over, they would find that the corner houses projected a 
 little beyond the others, and that in these houses small 
 port-holes had been left, from which the white men 
 could shoot. Indians very rarely besieged a place for any 
 length of time; but if the whites kept themselves well 
 supplied with food, even a siege would fail, for one cor- 
 ner of the fort almost overhung the river, so they could 
 be sure of plenty of water. 
 
 Boone's wife and children were in North Carolina, 
 and they were as eager to come to him in the new land 
 as he was to have them. As soon as it was known how 
 strong a fort had been built, others were ready to jour- 
 ney to Boonesborough, as the new village was named. 
 
204 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 So long as these settlers stayed in the fort, they were 
 safe ; but they soon found that whoever went beyond its 
 walls was in danger of being shot down by an Indian 
 arrow. After the Revolutionary War began, the British 
 hired the savages to attack the Americans ; and^now the 
 Indians were well supplied, not only with tomahawks 
 but with gmis and powder. Hundreds of pioneers left 
 the fertile lands of Kentucky and hurried back to the 
 east. Boone and his family remained, and he became 
 the guardian of the little company in the fort. 
 
 They had water, and their guns had thus far been 
 able to bring them food; but the salt had given out, and 
 salt was a thing that they must have. " I will go for it," 
 said Boone. With thirty men he started on a journey of 
 one hmidred miles through a wilderness where at any 
 moment hundreds of Indians, well armed with British 
 guns, might fire at them. They reached the salt springs 
 safely. jS^ight and day they worked, guns in hand, to 
 l)oil the water and get the salt from it. For four weeks 
 they were left alone, then they were suddenly attacked 
 l^y four times their number of Indians and had to yield. 
 They wei'e taken to Detroit, where the others were 
 given up for ransom ; but the red men would not give up 
 Boone for any sum. They had a plan to persuade him 
 to live Avith them and become one of their chiefs. He 
 guessed this and pretended to be satisfied. " Now we 
 will adopt you," they said. But most people would 
 
DANIEL BOONE 205 
 
 have preferred not to be adopted, for part of the cere- 
 mony was plucking out all his hair except the scalp-lock. 
 Then he was 
 taken to the 
 river and washed 
 to make sure that 
 no white blood 
 was left in him, 
 and after his face 
 was painted he 
 made a very good 
 chief. 
 
 The Indians 
 were too shrewd 
 to believe that 
 Boone would not 
 go home if he 
 had . a chance ; 
 so when he went 
 out to hunt, they 
 counted his balls 
 
 and measured his powder. They knew that 
 if he had no ammunition he would not at- 
 tempt to run away, for without it he would 
 soon starve in the forest. He did save up ammunition, 
 however, in spite of them, for he used no more than 
 was absolutely necessary and cut every bullet in two. 
 
 BOONE AMOX 
 
206 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 One wise thing that Boone did when he was captnred 
 was to pretend to know nothing of the language of the 
 Indians, though he really undei'stood everything that 
 they said. They talked freely before him, and he learned 
 that they were planning to attack Boonesborough. The 
 war-dances were held, and Boone joined in them. But 
 one morning he went out to hunt and did not return. 
 Five days later there was great rejoicing in the fort, 
 for Boone had come back, though they had thought him 
 surely dead. He w^as none too soon. In a little while 
 a body of Indians marched upon the fort. "In the 
 name of his Majesty King George of Great Britain, we 
 summon you to surrender," they said. There were ten 
 times as many of the enemy as there were settlers, but 
 Boone replfed, " We shall defend our fort so long as 
 one man is alive." 
 
 Then came fierce fighting that went on day and night 
 for nine days. One day the Americans noticed that the 
 water of the river was becoming muddy, and they knew 
 that the enemy were digging in from the bank to un- 
 dermine the fort. They broke up this plan by digging 
 another passage to cut the first. The Indians shot fire- 
 arrows to try to set fire to the fort, but the Americans 
 were too watchful to allow them to do any damage. 
 At last the Indians gave it up and went away. Boone 
 said quietly that they had been very industrious, for one 
 hundred and twenty-five pounds of l)ullets was picked 
 
MERIWETHER LEWIS AND WILLIAM CLARK 207 
 
 11]) ill the fort, besides what stuck in the logs. ^Never 
 again did the Indians attempt to take Boonesboroiigh. 
 Daniel Boone had explored the country, made a road to 
 it, brought in settlers, and defended them. 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 Different ways of helping in the Revohition — Daniel Boone's 
 early home — his marriage — he hears of Kentucky — goes to see 
 it — fights the Indians — his road-making — building a fort — a 
 defense against the Indians — new settlers arrive — dangers from 
 Indians — Boone goes for salt — captured and taken to Detroit — 
 adopted by the Indians — closely watched — learns their plans 
 — escapes — attack on the fort — the repulse — what Boone did for 
 Kentucky. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 Who helped the country most, — those who raised money, those 
 who aroused mterest, or those who settled in the wilderness ? 
 
 Indians describe an attempt to take a fort. 
 
 Boone's daughter sees her father coming after his escape from 
 the Indians. 
 
 MEKIAVETHER LEWIS AND WILLIAM 
 CLARK 
 
 WHO SHOWED THE WAY TO THE PACIFIC 
 
 AT the close of the Revolution, the United States 
 owned all the land from the Atlantic to the Mis- 
 sissippi and from Canacta to Florida. France had lost 
 
208 AMERICAX HERO STORIES 
 
 Canada, but she still held the country between the Mis- 
 sissipj)! and the Rocky Mountains. About twenty years 
 after the war France needed money, and she sold this 
 land to the United States at about two and a half cents 
 an acre. The next thing was to find out what kind of 
 country had been bought. The government asked Meri- 
 wether Lewis and William Clark, brother of George 
 Rogers Clark, to explore it. It was thought that the 
 best way would be to follow up the Missouri River, then 
 to enter the Columbia River, and so get to the Pacific 
 Ocean; but no one had any idea where the sources of 
 the two rivers might be. The only way to learn was to 
 go and find out. 
 
 ISlo one Imew what dangers there would be. There 
 were stories of mountains so lofty that no man could 
 ever climb them; of Indians more fierce and more cruel 
 than any that had been known ; but the stout-hearted 
 company set out, not in the least frightened by all these 
 tales. There were forty men or more in the party, the 
 wife of the interpreter, and her baby, the youngest of 
 American explorers. 
 
 This company was to do much more than simply to 
 push through to the Pacific Ocean. They were to note 
 the mountains and valleys and rivers; to draw maps 
 showing where there were rapids or falls; to see what 
 kinds of soil, trees, flowers, fruit, animals, and minerals 
 there were in different parts of the country. In short, 
 
MERIWETHER LEWIS AND WILLIAM CLARK 209 
 
 they were to keep their eyes open, and on their return to 
 tell the government where they had been and what they 
 had seen. One thing more they were to do, the most 
 important of all, and that was to make friends Avith the 
 Indians, to learn how they lived and what lands each 
 tribe claimed, and especially to open the way for trad- 
 
 ing with them. 
 
 It seems like going back to the days of 
 
 «:,/^£/U,^>TA,5^%e,A- <3i<deyJrLy<^^^ 
 
 Champlain to read the list of what the travelers carried 
 to give or sell to the red men. There were beads, paints, 
 loiives, mirrors, red tronsers, coats made gorgeons with 
 gilt braid, and many other things that would please the 
 savages. 
 
 Then they set ont on a jonrney which proved to be 
 
210 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 two years and four months long-. And such wonders as 
 they saw ! In one phice the water had worn away the 
 earth into such shapes that the explorers were sure 
 they had come upon an ancient fort. In another was a 
 wide river with bed and banks and falls and rapids, 
 but not one drop of water. There were antelopes and 
 prairie dogs and other animals which were new to them. 
 There were buffaloes so tame that they had to be driven 
 out of the way with sticks and stones. There were water- 
 falls so high that the water fell part way, then broke 
 into mist, but gathered together again and made a 
 second fall, which seemed to come from a cloud. 
 
