Stories of Great Americans

Stories of Great Americans

Stories ofGreat Americans

Stories Selected From:

Stories of Great Americansfor Little Americans

by Edward Eggleston

Fifty Famous People and Four Great Americans

by James Baldwin

A Patriotic Readerfor the Intermediate Grades

by Norma Helen Deming andKatharine Isabel Bemis

Women on the American Frontier by William Worthington Fowler

FORGOTTEN CLASSICS CHILDREN’S LIBRARYLibraries of Hope

Stories of Great Americans

Copyright © 2009 by Libraries of Hope, Inc. All rights reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in aretrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,without prior written permission of the publisher. Internationalrights and foreign translations available only through permissionof the publisher.

Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans by EdwardEggleston, New York: American Book Co., 1895

Four Great Americans: Washington, Franklin, Webster,Lincoln A Book for Young Americans by James Baldwin, NewYork: American Book Company, 1896.

Fifty Famous People by James Baldwin, New York: AmericanBook Co., 1912

Stories of Patriotism: A Patriotic Reader for IntermediateGrades compiled by Norma Helen Deming and KatharineIsabel Bemis, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1918

Women on the American Frontier: A Valuable and AuthenticHistory of the Heroism, Adventures, Privations, Captivities,Trials and Noble Lives and Deaths of the “Pioneer Mothers ofthe Republic”by William Fowler, Hartford: S.S. Scranton &Co., 1876.

Libraries of Hope, Inc.Appomattox, VA 24522

Website - www.librariesofhope.orgEmail - [email protected]

Printed in the United States of America

Publisher’s Note

Great care has been taken to findstories that appeal to all ages. You will note thebeginning selections are written for theyoungest audience and later ones forprogressively advanced readers.

We hope you will enjoy the variety. Wehave included stories of the famous– Lincoln,Washington, and Franklin as well as lesserknown names like Benezet, Marshall andGreeley. But of equal worth are thecontributions of the unnamed women of ourhistory – mothers left to care for children andhome while patriot husbands went off to war;women who showed uncommon courage in theface of danger and quiet faith in the midst ofrelentless hardship.

Although this is published as part of achildren’s library, adults will find many of thestories engaging and thought-provoking.

There is nothing like a big, comfy chair,a warm fire, and a parent sharing somethingthat has touched his or her own heart. To thisend – families sharing stories – we dedicate thisbook to you.

W ARM LY,THE PUBLISHERSLIBRARIES OF HOPE

ADDITIONAL SERIES IN THE FORGOTTEN CLASSICSCHILDREN’S LIBRARY

Great Lives Series

Introduction toGreat Literature Series

Familiar Classics Series

Historical Series

Science, Art, and Music Series

Table of Contents

Stories of Great Americansfor Little Americans

Franklin His Own Teacher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1A Great Good Man. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4How Benny West Learned to Be a Painter. . . . . . . . . . . . 10Washington’s Christmas Gift. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14How Washington Got out of a Trap.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Washington’s Last Battle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Marion’s Tower. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Clark and His Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Daniel Boone and His Grapevine Swing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Daniel Boone’s Daughter and Her Friends.. . . . . . . . . . . 33Stories About Jefferson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Quicksilver Bob. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41The First Steamboat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Washington Irving as a Boy.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46The Star-Spangled Banner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50How Audubon Came to Know About Birds. . . . . . . . . . 54Webster and the Poor Woman.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59The India Rubber Man. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Longfellow as a Boy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65Horace Greeley as a Boy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Horace Greeley Learning to Print.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71A Wonderful Woman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Table of Contents (Cont’d)

Fifty Famous People

Saving the Birds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Another Bird Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83The Midnight Ride. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85The Landlord’s Mistake. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90Going to Sea. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94The Young Scout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97The Whisperers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100The Dark Day.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104The Surly Guest.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107Why He Carried the Turkey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Four Great Americans: Washington, Franklin, Webster, Lincoln

A Book for Young Americans

The Story of Benjamin Franklin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 I.--The Whistle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 II.--Schooldays. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 III.--The Boys and the Wharf. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 IV.--Choosing a Trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 V.--How Franklin Educated Himself. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 VI.--Farewell to Boston. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 VII.--The First Day in Philadelphia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132