 There were some things to meet that were not quite 
 so interesting as double waterfalls. There were brown 
 bears and black bears and grizzly bears, all anxious to 
 greet them with a hug. There were long marches over 
 ground covered with sharp pieces of flint, and there 
 were other marches over plains where the thorns of the 
 prickly pear pierced their shoes as if they were only 
 paper. Sometimes they were driven half wild with 
 clouds of mosquitoes. " The Musquetoes were so nu- 
 merous that I could not keep them off my gun long 
 enough to take sight and by that means Missed," wrote 
 Captain Clark in his journal. Captain Lewis once was 
 separated from his men for a few hours, and in that 
 time he met a grizzly bear, a wolverine, and three buf- 
 falo bulls, all of which showed fight. Again he lay doAvn 
 
MERIWETHER LEWIS AND WILLIAM CLARK 211 
 
 under a tree, and when he woke he" found that he had 
 had a big rattlesnake for next-door neighbor. He nailed 
 a letter upon a tree for some members of tlie party who 
 were to come after him ; but when they came they found 
 that the beavers had gnawed the tree down, carried it 
 away to use in their dams, and so had stolen the whole 
 post-office. One night the company camped on a sand- 
 bar in the river ; but they were hardly sound asleep 
 before the guards cried, " Get up! Get up! Sand bar's 
 a-sinking! " They jumped into the boats and pulled for 
 the farther shore, but before they reached it the sand- 
 bar was out of sight. There were other disturbances 
 of their dreams. Another night they camped near an 
 island which proved to be the home of ducks and geese 
 and other wild fowl that quacked and hissed and made 
 all the noises that they knew how to make, while the 
 tired men rolled and tumbled and wished they had more 
 quiet neighbors. Another night a buffalo dashed into 
 their camp and ran between two rows of sleepers. And 
 to cap the climax, the baby explorer had the mumps and 
 was cutting teeth and cried all night. 
 
 Getting food was not always an easy matter. In one 
 place they exchanged roast meat, pork, flour, and meal for 
 watermelons ; but they had not often so luxurious fare. 
 Frequently they had nothing but a little flour or meal, 
 and for a long while they lived on horse-flesh and dog- 
 flesh. Often they were glad to buy eatable roots of the 
 
212 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 Indians. Sometimes the Indians refnsed to sell. On 
 one sncli occasion, Captain Clark threw a port-fire 
 match into the fire, and then took ont his compass and 
 with a bit of steel made the needle whirl I'onnd and 
 ronnd. The Indians were so terrified that the women hid 
 behind the men, ahd the men hurried to bring him the 
 roots that they had sullenly refused to sell. On the 
 Fourth of July the explorers lived in luxury, for they 
 feasted on bacon, beans, suet dumplings, and buffalo 
 meat; but when Christmas came they had nothing but 
 stale meat, fish, and a few roots. The Indians once 
 cooked them some meat by laying it on pine branches 
 under which were hot stones. More branches were put 
 on top of the meat, then a layer of meat, then another 
 layer of branches. Water was poured upon the mass, 
 and three or four inches of earth spread over the whole 
 heap. The white men did not like the flavor of pine, but 
 they admitted that the meat was tender. 
 
 They tried to make friends with the Indians wherever 
 they went, by giving them medals and other trinkets 
 that they had l)i'ought. They told them about the Great 
 Father in Washington who Avished them to be his chil- 
 dren, and who would always be kind to them. Sometimes 
 they shared their food with the red men. One Indian ate 
 a piece of dried squash and said it was the best thing- 
 he hnd ever tasted except a lump of sugar that some 
 member of the party had given him. One tribe to whom 
 
MERIWETHER LEWIS AND WILLIAM CLARK 213 
 
 they offered whiskey refused it. " I am surjDrised," said 
 the chief, " that our father should give us a drink that 
 would make us fools." 
 
 Talking witlr the Indians was not always easy. This 
 is tlie way it was sometimes done. Captain Lewis or 
 Captain Clark' spoke in English; one of the men put 
 
 LEWIS AND CLARK MEETING THE INDIANS 
 (By courtesy of the Northern Pacitic Railway) 
 
 what he had said into French; the interpreter put it 
 into an Indian dialect that his Indian wife understood; 
 she put it into another tongue which a young Indian in 
 the party understood; and he translated it into the hm- 
 guage of the tribe with whom they wished to talk. It 
 w^as no wonder that whenever it was possible they 
 
214 AMEFJCAN HERO STORIES 
 
 avoided this roundabout method and used the language 
 of signs. When a man wished to say, for instance, '' I 
 have been gone three nights," he had only to rest his 
 head on his hand to suggest sleep and to hold up three 
 fingers. He could say, *' I came on horseback " by point- 
 ing to himself and then placing two fingers of his right 
 hand astride his left wrist. To hold a blanket by two 
 corners, shake it over the head, and unfold it, meant 
 "I am your friend; come and sit on my blanket." If 
 the Indian accepted the invitation, the next scene w^as 
 not very agreeable; for he woukVwish to embrace the 
 white man and rub his cheek, thick with red paint, on 
 that of his new friend. 
 
 One language was understood by all, the language of 
 gifts. A string of beads went a long w^ay in wimiing 
 friends. The red men had their fashions in beads, how- 
 ever; blue or wdiite beads wei'c very welcome, but they 
 cared little for other colors. They were fond of dan- 
 cing. One evening several hundred Indians seated them- 
 selves aromid the white men's camp and waited till the 
 violin struck up and a dance took place. After an hour 
 or two, the w hite men said, " IS^ow it is your turn. Show 
 us how you dance." The red men and women and chil- 
 dren sprang to their feet and crowded together around 
 an open space. A few young braves leaped into the 
 space and carried on something that might be called a 
 dance ; but all that the rest of the company did was to 
 
MERIWETHER LEWIS AND WILLIAM CLARK 215 
 
 sing and jump np 
 and down in time 
 with the music. 
 They were as fond 
 of games as of dan- 
 cing. The most com- 
 mon game was one 
 often played now b}^ 
 white children. A 
 man passed a tiny 
 piece of bone back 
 and forth from one 
 hand to the other, 
 then held out both 
 hands closed. The 
 one who was playing 
 against him pointed 
 to the hand in which 
 he thought the bone 
 was. If he guessed 
 right, he won the 
 blue beads or what- 
 ever else the prize 
 might be. If he lost, the other man won it. 
 
 So it was that, dancing, climbing mountains, shooting 
 rapids, killing bears and mosquitoes, dragging canoes up 
 rivers, making friends with the Indians, eating or fast- 
 
 SACAJAWEA, THE INDIAN W():\rAN WHO 
 GUIDED LEWIS AND CLARK 
 
216 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 ing, the brave explorers made their way to the source of 
 the Missouri, a streamlet so narrow that one of the men 
 took his stand with one foot on either bank. Three- 
 quarters of a mile farther, they came to a creek running 
 to the westward. This was one of the branches of the 
 Columbia. Onward they went, and at last they stood 
 on the shore of the Pacific. It was the rainy season. 
 Their clothes and bedding were always wet, and they 
 had nothing to eat but dried fish. It is no w^onder that 
 they did not feel delighted with the scenery. Captain 
 Clark wrote in his journal that the ocean was " tempes- 
 tuous and horrible." 
 
 At last they started on the long journey back to the east. 
 There were the same dangers to go through again, ])ut 
 finally they came to the homes of white men ; and when 
 they caught sight of cows feeding on the banks of the 
 river, they all shouted with joy, the herds looked so calm 
 and restful and homelike. When they reached the vil- 
 lage of St. Louis, they received a hearty welcome, for 
 all supposed that they had perished in the wilderness. 
 These courageous, patient men had done much more 
 than to explore a wild country. Just as Columbus had 
 made a path across the Atlantic, so they had made a 
 path to the Pacific. They showed the way; and the 
 thousands who have made the western country into 
 farms and villages and cities have only followed in the 
 footsteps of these fearless explorers. 
 
MERIWETHER LEWIS AND WILLIAM CLARK 217 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 Growth of the United States — plans for exploration — the com- 
 pany sets out — the aims of the explorers — goods for barter — ■ 
 what Avonders were seen — hardships of the journey — wild ani- 
 mals that they met — a stolen post-office — a sinking' sandbar — 
 noisy neighbors — getting food — an Indian way of cooking — 
 making friends with the Indians — difficulty of talking with the In- 
 dians — the sign language — gifts to the Indians — an Indian dance 
 -r- Indian games — the source of the Missouri — a branch of the 
 Columbia" — the shore of the Pacific — the journey home — the 
 welcome — what the explorers had done. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WIUTTEN WORK. 
 
 A boy tells why he wants to go with Lewis and Clark. 
 Which articles carried by the explorers for barter would be most 
 valued by the Indians ? 
 
 The greatest hardship that the explorers had to meet. 
 
218 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 OLIVER HAZARD PERRY 
 
 WHO CAPTURED A BRITISH FLEET 
 
 WHEN the children born at the close of the Revo- 
 lution had become men and Avomen, another war, 
 known as the war of- 1812, broke out between England 
 and the United States. During this war both parties 
 were anxious to get control of Lake Erie. The Ameri- 
 can government decided to build some ships on the lake, 
 and appointed Oliver Hazard Perry, a young man of 
 twenty-seven, commander of the fleet. He and his 
 younger brother set out in an open sleigh for Erie, where 
 the vessels were to be built. Perry found that the gov- 
 ei'nment was not a very good builder of ships. There 
 was no seasoned timber, no iron, no canvas, ropes, an- 
 chors, cannon, muskets, balls, or cartridges. Worst of 
 all, there were no shipbuilders. The men to whom the 
 order to build had been given had done as well as they 
 could. They had sent for shipbuilders to IS^ew York and 
 Philadelphia, a journey of four or five weeks, and in the 
 mean time they had set house-carpenters to work. 
 
 Luckily, the young commander had taken charge of 
 building a fleet before, and after he came there w^as no 
 more delay. The shipbuilders arrived who had started 
 some time before ; trees were cut down in the forest, 
 dragged to the shipyard, cut into beams and planks, and 
 
OLIVER HAZARD PERRY 219 
 
 made into parts of vessels, — all within twelve hours. 
 Men were sent in various directions to get what was 
 needed. They scoured the country for iron and brought 
 in hinges, locks, chains, old kettles, wheel-tires, bars, 
 and bolts from wherever they could be found. Guns 
 and amnumition and whatever else was needed were 
 hurried in. In less than two months after Perry arrived, 
 three gunboats w^ere launched, and two sloops were 
 ready a few weeks later. 
 
 The British knew what was going on at Erie, but 
 Perry's guard kept close watch that no one should slip 
 up to the vessels in the night and set them on fire. There 
 was no danger from the British ships on the lake, for in 
 front of Erie stretched a long sand-bar which no ship 
 drawing more than seven feet of Avater could sail across. 
 Of course Perry's vessels must get over the bar in some 
 way, and Captain Barclay, the British commander, was 
 watching closely. " That will be slow w^ork," he said 
 to himself, " and when they begin to go over the bar is 
 the time for me." 
 
 Unfoi-tunately for Captain Barclay, he was invited 
 to dinner on the other side of the lake, and accepted the 
 invitation. Perry, too, had been watching. " This is the 
 time for me," he said, and gave the order to cross. His 
 flagship, the Lawrence, was the largest of the fleet. She 
 was brought up to the bar with a big scow on each side. 
 The scows were nearly filled with water, and while they 
 
220 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 were very low in the water, blocks were piled upon them. 
 Then the w^ater was punijjed out, and as they rose, they 
 struck against stout beams which had been pushed into 
 the port-holes of the Lawrence and lifted the vessel safely 
 over the bar. The other ships came across with less 
 trouble. 
 
 Captain Barclay had hoped to capture a ship while it 
 was crossing, but he was in no hurry to have a general 
 battle. He, too, was building a ship, the Detroit, and 
 he meant to have it finished before any fighting began. 
 Therefore he slipped away and got out of sight as fast 
 as possible. He had not a great supply of provisions, 
 but he waited a month for his new vessel and then sailed 
 out, ready for a fight. Perry, too, was ready. Upon his 
 flagship he ran up a blue flag on which in clear white 
 letters was Lawrence's dying command, " Don't give up 
 the ship ! " 
 
 On the Detroit the musicians played " Rule, Britan- 
 nia ! — Britannia, rule the waves ! " A bugte w as sounded. 
 " Hurrah ! Hurrah ! Hurrah ! " shouted the men on the 
 British vessels. Then the combat began, and a feai-ful 
 combat it was. The Lawrence became only a shattered 
 hulk. " Perry has lost his flagship," thought the Brit- 
 ish, '■'■ and he will soon surrender." But Perry had no 
 such intention. He wrapped his flag around his arm, 
 then he and his brother, with four seamen to row them, 
 leaped into a boat. The seamen pulled with all their 
 
w 
 
 W 3 
 
 w ? 
 
 O ^ 
 
 >3 '^^ 
 
 Pi ^ 
 
222 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 might. At first the smoke hid them from their enemies ; 
 then the British caught siglit of them and fired volley 
 after volley. Two bullets went through the boy's cap, 
 but no one was injured; and in fifteen minutes after they 
 left the Lawrence, Perry had run up his flag on the 
 Niagara, and, with his new flagship, was all ready for 
 another battle. It was a short one, and then came the 
 surrender of the British. It was the first time that Eng- 
 land had ever lost a whole squadron, but now she sur- 
 rendered one, not to an old experienced commander, but 
 to a young man of twenty-seven who had never before 
 even seen a naval battle. 
 
 The first thing to do was to report to the Secretary 
 of the ISTavy. Perry must have enjoyed writing that 
 report, for he had begged the secretary more than once 
 to be sent where there was likely to be fighting, and 
 that oflflcial had paid no attention to his request. While 
 he was building the ships, he had almost pleaded for 
 men. " Give me men, sir," he had said to Commodore 
 Chauncey, " and I will gain both for you and myself 
 honor and glory on this lake or perish in the attempt." 
 After writing his formal report to the Secretary of the 
 I^avy, he sent off his famous note to General Harrison, 
 which said, " We have met the enemy and they are 
 ours." 
 
 The British had been planning to invade what was 
 then called the Northwest Territorv, that is, the land 
 
OLIVER HAZARD PERRY 223 
 
 now forming' Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois ; but now that 
 Perry had captured their fleet, he had control of Lake 
 Erie, and all their plans of invasion came to nothing. 
 It is no wonder that the whole country rang with the 
 praises of the young victor. Congress formally thanked 
 him, promoted him, and gave him a medal. Cities took 
 holidays, rang their bells, fired their guns, and illumi- 
 nated their houses in his honor. Everybody who could 
 make two lines rhyme set to work to w^rite a poem 
 about him. Boston gave him a silver service. Other 
 cities gave him swords, and as for votes of thanks, 
 the land fairly echoed with them. 
 
 This was not the end of Perry's service by any means, 
 for he had much more to do for his country before the 
 war was over. One thing was to help defend Balti- 
 more when the British fleet w^as trying its best to cap- 
 ture her forts. His life was short, for only seven years 
 after the war of 1812 began, he died in South America. 
 Congress sent a man-of-war to bring home his body that 
 it might rest in the land which he had so bravely helped 
 to defend. 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 Ships to be built on Lake Erie — Perry goes to Lake Erie — the 
 government a poor shipbuilder — work is begun — getting iron — 
 setting a watch — advantage of the sand-bar — Captain Barclay's 
 plans — what happened when he went to dinner — he avoids a bat- 
 tle — the two flagships — Perry loses his flagship — he finds a new 
 
224 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 one — the British surrender — Perry's report and note to General 
 Harrison — value of this victory — celebration of the victory — 
 Perry's further service — his death. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 Perry's brother describes : — building the ships ; getting the 
 Lawrence over the bar ; the battle. 
 
 DOLLY MADISON 
 
 WHO GUARDED THE NATION'S TREASURES 
 
 " TAOLLY," asked President Madison of his wife, 
 
 _L^ " have yon the eonrag-e to stay here till I come 
 back to-morrow or next day ? " 
 
 " I am not afraid of an^^thing if only yon are not 
 harmed and onr army sncceeds," was her repl} . 
 
 " Good-b}", then, take care of yonrself , and if any- 
 thing happens, look ont for the Cabinet papers," said 
 the President, and rode away to where the militia was 
 gathering. 
 
 There was good reason for Mrs. Madison to be anx- 
 ions abont her hnsband and abont the snccess of the 
 Americans. It was now 1814; America and England 
 had been fighting for two years. Many people thonght 
 that the President had been wrong in resorting to war. 
 Letters had been sent him which said, " If this war does 
 not come to an end soon, yon will be poisoned." The 
 
DOLLY MADISON 
 
 225 
 
 city of Washington, too, was in great danger. Four 
 days earlier a messenger had ridden up at full speed to 
 say, " Fifty British ships are anchoi'ing off the Potomac." 
 ]N^early all the men hurried to the front to try to oppose 
 the enemy. People in Washington were carrying their 
 property away to the country. Still the little lady at the 
 White House did not 
 run away. She had the 
 public papers to guard, 
 and she would not go. 
 
 Besides the papers, 
 there was another of 
 the nation's treasures in 
 the house, a fine por- 
 trait of George Wash- 
 ington by the famous 
 artist, Gilbert Stuart. 
 The son of Washing- 
 ton's stepson came to 
 Mrs. Madison to plan 
 for its safety. " What- 
 ever ha]:>pens, that shall 
 be cared for," she had 
 promised him. 
 
 At last a note came 
 to her from the President. " The enemy are stronger 
 than we heard at first," it said. " They may reach the 
 
 DOT.LV MADISON 
 
226 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 city and destroy it. Be ready to leave at a moment's 
 warning." 
 
 Most of her friends had already gone, but lier faithful 
 servants were with her. '' Bring me as many trunks as 
 my carriage Avill hold," she ordered; and then she set to 
 work to fill them with the Declaration of Independence 
 and the other paj)ers that were of value to the whole 
 nation. 
 