VIII--Governor William Keith. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 IX.--The Return to Philadelphia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 X.--The First Visit to England. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 XI.--A Leading Man in Philadelphia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 XII.--Franklin’s Rules of Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 XIII.--Franklin’s Services to the Colonies. . . . . . . . . . 150 XIV.--Franklin’s Wonderful Kite. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 XV.--The Last Years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158The Story of Daniel Webster. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 I.--Captain Webster. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 II.--The Youngest Son. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 III.--Ezekiel and Daniel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 IV.--Plans for the Future. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 V.--At Exeter Academy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 VI.--Getting Ready for College. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 VII.--At Dartmouth College. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182 VIII.--How Daniel Taught School. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 IX.--Daniel Goes to Boston. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 X.--Lawyer and Congressman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 XI.--The Dartmouth College Case.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199 XII.--Webster’s Great Orations.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 XIII.--Mr. Webster in the Senate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 XIV.--Mr. Webster in Private Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 XV.--The Last Years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209


A Patriotic Reader for the Intermediate Grades

The Martyr Patriot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215The Truth Speaker. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226A Winter at Valley Forge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232Lincoln, The Young Man. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238Lincoln’s First Reading. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240What Lincoln Learned in the Wilderness. . . . . . . . . . . . 247The Soldier’s Reprieve.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Women on the American Frontier

A Mother’s Daring Rescue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265A Mother’s Faith Through the Eyes of a Child. . . . . . . 267A Lonely Life on the Frontier. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270A Fire to Light the Way. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276A Patriot Mother’s Prayers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280Moving West--A Perilous Journey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284A Daring Rescue across the Rocky Mountains. . . . . . . 295Words of Comfort.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

GOD GIVE US MEN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310

Index of Names. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

Stories ofGreat Americans

for Little Americans

SELECTED STORIES

Edward Eggleston

Author’s Note

It is one of the purposes of these stories tomake the mind of the pupil familiar with someof the leading figures in the history of ourcountry by means of personal anecdote. Someof the stories are those that every Americanchild should know, because they have becomea kind of national folklore...I have thought itimportant to present as great a variety ofsubjects as possible, so that the pupil may learnsomething not only of great warriors andpatriots, but also of great statesmen...It willsurely serve to excite an early interest in ournational history by giving some of thepersonages of that history a place among theheroes that impress the susceptible imaginationof a child...

—Edward Eggleston

1

Franklin HisOwn Teacher

Few people ever knew so many things as Franklin.Men said, "How did he ever learn so many things?" Forhe had been a poor boy who had to work for a living.He could not go to school at all after he was ten yearsold.

His father made soap and candles. Little BenFranklin had to cut wicks for the candles. He also filledthe candle molds. And he sold soap and candles, andran on errands. But when he was not at work he spenthis time in reading good books. What little money hegot he used to buy books with.

He read the old story of "Pilgrim's Progress," andliked it so well that he bought all the other stories bythe same man. But as he wanted more books, and hadnot money to buy them, he sold all of these books. Thenext he bought were some little history books. Thesewere made to sell very cheap, and they were sold by

Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans

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peddlers. He managed to buy forty or fifty of these littlebooks of history.

Another way that he had of learning was by seeingthings with his own eyes. His father took him to seecarpenters at work with their saws and planes. He alsosaw masons laying bricks. And he went to see menmaking brass and copper kettles. And he saw a manwith a turning lathe making the round legs of chairs.Other men were at work making knives. Some thingspeople learn out of books, and some things they haveto see for themselves.

As he was fond of books, Ben's father thought thatit would be a good plan to send him to learn to printthem. So the boy went to work in his brother's printingoffice. Here he passed his spare time in reading. Heborrowed some books out of the stores where bookswere sold. He would sit up a great part of the nightsometimes to read one of these books. He wished toreturn it when the bookstore opened in the morning.One man who had many books lent to Ben such of hisbooks as he wanted.