 Xight came, but there was no rest for the lady of the 
 White House. As soon as the sun rose, she was at the 
 windows with a spy-glass, gazing in every direction and 
 hoping to catch a glimpse of her husband. All she could 
 see was clouds of dust, here and there a group of sol- 
 diers wandering about, and little companies of fright- 
 ened women and children, hurrying to the bridge across 
 the Potomac. She began to hear the roar of cannon, and 
 she knew that a battle was going on ; still the President 
 did not come. There was nothing to do but wait. It was 
 of no use to pack the silver and other valuables, for 
 every wagon had been seized long before, and not one 
 was left for even the wife of the President. 
 
 At three o'clock two men, covered with dust, gal- 
 loped up and cried, " You must fly, or the house will be 
 burned over your head." 
 
 " I shall wait here for the President," was her repl3^ 
 
 A wagon came rumbling along. Some good friends 
 had at last succeeded in getting it for her. She had it 
 
DOLLY MADISON 227 
 
 filled with silver and other valuables. " Take them to 
 the Bank of Maryland," she ordered; but she said to 
 herself, " The Bank of Maryland or the hands of the 
 British — who knows which it will be? " 
 
 Two or three friends came to hurry her away. " The 
 British will burn the house," they said. " They will 
 take you prisoner; they boast that they will carry the 
 President and his wife to England and make a show of 
 them." 
 
 They were almost lifting her to her carriage, when 
 she said, " IS^ot yet. The picture of AYashington shall 
 never fall into the hands of the enemy. That must be 
 taken away before I leave the house." This picture was 
 in a heavy frame that was firmly screwed to the wall, 
 and with what tools were at hand it could not be easily 
 loosened. " Get an axe and break the frame," Mrs. 
 Madison bade her servants. This was done, the canvas 
 was taken from the stretcher, carefully rolled up, and 
 sent to a safe place. Then the carriage with Mrs. Mad- 
 ison was driven rapidly away. 
 
 She left the house none too soon, for the British were 
 upon the city. They broke into the White House. They 
 stole what they could carry off with them, and set fire 
 to the rest. They fired the navy yard, the Treasury 
 building, the public libraries, and the new Capitol. The 
 British Admiral Cockburn had a special spite against 
 one of the Washington newspapers because it had 
 
228 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 printed some bitter articles about his savage burning of 
 defenseless villages along the coast. " Burn that of- 
 fice," he commanded, " and l)e sure that all the C's are 
 destroyed, so that the rascals cannot abuse my name any 
 longer." It is said that he jumped down from his horse 
 and kindled the fire with his own hand. 
 
 At night a fearful tempest swept over the city. Trees 
 were blown down and houses w ere uiu'oof ed. When the 
 storm burst, Mrs. Madison was j^leading for shelter at a 
 little tavern sixteen miles from Washington. She had 
 seen the President, and he had told her to meet him at 
 this place. The house was full of people who had fled 
 from the city. " Stay out," they cried. " Tour husband 
 brought on this war, and his wife shall have no shelter 
 in the same house with us." At last, however, they let 
 her in. The President found his way to her later, almost 
 exhausted; but before he had had an hour of rest, a 
 man threw open the door, so out of breath that he could 
 only gasp, " The British — they know you are here — 
 fly ! " Mrs. Madison begged him to go, and finally he 
 yielded and escaped to a little hut in the woods where 
 he could be safe. " I will disguise myself and go to 
 some safer place," she promised; and in the first gray of 
 the morning she left the tavern. On the way she heard 
 the best of news: "The British heard that reinforce- 
 ments were coming and they have gone to their ships." 
 Then she turned around and drove toward the city ; but 
 
DOLLY MADISON 229 
 
 when she came to the bridge over»the Potomac, it was 
 afire. An American officer stood by. " Will you row 
 me across the river ? " she begged, for a little boat was 
 
 THE STUART PORTRAIT OF WASHIXOTOX 
 
 moored to the batik. " No," he replied, " we don't let 
 strange women into the city." In vain she pleaded, but 
 he Avas firm. " Who knows what you are ? " he demanded 
 roughly. " We have had spies enough here. How do I 
 
230 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 know but the British have sent you to burn what they 
 left? You will not cross the river, — that is sure." 
 
 " But I am Mrs. Madison, the wife of your Presi- 
 dent," she said, and threw off her disguise. 
 
 Even then he could hardly be persuaded to row her 
 across, but finally he yielded. Through clouds of smoke 
 she made her way past heaps of smouldering ruins to 
 the home of her sister, where she awaited the coming 
 of the President. 
 
 Such were five days in the life of a " first lady of the 
 land." 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 The President's farewell to his wife — cause for anxiety — trea- 
 sures in the White House — a warning sent to Mrs. Madison — 
 she makes ready to leave — what she sees from the windows — a 
 wagon is packed — she saves the portrait of Washington — be- 
 havior of the British in W^ashington — Mrs. Madison in the storm 
 — the President comes to her — he hides in the woods — Mrs. 
 Madison hears good news — difiBculty in crossing the Potomac — 
 she finds safety. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 Mrs. Madison tells what she saw from the windows Avith her 
 glass. 
 
 Saving Washington's portrait. 
 
 Mrs. Madison tells her sister of her experience in the storm. 
 
THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER 231 
 
 THE STAK-SPAXGLED BAXJS^EK 
 
 I'N 1814, while the War of 1812 was still going on, 
 the people of Maryland were in great trouble, for a 
 British Heet had sailed into Chesapeake Bay. The can- 
 non wonld be aimed at some town, but no one knew 
 which. The ships sailed up one river, then came back 
 and sailed up another, as if they had not decided where 
 to go. The people who lived on the banks of these 
 I'ivers fired alarm guns and lighted signal fires to let 
 those who lived inland Imow that danger was near. The 
 ships lingered, hesitated, then suddenly spread all sail 
 and ran to the north up the Bay. " They will surely 
 attack us," thought the people of Annapolis, and they 
 crammed their household goods into wagons and carts, 
 even into wheelbarrows, and hurried away to the coim- 
 try as fast as they could. But the ships sailed past 
 Annapolis. Then there was no question which town was 
 to be attacked; it was Baltimore. 
 
 As the fleet sailed on. General Ross, the British com- 
 mander, spoke of his plans. " I shall have my winter 
 quarters in Baltimore," he said. 
 
 " What about the American militia, general ? " asked 
 one of his oflScers playfully. 
 
 " Militia ? " replied Ross ; '' I don't care a straw if it 
 rains militia." 
 
232 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 The fleet landed the soldiers at the month of the 
 Patapsco Kiver, and sailed njj stream toward the town. 
 The men marched np the river for five miles. They met 
 a force of American militia, and there w^as a sharp fight 
 for two or three honrs ; then the Americans retreated. 
 " There will be no great trouble in taking the town in 
 the morning," thought the leader; ^ and we will camp 
 here to-night." When morning came, he found that, 
 however it might be about taking the town, he would 
 have some trouble in getting to it; for the Americans 
 had dug ditches, and dragged heavy logs across the 
 road. It took the whole day to get in sight of the place ; 
 and then they found it anything but an agreeable sight, 
 for all along the hills above the city was a heavy line 
 of entrenchments. There seemed to be plenty of men 
 behind the entrenchments, and the British concluded 
 that they would not take possession of their winter 
 quarters at once. They thought it would be pleasanter 
 to Avait at least until af tei- dark, when they Avould not be 
 so plainly seen from the forts. " The cannon on our 
 ships will surely silence Fort McHenry and the other 
 forts and l)atteries by that time," they said. 
 
 While the soldiers were stumbling over logs and roll- 
 ing into hidden ditches, the cannon on the British ships 
 were firing as fast as possible. The river was so shallow 
 that the men-of-war could not get within range of the 
 town. " We will bombard the forts," they said. " They 
 
234 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 will yield in a few hours, and then our troops can march 
 up and take the city." For twenty-four hours the ter- 
 rific bombardment went on. 
 
 " If Fort McHenry only stands, the city is safe," said 
 Francis Scott Key to a friend, and they gazed anxiously 
 through the smoke to see if the flag was still flying. 
 
 These two men were in 'the strangest place that could 
 be imagined. They were in a little American vessel fast 
 moored to the side of the British admiral's flag-ship. A 
 Maryland doctor had been seized as a prisoner by the 
 British, and the President had given permission for 
 them to go out under a flag of truce to ask for his 
 release. The British commander finally decided that the 
 prisoner might be set free; but he had no idea of allow- 
 ing the two men to go back to the city and carry any 
 information. " Until the attack on Baltimore is ended, 
 you and your boat must remain here," he said. 
 
 The firing went on. As long as the daylight lasted, 
 they could catch glimpses of the stars and stripes when- 
 ever the wind swayed the clouds of smoke. When night 
 came they could still see the banner now and then by 
 the blaze of the cannon. A little after midnight the 
 firing stopjDed. The two men paced up and down the 
 deck, straining their eyes to see if the flag was still 
 flying. "Can the fort have surrendered?" they ques- 
 tioned. " Oh, if morning would only come ! " 
 
 At last the faint gray of dawn appeared. They could 
 
THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER 235 
 
 see that some flag was flying, but it was too dark to tell 
 which. More and more eagerly they gazed. It grew 
 lighter, a sudden breath of wind caught the flag; and it 
 floated out on the breeze. It was no English flag, it was 
 their own stars and stripes. The fort had stood, the city 
 was safe. Then it was that Key took from his pocket 
 an old letter and on the back of it he wrote the poem, 
 " The Star-Spangled Banner." The British departed, 
 and the httle American boat went back to the city. Mr. 
 Key gave a copy of the poem to his uncle, who had 
 been helping to defend the fort. The uncle sent it to a 
 printer, and had it struck off on some handbills. Before 
 the ink was dry the printer caught up one and hurried 
 away to a restaurant, where many patriots were assem- 
 bled. Waving the paper, he cried, " Listen to this ! " 
 and he read: — 
 
 " O say, can you see by the dawn's early light, 
 
 What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming, 
 
 Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight, 
 O'er the ramparts we watch'd were so gallantly streaming? 
 
 And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting m air, 
 
 Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. 
 O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave 
 O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave ? " 
 
 " Sing it ! sing it ! " cried the whole company. Charles 
 Durang mounted a chair, and then for the first time 
 " The Star-Spangled Banner " was smig. The tune was 
 
236 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 " To Anacreon in Heaven," an air which had long been 
 a favorite. The song was caught np at once. Halls, 
 theatres, and private houses rang with its strains. 
 
 The fleet was out of sight even before the poem was 
 printed. In the middle of the night the admiral had 
 sent to the British soldiers the message, " I can do no- 
 thing more," and they had hurried on board the vessels. 
 It was not long before they left Chesapeake Bay alto- 
 gether, — perhaps with the new song ringing in their 
 ears as they went. 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 A British fleet in Chesapeake Bay — alarm in Annapohs — plans 
 of General Ross — the soldiers land — a sharp fight — British 
 plans for the following morning — marching to Annapolis — why 
 the attack was delayed — bombarding the forts — Key watches 
 Fort McIIenry — where he and his friend were — their anxiety 
 through the night — what they saw " by the dawn's early light " 
 — "The Star- Spangled Banner" — when it was first sung — de- 
 parture of the fleet. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 The alarm of the people of Annapolis at the coming of the Brit- 
 ish. 
 When "The Star-Spangled Banner " was written. 
 The first singing of the song. 
 
DAVID CROCKETT 237 
 
 DAYID CROCKETT 
 
 THE TENNESSEE PIONEER 
 
 A FEW years before the War of 1812, there was a 
 very homesick little boy in Yirginia. His home 
 was only a hut of logs in the wilderness of eastern Ten- 
 nessee, but the one thing that he wanted most was to 
 see it again. His father had hired him to a drover to 
 help drive some cattle a journey of foui* hundred miles. 
 No plan was made for his return, but the twelve-year- 
 old boy made one for himself. He soon found that the 
 only means of getting away from the drover was to run 
 away. One stormy night he tramped seven miles through 
 the snow to join a man who was going toward his home; 
 but the man went so slowly that the impatient boy pushed 
 on ahead and made much of the long journey alone. 
 
 This was the beginning of his adventures. From 
 that time until he was fifteen he drove cattle, did farm 
 work, and contrived somehow to get enough money to- 
 gether to buy a rifle. When he was fifteen he concluded 
 that he ought to know something of books ; so he began 
 to go to school four days in the week, working two days 
 for his board. In six months he learned to read a little, 
 to write his name, and to do easy examples in addition, 
 subtraction, division, and multiplication; and that was 
 all the '' schooling " that he ever had. When he was 
 
238 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 eighteen his property consisted of a suit of coarse 
 homespun, a rifle, and a horse that he had not paid for. 
 The next thing that he did was to get a wife ; but it did 
 
 THE MARRIAGE OF DAA^ID CROCKETT 
 
 not seem to occur to him until after the wedding that he 
 had no home for the pretty httle girl of seventeen who 
 had married him. They looked about them, found a log 
 
DAVID CROCKETT 239 
 
 cabin that some one had left, and moved in. The bride's 
 parents gave them two cows and two calves. A man for 
 whom David had worked lent them fifteen dollars with 
 which to fm'nish their house. 
 
 One day, three or four years later, David said to his 
 wife, " Let us go to western Tennessee. The land here 
 is all taken up, but there we can have four hundred 
 acres if we build a house and plant some corn." The 
 little wife was willing to go wherever her husband 
 wished and they set out. She and her two little boys 
 rode on the horse. The furs that they used for bedding, 
 their few dishes, and their spinning wheel were put 
 upon the backs of David's two colts; and so the family 
 made a journey of two hundred and fifty miles through 
 the wilderness. Then David built a log house, made a 
 table and some three-legged stools, drove some pegs 
 into the walls to hang their clothes on, if they happened 
 to have any that they were not wearing, and they were 
 at home. David was a remarkably good marksman, 
 and they had plenty of venison and wild turkey. There 
 was a stream at hand that was full of fish. N^o one need 
 starve in such a place. 
 
 But David was restless. In two years he moved 
 again. Then came the War of 1812. There was trouble 
 with the Indians in Alabama, and he volunteered as a 
 soldier. The Indians wished to be friendly, but some 
 rascally w^hite men had been stealing from them and had 
 
240 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 even shot some of them. At hist the Indians began to 
 pay back. They made an attack npon a fort and killed 
 almost every one in it. The whole region was aroused. 
 " I am going to help fight the Indians," said David to 
 his wife. 
 
 " But what can we do if they come npon us ? " she 
 exclaimed. " We are hundreds of miles from my friends. 
 If anything should happen to you, we should starve." 
 
 So she pleaded, but David replied, '' I ought to go. 
 I owe it to my country. Moreover, if we do not punish 
 them, they will kill us all." And away he went. 
 
 So it was that he became a soldier. He was a great 
 favorite, and no w onder, for he was not only a daring 
 fighter but a good hunter. After a little wdiile the of- 
 ficers said one to another, " We may as well let Crockett 
 do what he pleases, he always comes out I'ight." So 
 after that this independent soldier did just what he 
 chose. He Avould slip away from the line of march and 
 come back, perhaps with a turkey that he had shot. 
 Even a squirrel was welcome in those hungry days, and 
 whatever David had he was ready to share. T^o one 
 could hel]) liking him, for he was so generous and so 
 full of fun. Wherever he went there were good times. 
 
 David was a strong man, but there came a time when 
 he suddenly became very ill many miles from camp. 
 As he lay under a tree, some Indians came that way. 
 They stopped and looked at him. He had powder and 
 
DAVID CROCKETT 
 
 241 
 
 bullets and a rifle, the three things that they cared for 
 most; but, instead of taking them and walking off, they 
 said by signs, " Sick ? Eat this; " and they held a piece 
 
 CKOCKi-rrr <.>n the march 
 
 of melon to his lips. He felt so badly that he could not 
 eat even that. Then one of them said, " You will die 
 and be buried if you do not eat." Another said, " Come, 
 I will go with you and carry your gun ; " and they all 
 went with him to the nearest house, a mile and a half 
 away. 
 
 He was sick for several weeks, but at last he found 
 his way home. A little later his wife and the youngest 
 child wxre again on horseback, for now David was go- 
 
242 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 ing to southern Tennessee. Other settlers came there, 
 some thieves among them. "We must have a justice of 
 the peace," the settlers declared. " Let 's take Crockett." 
 So the hunter became a magistrate. He had never read 
 a page of a law book, but he had a good deal of common 
 sense, and he did just what he thought was fair. When 
 a man was accused of stealing anything, this new justice 
 would say, " Catch that fellow and bring him up for 
 trial." Then if he proved to be the thief, Crockett 
 would order, " Tie him up and give him a whipping." 
 By and by Crockett was made a magistrate by law, and 
 now he was in trouble ; for he was told that his warrant 
 for arresting men must be in what he called " real writ- 
 ing," and he could hardly scribble his own name. He 
 got over this difficulty by saying to the constable, 
 " Whenever you see that a warrant is necessary, you 
 need n't come all the way to me. Just fill one out, and 
 if it is n't right, I'll change it." Then the justice went 
 to work, and before long he could not only write a war- 
 rant but keep his record book. 
 