It was part of the bargain that Ben's brother shouldpay his board. The boy offered to board himself if hisbrother would give him half what it cost to pay for hisboard.

Franklin His Own Teacher

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His brother was glad to do this, and Ben saved partof the money and bought books with it. He was ahealthy boy, and it did not hurt him to live mostly onbread and butter. Sometimes he bought a little pie or ahandful of raisins.

Long before he was a man, people said, "How muchthe boy knows!" This was because–

He did not waste his time.

He read good books.

He saw things for himself.

4

A Great Good Man

Some men are great soldiers. Some are greatlawmakers. Some men write great books. Some menmake great inventions. Some men are great speakers.Now you are going to read about a man that was greatin none of these things. He was not a soldier. He wasnot a great speaker. He was never rich. He was a poorschoolteacher. He never held any office.

And yet he was a great man. He was great for hisgoodness.

He was born in France. But most of his life waspassed in Philadelphia before the Revolution.

He was twenty-five years old when he became aschoolteacher. He thought that he could do more goodin teaching than in any other way.

Schoolmasters in his time were not like ourteachers. Children were treated like little animals. Inold times the schoolmaster was a little king. He walked

A Great Good Man

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and talked as if he knew everything. He wanted all thechildren to be afraid of him.

But Benezet was not that kind of man. He was verygentle. He treated the children more kindly than theirfathers and mothers did. Nobody in this country hadever seen a teacher like him.

He built a playroom for the children of his school.He used to take them to this room during school timefor a little amusement. He managed each child as hefound best. Some he could persuade to be good. Somehe shamed into being good. But this was very differentfrom the cruel beatings that other teachers of that timegave their pupils.

Of course the children came to love him very much.After they grew to be men and women, they kept theirlove for the good little schoolmaster. As long as theylived they listened to his advice.

There were no good schoolbooks in his time. Hewrote some little books to make learning easier to hispupils. He taught them many things not in their books.He taught them to be kind to brutes, and gentle withone another. He taught them to be noble. He madethem despise every kind of meanness.

He was a great teacher. That is better than being agreat soldier.


6

Benezet was a good man in many ways. He was thefriend of all poor people. Once he found a poor mansuffering with cold for want of a coat. He took off hisown coat in the street and put it on the poor man, andthen went home in his shirt sleeves.

In those days Negroes were stolen from Africa to besold into America. Benezet wrote little books againstthis wrong. He sent these books over all the worldalmost. He also tried to persuade the white men of hisown country to be honest and kind with the Indians.Great men in other countries were pleased with hisbooks. They wrote him letters. When any of them cameto this country, they went to see him. They wanted tosee a man that was good to everybody. His house wasa plain one. But great men liked to sit at the table of thegood schoolmaster.

There was war between the English and French atthat time. Canada belonged to the French. Our countrybelonged to the English. There was a country calledAcadia. It was a part of what is now Nova Scotia. Thepeople of Acadia were French.

The English took the Acadians away from theirhomes. They sent them to various places. Manyfamilies were divided. The poor Acadians lost theirhomes and all that they had.

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Many hundreds of these people were sent toPhiladelphia. Benezet became their friend. As he wasborn in France, he could speak their language. He gota large house built for some of them to stay in. He gotfood and clothing for them. He helped them to getwork, and did them good in many other ways.

One day Benezet's wife came to him with a troubledface. She said, "There have been thieves in the house.Two of my blankets have been stolen."

"Never mind, my dear," said Benezet, "I gave themto some of the poor Acadians."

One old Acadian was afraid of Benezet. He did notsee why Benezet should take so much trouble for otherpeople. He thought that Benezet was only trying to geta chance to sell the Acadians for slaves. When Benezetheard this, he had a good laugh.

Many years after this the Revolution broke out. Itbrought trouble to many people. Benezet helped asmany as he could.

After a while the British army took Philadelphia.They sent their soldiers to stay in the houses of thepeople. The people had to take care of the soldiers.This was very hard for the poor people.


8

One day Benezet saw a poor woman. Her faceshowed that she was in trouble.

"Friend, what is the matter?" Benezet said to her.She told him that six soldiers of the British army hadbeen sent to stay in her house. She was a washerwoman. But while the soldiers filled up the house shecould not do any washing. She and her children were inwant.

Benezet went right away to see the general that wasin command of the soldiers. The good man was in sucha hurry that he forgot to get a pass. The soldiers at thegeneral's door would not let him go in.

At last some one told the general that aqueer-looking fellow wanted to see him.

"Let him come up," said the general.

The odd little man came in. He told the general allabout the troubles of the poor washer woman. Thegeneral sent word that the soldiers must not stay anylonger in her house.

The general liked the kind little man. He told himto come to see him again. He told the soldiers at hisdoor to let Benezet come in whenever he wished to.

Soon after the Revolution was over, Benezet wastaken ill. When the people of Philadelphia heard that

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he was ill, they gathered in crowds about his house.Everybody loved him. Everybody wanted to knowwhether he was better or not. At last the doctors said hecould not get well. Then the people wished to see thegood man once more. The doors were opened. Therooms and halls of his house were filled with peoplecoming to say good-bye to Benezet, and going awayagain.

When he was buried, it seemed as if all Philadelphiahad come to his funeral. The rich and the poor, theblack and the white, crowded the streets. The city hadnever seen so great a funeral.

In the company was an American general. He said,"I would rather be Anthony Benezet in that coffin thanGeneral Washington in all his glory."

10

How Benny WestLearned to Be a Painter

In old times there lived in Pennsylvania a littlefellow whose name was Benjamin West. He lived in along stone house.

He had never seen a picture. The country was new,and there were not many pictures in it. Benny's fatherwas a Friend or Quaker. The Friends of that day didnot think that pictures were useful things to make or tohave. Before he was seven years old, this little boybegan to draw pictures. One day he was watching thecradle of his sister's child. The baby smiled. Benny wasso pleased with her beauty, that he made a picture ofher in red and black ink. The picture of the babypleased his mother when she saw it. That was verypleasant to the boy.

He made other pictures. At school he used to drawwith a pen before he could write. He made pictures ofbirds and of animals. Sometimes he would drawflowers.

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He liked to draw so well, that sometimes he forgotto do his work. His father sent him to work in the fieldone day. The father went out to see how well he wasdoing his work. Benny was nowhere to be found. At lasthis father saw him sitting under a large pokeweed. Hewas making pictures. He had squeezed the juice out ofsome pokeberries. The juice of pokeberries is deep red.With this the boy had made his pictures. When thefather looked at them, he was surprised. There wereportraits of every member of the family. His fatherknew every picture.

Up to this time Benny had no paints nor anybrushes. The Indians had not all gone away from thatneighborhood. The Indians paint their faces with redand yellow colors. These colors they make themselves.Sometimes they prepare them from the juice of someplant. Sometimes they get them by finding red oryellow earth. Some of the Indians can make roughpictures with these colors.

The Indians near the house of Benny's father musthave liked the boy. They showed him how to make redand yellow colors for himself. He got some of hismother's indigo to make blue. He now had red, yellow,and blue. By mixing these three, the other colors thathe wanted could be made.


12

But he had no brush to paint with. He took somelong hairs from the cat's tail. Of these he made hisbrushes. He used so many of the cat's hairs, that her tailbegan to look bare. Everybody in the house began towonder what was the matter with pussy's tail. At lastBenny told where he got his brushes.

A cousin of Benny's came from the city on a visit.He saw some of the boy's drawings. When he wenthome, he sent Benny a box of paints. With the paintswere some brushes. And there was some canvas such aspictures are painted on. And that was not all. Therewere in the box six beautiful engravings.

The little painter now felt himself rich. He was sohappy that he could hardly sleep at all. At night he putthe box that held his treasures on a chair by his bed. Assoon as daylight came, he carried the precious box tothe garret. The garret of the long stone house was hisstudio. Here he worked away all day long. He did notgo to school at all. Perhaps he forgot that there was anyschool. Perhaps the little artist could not tear himselfaway from his work.