 But he was growing restless again, and soon he made 
 another move. This time he built his cabin seven miles 
 from the nearest neighbor. To this lonely place a man 
 came one day and showed him a newspaper. It said that 
 Crockett was a candidate for the legislature. " They 
 mean that for a joke on me," said Crockett, " but I '11 
 make them pay for it." So he set out to persuade people 
 
DAVID CROCKETT 243 
 
 that he was the one they wanted to help make their laws ; 
 and when the time came to vote, David Crockett was 
 elected. 
 
 By and by the backwoodsman and two well educated 
 men were nominated for Congress. At a meeting 
 Crockett spoke first and then was followed by the other 
 two. They tried to answer each other, but said not a 
 word about Crockett. One of these had been much an- 
 noyed while making his speech by some guinea hens, 
 and at last had asked to have them driven away. As 
 soon as he stopped speaking, Crockett called out, " Gen- 
 eral, you had not the politeness to allude to me in your 
 speech. But when my little friends, the guinea hens, 
 came ujd and began to holler, ' Crockett, Crockett, 
 Crockett,' you were ungenerous enough to drive them 
 all away." This raised a laugh. AVhen the time came 
 to vote, Crockett was elected; and later he set out in 
 the old stagecoach for Washington. 
 
 IS^ow David Crockett could write, but he had learned 
 little more from books. He had, however, learned a 
 good deal from people. He said before he went to the 
 legislature, " If any one had come along and told me 
 he was ' the government,' I should have believed him." 
 But he had kept his ears open, he had asked questions, 
 and, best of all, he had done a great amount of thinking, 
 and had his own opinion on all questions of the day. 
 General Jackson was the " big man" of his party, and 
 
244 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 Crockett voted for whatever bills he proposed mitil 
 one was brought forward that he did not think just. He 
 voted against that one. After his term in Congress was 
 over, he made a little speech, explaining why he had not 
 followed the general. " Gentlemen," he said, " there 
 was once a boy whose master told him to plow across 
 the field to a red cow. Well, he began to plow and she 
 began to walk; and he plowed all the forenoon after 
 her. When the master came, he swore at him for going 
 so crooked. ' Why, sir,' said the boy, ' you told me to 
 plow to the red cow, and I ke|3t after her, but she al- 
 ways kept moving.' " 
 
 People liked Crockett not only because he could tell 
 funny stories and make them all laugh, but because he 
 was so honest and truthful and brave ; because he had 
 so much common sense and w^as so reasonable ; and be- 
 cause he was so kind and friendly and generous to 
 every one. He was petted and praised wherever he 
 went. Presents were given him, he was invited to din- 
 ners and treated with the utmost honor. Crowds came 
 together to hear him speak, and he was always cheered 
 and applauded. 
 
 But now a great disappointment came to the congress- 
 man. He had expected to be elected again, and j^erhaps 
 some day to be made President; but the people who 
 voted for him in the first place were friends of General 
 Jackson, and they would not elect any one who was 
 
DAVID CROCKETT 245 
 
 against him. Crockett had seen his last days in Congress. 
 He went home and wrote, " Here, like the wearied bird, 
 let me settle down for awhile, and shut out the world." 
 But he was soon uneasy and restless. War was going 
 on with Mexico, and he mounted his horse and rode 
 away to help carry it on. He fought furiously, but 
 finally was taken prisoner. The Mexican President had 
 ordered that all prisoners should be put to death, so 
 David Crockett never returned to the little log house in 
 the Tennessee wilderness. 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 The first adventure of David Crockett — his next three years — 
 his sliort scliool life — his property at eighteen — his marriage and 
 liome — plans to go to western Tennessee — the journey — the 
 new home — trouble with the Indians — he becomes a soldier — 
 his independence — kindness of the Indians when he was ill — 
 he becomes a magistrate — how he treated thieves — his plan to 
 avoid writing — he becomes a candidate for the legislature and is 
 elected — Crockett and the guinea hens — Avhat he learned — his 
 story of the red cow — why people liked him — why he was not 
 reelected — he fights in Mexico — is put to death. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 How David ran away. 
 
 The home of the Crocketts in western Tennessee. 
 
 The friendly Indians. 
 
246 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 CHRISTOPHER CARSOT^ 
 
 TRAPPER AND GUIDE 
 
 WHILE the War of 1812 was going on, a family 
 in Missouri were aroused one night by a hght 
 knock at the door, and a hoarse whisper, " Lidians ! " 
 The father of the family caught up his gun, the mother 
 dressed the children as well as she could in the darkness, 
 and the whole family hurried to the log fort. 
 
 Kit Carson was one of these children, and this scene 
 was among the earliest of his memories. It was an excit- 
 ing life for a little boy, and he must have felt that his 
 days were dull enough when his father apprenticed 
 him to a saddler and hour after hour he had to sit and 
 stitch on saddles and harnesses. He did his work well, 
 but two years later, when he was eighteen, he had a 
 chance to do something that he liked much better. A 
 company were going to carry goods from eastern Mis- 
 souri to the Spanish town of Santa Fe, and he went 
 with them. He did not return with them, however, but 
 pushed on farther into the momitains. When he was 
 hungry, he shot a bird or a squirrel or a turkey or, per- 
 haps, a deer. When night came, he made a little shel- 
 ter of bark and boughs. In the mountains he chanced to 
 meet a hunter who had built himself a hut and meant to 
 spend the winter. Kit agreed to stay with him. With 
 
CHRISTOPHER CARSON 247 
 
 plenty of furs and wood, they were sure of being'warm ; 
 and with their rifles there was no trouble about keeping 
 the table well supplied. He studied Spanish with his 
 new friend, and studied 
 so hard that when spring 
 came he could speak the 
 language with ease. 
 
 In the spring Kit 
 started to go home, but 
 on the way he met some 
 traders. When they 
 found that he had been 
 over the trail twice, they / 
 asked, " Will you turn 
 back and be our guide ? " 
 The next question was, 
 " Can you speak Span- 
 ish y " Kit answered 
 yes to both questions, 
 and they offered him large pay if he would go with 
 them not only as guide but as interpreter. This was 
 just what he wanted to do, so back he went to Santa Fe. 
 
 His next business was hunting and trapping. He 
 would start off for a month or more with a horse to ride 
 and a mule to carry the luggage. He wore trousers and 
 hunting shirt, or tunic, of deerskin, often cut into fringe 
 at the bottom and ornamented with embroidery of por- 
 
 CHRISTOPHER CAKSON 
 
248 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 cupine quills. On his feet were thick moccasins. Of 
 course he had a rifle, plenty of powder and bullets, and 
 a sharp knife stuck into a sheath at his belt. The mule 
 carried more ammunition, a blanket or two, iron traps, 
 and an extra knife and hatchet. Carson was in search of 
 beaver, and when he saw their dams in a stream he chose 
 some place near for his camp. To make his house he 
 drove two strong stakes into the ground and two shorter 
 ones back of them. On top of these stakes he laid 
 boughs and bark for a roof. The walls were also made 
 of bark. In half a day he could build this shed, open on 
 one side. His bed was a fur robe or a blanket spread 
 upon hemlock branches. There was plenty to eat in the 
 stream and the forest, so when the house was built he 
 set his beaver traps. Every morning he went to examine 
 them. He skinned the beavers that had been caught, 
 stretched the skins out to dry, and when he had as many 
 skins as his mule could carry, he went back to the set- 
 tlement and sold them. 
 
 For several years he lived as ti'apper and guide. He 
 had all sorts of adventures. Once when he was alone in 
 the woods he shot an elk, but before he could load his 
 gun again he heard angry growls behind him. They 
 came from two big grizzly bears that were rushing to- 
 ward him. Of course he ran for a tree, and swung him- 
 self up among the branches, but only a moment before 
 one bear struck a fierce blow with his paw. Unluckily, 
 
CHRISTOPHER CARSON 
 
 249 
 
 grizzly bears can climb 
 trees, as Kit well knew; 
 but these two waited a 
 minute, as if deciding 
 which should go first. 
 In that minute the hunter 
 had pulled out his sharp 
 knife, cut off a stout 
 bi'anch and made it into 
 a cudgel. He knew that 
 while a grizzly bear does 
 not object seriously to be- 
 ing peppered with shot, 
 he is very sensitive to 
 even a scratch on the 
 end of his nose. There- 
 fore, when the first bear 
 began to climb. Kit Car- 
 son gave him a tremen- 
 dous blow right on his 
 sensitive nose. The bear 
 dropped to the ground 
 howling and roaring. 
 The other one tried it, 
 but in a minute he, too, 
 was howling with the 
 pain in the end of his precious nose. They glared up 
 
 CAKSON TREED BY A BEAR 
 
250 AMERICAN HERO STOKIES 
 
 into the tree at the man with the cudgel. They growled 
 at him, they snarled, and they roared; but neither of 
 them cared to meet the stick again. At last they con- 
 cluded that they would have to get their dinner some- 
 where else, so they trotted away together, still growling 
 and occasionally looking back over their shoulders. 
 
 There was always danger from Indians. Kit Carson 
 treated them fairly and kindly, but there were many 
 other men who stole from them and shot them as if 
 they were wild beasts. The Indians looked upon all 
 white men as belonging to one tribe, and, therefore, if 
 a white man had injured them, they thought it was only 
 justice to punish any other white man whom they could 
 catch. When the hmiters made a camp, they had to 
 keep close guard or their horses would be stolen. Once, 
 when Kit Carson was with a party of hunters, they 
 found one morning that the Indians had crept up in 
 the night and carried away eighteen horses. Carson 
 and eleven other men galloped after them, and at the 
 end of a fifty-mile ride came upon them. It was noon, 
 and the Indians had stopped to rest the animals. When 
 they saw the white men, one Indian came toward them 
 unarmed. That meant, " I want to talk with you." Kit 
 Carson, also unarmed, went toward the Indian, and this 
 meant, " I am ready to listen." The Indian said, " We 
 never thought those horses were yours; we supposed 
 they belonged to the Snake Indians, our enemies. The 
 
CHRISTOPHER CARSOX 251 
 
 white men are our friends, and we should not think of 
 injuring them." Xot a word did they say about giving 
 back the horses. 
 
 "WTien they were through speaking. Kit Carson said, 
 *• I am glad that you are oui- friends. We are willing to 
 forcnve the mistake. We will take our horses and go 
 away.*' But no horses were brought. He insisted, and 
 at length they brought five of the poorest that they had 
 stolen. " That is all.'' they said. ** We will bring no 
 more." Then both parties seized their rifles, and every 
 man tried to get behind a tree. There was a long fight, 
 but at last the Indians fled. All the red men who knew 
 Carson liked him. and often, instead of shooting them 
 or trying to keep them from shooting him, he acted as 
 peacemaker among them. It happened once that the 
 Sioux had been hunting on the land of the Comanches, 
 and the two tribes had fought several battles. The chief 
 of the Comanches sent to Carson and said. "* Will you 
 not come to help us and lead us against the Sioux ? " 
 Carson went to them, but, instead of leading them 
 to war. he persuaded the Sioux to leave the hunting 
 -ground of the Comanches. and there was no more fight- 
 ing. 
 
 After sixteen years of such life, he went back to his 
 old home in Missouri ; but many of his friends were dead 
 and the place was so changed that he soon left it and 
 started to return to the west. On the steamboat going 
 
252 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 up the Missouri, he met Lieutenant John C. Fremont, 
 whom the government had sent to explore the country 
 west of Missouri. His guide had failed him, and he was 
 glad to engage Carson. 
 
 Then Carson became a messenger. He went alone 
 for three or four hundred miles, although he knew that 
 the Indians were angry with the whites, and would be 
 likely to kill even him if they could catch him. He went 
 on two other expeditions with Fremont, and twice made 
 the long journey to Washington with lettei's from him 
 to the President. It must have seemed very strange to 
 the hunter to be the guest of honor at dimiers and re- 
 ceptions and to meet all the " great folk " of Washing- 
 ton and St. Louis; but he was so gentle and courteous 
 that every one liked him, and he was so simple and sin- 
 cere and so forgetful of himself that he could not be 
 awkward. 
 
 After- Carson went back to Santa Fe, he bought a 
 large farm, or ranch, in New Mexico, and there he lived 
 with his wife, a Mexican lady, and their children. He 
 did other things besides managing his ranch. Once he 
 spent many weeks driving a flock of more than six thou- 
 sand sheep from his home to California. He could not 
 have done this if he had not known so well in which 
 direction to go and just where to find water and good 
 pasture. Once he brought together eighteen of his old 
 friends, and they went off on a trapping excursion up 
 
CHRISTOPHER CARSON 253 
 
 the South Platte River. They had not lost their skill, 
 and they came back with a great quantity of furs. 
 
 The government appointed Carson Indian agent, and 
 no better man could have been found. Almost all the 
 tribes knew him, and called him " Father Kit." The 
 good ones loved him, but the bad ones were much 
 afraid of him; for if they attacked the white men, he 
 was sure to punish them. Sometimes when he heard 
 that the Indians were planning a war, he went straight 
 to their encampment and talked with them as if they 
 had been his children. " You have hundreds of war- 
 riors," he would say, " but the Great Father in Wash- 
 ington has thousands. You will kill some of his soldiers, 
 but he has plenty more to call out, and in the end they 
 will kill all your warriors. Why do you make him fight 
 you? He does not want to fight. He wants to help 
 you, and to have you help him." The Indians would 
 almost always yield; and if all the white people had 
 treated them as fairly and reasonably as did Kit Carson, 
 there would have been few Indian wars. 
 
 ]S^ot long before Carson's death the story of his life 
 was written, and the book was read to him. His doctor 
 said afterwards: " It was wonderful to read of the stir- 
 ring scenes, thrilling deeds, and narroAv escapes, and 
 then look at the quiet, modest, retiring, but dignified 
 .little man who had done so much. . . . He w^as one of 
 nature's noblemen, pure, honorable, truthful, sincere.'' 
 
254 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 Carson's early memories — he is apprenticed to a saddler — he 
 goes to Santa Fe — spends the winter in the wilderness — learns 
 Spanish — he becomes a guide and interpreter — his hunter's 
 dress and outfit — building his house — catching beavers — his 
 adventure with the bears — why there was danger from Indians 
 — he pursues the horse-thieves — he acts as peacemaker among 
 the Indians — his return to Missouri — he meets Fremont and 
 aids in his explorations — he is honored in Washington and St. 
 Louis — buys a ranch in New Mexico — his journey with the 
 sheep — his last beaver hunt — he becomes Indian agent — he 
 hears the story of his life. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 What was Carson thinking of while he stitched on saddles ? 
 
 Carson's life when on a beaver hunt. 
 
 The bears' story of their meeting with Carson. 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLIS^ 
 
 PIONEER AND PRESIDENT 
 
 OlSTCE upon a time a family of settlers named Lin- 
 coln lived in a log house in Indiana. It was hardly 
 more than a shed, for it had neither floor nor windows. 
 It had a doorway, bnt the only door was a curtain of 
 bear-skins. There was one boy in the family, a little 
 fellow of seven years named Abraham. " My son is 
 going to have an education," the father used to say. 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN 255 
 
 " He is going to cipher clear threugh the arithmetic." 
 The boy went to school for a little while, and learned to 
 read and write. His mother taught him what she could. 
 Among other things she told him about the War of 1812, 
 that had just come to an end, and about the hardships 
 
 
 
 ^^^^^^v ^i^EZ 
 
 
 THE BOYHOOD OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 of the soldiers. " Everybody ought to l3e good to the 
 soldiers," she used to say. The child listened gravely, 
 and one day, when he had been fishing, he came home 
 empty handed because he had given his string of fish to 
 a soldier whom he met on the road. 
 
 When he was only eight years old his mother died, 
 and then the house was lonely indeed. After a time his 
 
256 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 father married again. The stepmother loved the little 
 boy, and did all she could to help him. He went to 
 school only six months in his life, but he borrowed 
 every book that he heard of in the country for fifty 
 miles around. He used to read them aloud to his step- 
 mother, and talk over with her what he did not under- 
 stand. He was not quick to learn, but he never gave up 
 a sentence until he had found out what it meant. Some 
 of these books were Rohinson Crusoe, Pilgrim\s Pro- 
 gress, u^soji's Fables, the Bible, a life of Washington, 
 and a history of the United States. One other book was 
 a copy of the Statutes of Indiana. He read these laws 
 over and over again until he knew almost the whole 
 volume by heart. In this book wei-e also the Declaration 
 of Independence and the Constitution of the United 
 States. He made himself some ink of roots, and cut a 
 turkey quill into a pen. For paper he used a shingle. 
 Then, when he was going to work in the field, he wrote 
 a paragraph from the l:)ook on the wood, and whenever 
 he stopped a minute to rest, he pulled out his shingle 
 and read a little to think over when he was working. 
 
 "I should like to be a lawyer," he said to himself; 
 but even when he was twenty-one it did not seem as if 
 he would ever be able to carry out his wish. Indeed, 
 he himself thought that it might be a good thing for 
 him to become a blacksmith, because he was so tall — 
 six feet and four inches — and so strong. His father 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN 257 
 
 needed help, however, for he was just moving to a new 
 farm in lUinois, and there was much for them both to 
 do. After building a new log house, the next thing 
 was to cut down some of the tall walnut-trees and split 
 them into rails for a fence. How Abraham Lincoln 
 
 THE EARLY HOME OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 would have opened his eyes if some one had whispered 
 what those rails would be used for thirty years later ! 
 