But the schoolmaster missed him. He came to askif Benny was ill. The mother was vexed when she foundthat he had stayed away from school. She went to lookfor the naughty boy. After a while she found the littletruant. He was hard at work in his garret. She saw what

How Benny West Learned to Be a Painter

13

he had been doing. He had not copied any of his newengravings. He had made up a new picture by takingone person out of one engraving, and another out ofanother. He had copied these so that they made apicture that he had thought of for himself.

His mother could not find it in her heart to punishhim. She was too much pleased with the picture he wasmaking. This picture was not finished. But his motherwould not let him finish it. She was afraid he wouldspoil it if he did anything more on it.

The good people called Friends did not like themaking of pictures, as I said. But they thought thatBenny West had a talent that he ought to use. So hewent to Philadelphia to study his art. After a while hesailed away to Italy to see the pictures that great artistshad painted.

At last he settled in England. The King of Englandwas at that time the king of this country too. The kingliked West's pictures. West became the king's painter.He came to be the most famous painter in England.

He liked to remember his boyish work. He liked toremember the time when he was a little Quaker boymaking his paints of pokejuice and Indian colors.

14

Washington’sChristmas Gift

Washington was fighting to set this country free.But the army that the King of England sent to fight himwas stronger than Washington's army. Washington wasbeaten and driven out of Brooklyn. Then he had toleave New York. After that, he marched away into NewJersey to save his army from being taken. At last hecrossed the Delaware River. Here he was safe for awhile.

Some of the Hessian soldiers that the king hadhired to fight against the Americans came to Trenton.Trenton is on the Delaware River.

Washington and his men were on the other side ofthe Delaware River from the Hessians. Washington'smen were discouraged. They had been driven back allthe way from Brooklyn. It was winter, and they had nowarm houses to stay in. They had not even warmclothes. They were dressed in old clothes that people

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had given them. Some of them were barefooted in thiscold weather.

The Hessians and other soldiers of the king werewaiting for the river to freeze over. Then they wouldmarch across on the ice. They meant to fightWashington once more, and break up his army. ButWashington was thinking about something too.

He was waiting for Christmas. He knew that theHessian soldiers on the other side of the river wouldeat and drink a great deal on Christmas Day.

The afternoon of Christmas came. The Hessianswere singing and drinking in Trenton. But Washingtonwas marching up the river bank. Some of his barefootmen left blood marks on the snow as they marched.

The men and cannons were put into flat boats.These boats were pushed across the river with poles.There were many great pieces of ice in the river. But allnight long the flat boats were pushed across and thenback again for more men. It was three o'clock on themorning after Christmas when the last Americanscrossed the river. It was hailing and snowing, and it wasvery cold. Two or three of the soldiers were frozen todeath.

It was eight o'clock in the morning whenWashington got to Trenton. The Hessians were


16

sleeping soundly. The sound of the American drumswaked them. They jumped out of their beds. They raninto the streets. They tried to fight the Americans.

But it was too late. Washington had already takentheir cannons. His men were firing these at theHessians. The Hessians ran into the fields to get away.But the Americans caught them.

The battle was soon over. Washington had takennine hundred prisoners.

This was called the battle of Trenton. It gave greatjoy to all the Americans. It was Washington'sChristmas gift to the country.

17

How WashingtonGot out of a Trap

After the battle of Trenton, Washington went backacross the Delaware River. He had not men enough tofight the whole British army.

But the Americans were glad when they heard thathe had beaten the Hessians. They sent him moresoldiers. Then he went back across the river to Trentonagain.

There was a British general named Cornwallis. Hemarched to Trenton. He fought against Washington.Cornwallis had more men than Washington had. Nightcame, and they could not see to fight. There was a littlecreek between the two armies.

Washington had not boats enough to carry his menacross the river. Cornwallis was sure to beat him if theyshould fight a battle the next morning.

Cornwallis said, "I will catch the fox in themorning."


18

He called Washington a fox. He thought he hadhim in a trap. Cornwallis sent for some more soldiers tocome from Princeton in the morning. He wanted themto help him catch the fox.

But foxes sometimes get out of traps.

When it was dark, Washington had all his camp fireslighted. He put men to digging where the British couldhear them. He made Cornwallis think that he wasthrowing up banks of earth and getting ready to fight inthe morning.

But Washington did not stay in Trenton. He didnot wish to be caught like a fox in a trap. He could notget across the river. But he knew a road that wentround the place where Cornwallis and his army were.He took that road and got behind the British army.

It was just like John waiting to catch James. Jamesis in the house. John is waiting at the front door tocatch James when he comes out. But James slips out bythe back way. John hears him call "Hello!" James hasgone round behind him and got away.

Washington went out of Trenton in the darkness.You might say that he marched out by the back door.He left Cornwallis watching the front door. TheAmericans went away quietly. They left a few men to

How Washington Got out of a Trap

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keep up the fires, and make a noise like digging. Beforemorning these slipped away too.

When morning came, Cornwallis went to catch hisfox. But the fox was not there. He looked for theAmericans. There was the place where they had beendigging. Their camp fires were still burning. But wherehad they gone?

Cornwallis thought that Washington had crossedthe river by some means. But soon he heard guns firingaway back toward Princeton. He thought that it mustbe thunder. But he found that it was a battle. Then heknew that Washington had gone to Princeton.

Washington had marched all night. When he got toPrinceton, he met the British coming out to go toTrenton. They were going to help Cornwallis to catchWashington. But Washington had come to Princetonto catch them. He had a hard fight with the British atPrinceton. But at last he beat them.

When Cornwallis knew that the Americans hadgone to Princeton, he hurried there to help his men.But it was too late. Washington had beaten the Britishat Princeton, and had gone on into the hills, where hewas safe. The fox had got out of the trap.

20

Washington’s Last Battle

Washington had been fighting for seven years todrive the British soldiers out of this country. But therewere still two strong British armies in America.

One of these armies was in New York. It had beenthere for years. The other army was far away atYorktown in Virginia. The British general at Yorktownwas Cornwallis. You have read how Washington gotaway from him at Trenton.

The King of France had sent ships and soldiers tohelp the Americans. But still Washington had notenough men to take New York from the British. Yet hewent on getting ready to attack the British in NewYork. He had ovens built to bake bread for his men. Hebought hay for his horses. He had roads built to drawhis cannons on.

He knew that the British in New York would hearabout what he was doing. He wanted them to thinkthat he meant to come to New York and fight them.When the British heard what the Americans were

Washington’s Last Battle

21

doing, they got ready for the coming of Washingtonand the French. All at once they found thatWashington had gone. He and his men had marchedaway. The French soldiers that had come to help himhad gone with him.

Nobody knew what it meant. Washington's ownmen did not know where they were going. They wentfrom New Jersey into Pennsylvania. Then theymarched across Pennsylvania. Then they went intoMaryland. They marched across that State, and thenthey went into Virginia.

By this time everybody could tell whereWashington was going. People could see that he wasgoing straight to Yorktown. They knew thatWashington was going to fight his old enemy atYorktown.

But he had kept his secret long enough. The Britishin New York could not send help to Cornwallis. It wastoo late. The French ships sailed to Virginia, and shutup Yorktown on the side of the sea. Washington's menshut it up on the side of the land. They built greatbanks of earth round it. On these banks of earth theyput cannons.


22

The British could not get away. They foughtbravely. But the Americans and French came closerand closer.

Then the British tried to fight their way out. Butthey were driven back. Then Cornwallis tried to get hismen across the river. He wanted to get out by the backdoor, as Washington had done. But the Americans onthe other side of the river drove them back again.Washington had now caught Cornwallis in a trap.

The Americans fired red hot cannon balls intoYorktown. These set the houses on fire. At lastCornwallis had to give up. The British marched outand laid down their guns and swords.

The British army in New York could not fight theAmericans by itself. So the British gave it up. Thenthere was peace after the long war. The British pulleddown the British flag and sailed away. The country wasfree at last.

23

Marion’s Tower

General Marion was one of the best fighters in theRevolution. He was a homely little man. He was also avery good man. Another general said, "Marion is goodall over."

The American army had been beaten in SouthCarolina. Marion was sent there to keep the Britishfrom taking the whole country.