 The next thing that the young man did was to help 
 a man build a flatboat and float a load of goods down 
 the Mississippi to ^N'ew Orleans. On their return, he 
 " hired out " to work in this man's store, but in a year 
 the store was closed. Just at that time the Black Hawk 
 Indian War broke out, and Lincoln volunteered. The 
 
258 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 men of his company chose him captain, and he was mnch 
 pleased, though he had little notion how to drill them. 
 He always had his wits about him, however, and could 
 generally find a way out of his difficulties. One day his 
 company were marching across a field four abreast 
 when they came to a gate. The new captain had not 
 the slightest idea what command to give to get them 
 into single file so they could go through, or, as he 
 put it, to get them " through the gate endwise ; " so he 
 shouted, "The company is dismissed for two minutes, 
 when it will fall in again on the other side of the gate." 
 The war lasted only a few months. Then Lincoln 
 and another young man bought out the village store. 
 ]VIany stories are told of Lincoln as a storekeeper. 
 One is that by mistake he charged a man sixpence too 
 much and that very night walked three miles to the 
 man's house to return the money. He did other things 
 than tie up sugar and tea, for the village schoolmaster 
 had become his friend and was lending him books, hear- 
 ing him recite, and correcting his compositions. Lin- 
 coln's partner was careless, and Lincoln himself was 
 perhaps too much interested in study to watch him 
 closely. The result was that the business failed. Then 
 Lincoln said to his creditors, " I mean to j^ay that money, 
 and if you will trust me, I will give you every cent that 
 I earn above what is enough to live on." He owed 
 eleven hundred dollars. He used to speak of it as the 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN 259 
 
 " I^ational Debt." Finally he paid every penny of it, and 
 that was why his neighbors called him " Honest Abe." 
 
 Keeping store was bad for his pocketbook, but some- 
 thing happened one day when he was behind the counter 
 that was very good for him. A man who was moving 
 west with his family drove up and said, " Look here, 
 this barrel 's in the way. I 've no room in the wagon 
 for it, and there 's nothing of much value in it. I '11 sell 
 ' it for half a dollar. Will you buy it? " 
 
 To oblige the man, Lincoln bought the barrel, rolled 
 it out of the way, and forgot all about it. Some time 
 afterwards, he came upon it, knocked the head off, and 
 turned it over to see what was in it. At the very 
 bottom were Blackstone's Com'me7itaries, famous law 
 books. Lincoln oj^ened the volumes and began to read. 
 " The more I read, the more interested I became," he 
 said. He determined not to be a blacksmith or a store- 
 keeper or anything else but a lawyer; and after much 
 hard work a lawyer he became. His studying did not 
 stop then by any means, for he gave a certain number 
 of hours every day to the studies that he would have 
 taken up had he been in college. He worked hard on 
 his cases, too. He went over the case in his OAvn mind, 
 thinking over all the reasons for believing that his client 
 was in the right. Then he tried to think of everything 
 that the opposing lawyer could say to show the man in 
 the wrong and of what he himself could say in reply. 
 
260 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 In one famous case of which he had charge, he defended 
 an old neighbor who was accused of murder. One wit- 
 ness after another said, " I saw him commit the murder." 
 
 " What time was it? " Lincohi asked quietly. 
 
 " About eleven," they answered. 
 
 " How could you see so clearly at eleven o'clock at 
 night? " he demanded. 
 
 " The moon was shining," they said. 
 
 " Just where was the moon and how large was it? " 
 he asked. They told him its size and in what part of the 
 sky it was. 
 
 Then Lincoln pulled an almanac out of his pocket and 
 said to the court, " This is all the defense I have. This 
 almanac declares that there was no moon on the night 
 of the murder." The witnesses had made up their story 
 together, but had forgotten to see whether it agreed 
 with the moon. The man was declared to be inno- 
 cent. 
 
 Lincoln had been made a member of the state legisla- 
 ture and had been a congressman. In 1860 a meeting 
 was held to nominate a Republican candidate for the 
 presidency of the United States, and Lincoln was 
 chosen. Of course there were all sorts of emblems and 
 decorations used in the campaign, but the one that peo- 
 ple looked at most was two weather-beaten fence rails 
 trimmed with flowers and streamers and lighted tapers. 
 Over them was a banner which said they were two of 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 261 
 
 the rails cut by Abraham Lhicohi thirty years before. 
 When he was asked about them, he repHed, " I don't 
 know whether we made those rails or not; fact is, I 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 don't think they are a credit to the maker; but I loiow 
 this, — I made rails then, and I think I could make better 
 ones than these now." 
 
262 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 Lincoln became President, but there must have been 
 many days during the five years following when he 
 wished he had no harder work than splitting rails, for 
 the Civil War broke out. The President is command- 
 er-in-chief of the army; and Lincoln set to work to 
 study how to carry on war. He used every spare minute 
 to read about the subject. Then he called the military 
 committees of Congress together and laid before them 
 the plan that he had made. They did not follow it, but 
 to-day people who are wise in warfare say that if it had 
 been followed the war would have ended much sooner. 
 One of his generals was so insolent that the members 
 of the Cabinet were angry and indignant; but even then 
 Lincoln did not lose his patience. " ^ever mind," he 
 said, " I will hold his horse for him if he will only bring 
 us success." 
 
 Every day crowds of people came to see the President, 
 and almost every one wanted some favor. One wanted 
 to be postmaster somewhere, another wanted promotion 
 in the army, and many came to plead that he would par- 
 don some soldier who was condemned to die for desert- 
 ing or sleeping at his post. It is no wonder that the 
 weary President said to his secretary, " I wish George 
 Washington or some other old patriot were here to take 
 my place for a while, so that I could have a little rest." 
 Tired as he was, he would not send people away. Even 
 when a man persisted in reading him a long, wearisome 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN 263 
 
 paper, he did not refuse to listen. " What do you think 
 of it ? " the author demanded. " Well, for those who like 
 that sort of thing," replied the tired man, "I should 
 think it is just about the sort of thing they would 
 like." 
 
 It was almost impossible for him to refuse to pardon 
 a soldier. Perhaps he remembered that his mother had 
 said to him when he was a little boy, " Everybody ought 
 to be good to the soldiers." The generals objected. 
 They begged him not to interfere, but still the Presi- 
 dent could not help writing pardons. " It rests me after 
 a hard day's work," he said, " if I can find some good 
 cause for saving a man's life ; and I go to bed happy as 
 I think how joyous the signing of my name will make 
 him and his family and his friends." 
 
 One day an old man came to plead for the life of his 
 son, a soldier who had been sentenced to death. " I am 
 sorry I can do nothing for you," said the President, " but 
 the crime is unpardonable. Hear what General Butler 
 telegraphed me yesterday." And he read, " President 
 Lincoln, I pray you not to interfere with the courts- 
 martial of the army. You will destroy all discipline 
 among our soldiers." Then the old man was hopeless, 
 and he broke down completely. Lincoln could not bear 
 to see his sorrow. Suddenly he burst out, " Butler or 
 no Butler, here goes ! " and he wrote that the boy was 
 not to be shot without further orders from the Presi- 
 
264 AMERICAN HERO STORIES 
 
 dent. " There," he said, " if your son never dies till 
 orders come from me to shoot him, he will live to be a 
 great deal older than Methuselah." 
 
 At last the war came to an end, but only a few days 
 after its close the President was assassinated. The 
 poet, Walt Whitman, expressed his own grief and 
 that of millions of others in his poem, " My Captain." 
 In this the " Captain " is Pi*esident Lincoln, the " ship " 
 is the Union, and the " voyage " is the cruel war that had 
 just come to an end. 
 
 " The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done, 
 From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won ; 
 Exult O shores, and ring O bells ! 
 But I with mournful tread, 
 
 Walk the deck my Captain lies. 
 Fallen cold and dead." 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 Lincoln's early home — his father's plans for him — his mother's 
 teachings — his stepmother's aid — what he read — how he studied- 
 in the field — his plans for the future — he splits rails — visits 
 New Orleans — works in a store — becomes a soldier — how he 
 managed a drill — his life as a storekeeper — the "National Debt" 
 — how he decided to become a lawyer —his studying — how he 
 prepared his cases — defending a neighbor — the exhibition of the 
 fence-rails — Lincoln becomes President — how he made plans to 
 carry on the war — his patience with an insolent general — his tire- 
 some visitors — his pardons for soldiers— the assassination of the 
 President — Walt Whitman's poem. 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN 265 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK 
 
 The boy Abraham Lmcoln gives his fish to the soldier. 
 The fence-rails tell the story of their lives. 
 The old man whose sou Lincoln pardoned tells his wife about 
 the President. 
 
Electrotyped and pririted by H . O. Houghton <V Co. 
 Cambridge, Mass., U. S. A. 
 
 LbJe'2: 
 
 n^i