Marion got together a little army. His men hadnothing but rough clothes to wear. They had no gunsbut the old ones they had used to shoot wild ducks anddeer with.

Marion's men wanted swords. There were noswords to be had. But Marion sent men to take the longsaws out of the saw mills. These were taken toblacksmiths. The blacksmiths cut the saws into pieces.These pieces they hammered out into long, sharpswords.


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Marion had not so many men as the British. He hadno cannon. He could not build forts. He could not staylong in one place, for fear the British should come witha strong army and take him. He and his men hid in thedark woods. Sometimes he changed his hiding placesuddenly. Even his own friends had hard work to findhim.

From the dark woods he would come out suddenly.He would attack some party of British soldiers. Whenthe battle was over, he would go back to the woodsagain.

When the British sent a strong army to catch him,he could not be found. But soon he would be fightingthe British in some new place. He was always playinghide and seek.

The British called him the Swamp Fox. That wasbecause he was so hard to catch. They could notconquer the country until they could catch Marion.And they never could catch the Swamp Fox. At onetime Marion came out of the woods to take a littleBritish fort. This fort was on the top of a high mound.It was one of the mounds built a long time ago by theIndians.

Marion put his men all round the fort, so that themen in the fort could not get out to get water. He

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thought that they would have to give up. But the menin the fort dug a well inside the fort. Then Marion hadto think of another plan.

Marion's men went to the woods and cut downstout poles. They got a great many poles. When nightcame, they laid a row of poles alongside one another onthe ground. Then they laid another row across these.Then they laid another row on top of the last ones, andacross the other way again.

They laid a great many rows of poles one on top ofanother. They crossed them this way and that. As thenight went on, the pile grew higher. Still they handedpoles to top of the pile.

Before morning came, they had built a kind oftower. It was higher than the Indian mound.

As soon as it was light, the men on Marion's towerbegan to shoot. The British looked out. They saw agreat tower with men on it. The men could shoot downinto the fort. The British could not stand it. They hadto give up. They were taken prisoners.

26

Clark and His Men

At the time of the Revolution there were but fewpeople living on the north side of the Ohio River. Butthere were many Indians there. These Indians killed agreat many white people in Kentucky.

The Indians were sent by British officers to do thiskilling. There was a British fort at Vincennes in what isnow Indiana. There was another British fort or post atKaskaskia in what is now the State of Illinois.

George Rogers Clark was an American colonel. Hewanted to stop the murder of the settlers by theIndians. He thought that he could do it by taking theBritish posts.

He had three hundred men. They went down theOhio River in boats. They landed near the mouth ofthe Ohio River. Then they marched a hundred andthirty miles to Kaskaskia.

Kaskaskia was far away from the Americans. Thepeople there did not think that the Americans would

Clark and His Men

27

come so far to attack them. When Clark got there, theywere all asleep. He marched in and took the townbefore they waked up.

The people living in Kaskaskia were French. Bytreating them well, Clark made them all friendly to theAmericans.

When the British at Vincennes heard that Clark hadtaken Kaskaskia, they thought that they would take itback again. But it was winter. All the streams were fullof water. They could not march till spring. Then theywould gather the Indians to help them, and take Clarkand his men.

But Clark thought that he would not wait to betaken. He thought that he would just go and take theBritish. If he could manage to get to Vincennes in thewinter, he would not be expected.

Clark started with a hundred and seventy men. Thecountry was nearly all covered with water. The menwere in the wet almost all the time. Clark had hardwork to keep his men cheerful. He did everything hecould to amuse them.

They had to wade through deep rivers. The waterwas icy cold. But Clark made a joke of it. He kept themlaughing whenever he could. At one place the menrefused to go through the freezing water. Clark could


28

not persuade them to cross the river. He called to hima tall soldier. He was the very tallest man in Clark'slittle army. Clark said to him, "Take the little drummerboy on your shoulders."

The little drummer was soon seated high on theshoulders of the tall man. "Now go ahead!" said Clark.

The soldier marched into the water. The littledrummer beat a march on his drum. Clark cried out,"Forward!" Then he plunged into the water after thetall soldier. All the men went in after him. They weresoon safe on the other side.

At another river the little drummer was floated overon the top of his drum. At last the men drew near toVincennes. They could hear the morning and eveninggun in the British fort. But the worst of the way was yetto pass. The Wabash River had risen over its banks.The water was five miles wide. The men marched fromone high ground to another through the cold water.They caught an Indian with a canoe. In this they gotacross the main river. But there was more water tocross. The men were so hungry that some of them felldown in the water. They had to be carried out.

Clark's men got frightened at last, and then theyhad no heart to go any farther. But Clark rememberedwhat the Indians did when they went to war. He took

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a little gunpowder in his hand. He poured water on it.Then he rubbed it on his face. It made his face black.

With his face blackened like an Indian's, he gave anIndian war-whoop. The men followed him again.

The men were tired and hungry. But they soonreached dry ground. They were now in sight of the fort.Clark marched his little army round and round in sucha way as to make it seem that he had many men withhim. He wrote a fierce letter to the British commander.He behaved like a general with a large army.

After some fighting, the British commander gaveup. Clark's little army took the British fort. This braveaction saved to our country the land that lies betweenthe Ohio River and the Lakes. It stopped the sending ofIndians to kill the settlers in the West.

30

Daniel Boone and His Grapevine Swing

Daniel Boone was the first settler of Kentucky. Heknew all about living in the woods. He knew how tohunt the wild animals. He knew how to fight Indians,and how to get away from them.

Nearly all the men that came with him to Kentuckythe first time were killed. One was eaten by wolves.Some of them were killed by Indians. Some of themwent into the woods and never came back. Nobodyknows what killed them.

Only Boone and his brother were left alive. Theyneeded some powder and some bullets. They wantedsome horses. Boone's brother went back across themountains to get these things. Boone stayed in his littlecabin all alone.

Boone could hear the wolves howl near his cabin atnight. He heard the panthers scream in the woods. Buthe did not mind being left all alone in these dark

Daniel Boone and His Grapevine Swing

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forests. The Indians came to his cabin when he wasaway. He did not want to see these visitors. He did notdare to sleep in his cabin all the time. Sometimes heslept under a rocky cliff. Sometimes he slept in acanebrake. A canebrake is a large patch of growingcanes such as fishing rods are made of.

Once a mother bear tried to kill him. He fired hisgun at her, but the bullet did not kill her. The bear ranat him. He held his long knife out in his hand. The bearran against it and was killed.

He made long journeys alone in the woods. Oneday he looked back through the trees and saw fourIndians. They were following Boone's tracks. They didnot see him. He turned this way and that. But theIndians still followed his tracks.

He went over a little hill. Here he found a wildgrapevine. It was a very long vine, reaching to the top ofa high tree. There are many such vines in the Southernwoods. Children cut such vines off near the roots.Then they use them for swings.

Boone had swung on grapevines when he was a boy.He now thought of a way to break his tracks. He cut thewild grapevine off near the root. Then he took hold ofit. He sprang out into the air with all his might. Thegreat swing carried him far out as it swung. Then he let


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go. He fell to the ground, and then he ran away in adifferent direction from that in which he had beengoing.

When the Indians came to the place, they could notfind his tracks. They could not tell which way he hadgone. He got to his cabin in safety.

Boone had now been alone for many months. Hisbrother did not get back at the time he had set forcoming. Boone thought that his brother might havebeen killed. Boone had not tasted anything but meatsince he left home. He had to get his food by shootinganimals in the woods. By this time he had hardly anypowder or bullets left.

One evening he sat by his cabin. He heard someone coming. He thought that it might be Indians. Heheard the steps of horses. He looked through the trees.He saw his brother riding on one horse, and leadinganother. The other horse was loaded with powder andbullets and clothes, and other things that Booneneeded.

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Daniel Boone’s Daughterand Her Friends

Daniel Boone and his brother picked out a goodplace in Kentucky to settle. Then they went home toNorth Carolina. They took with them such things aswere curious and valuable. These were the skins ofanimals they had killed, and no doubt some of theheads and tails.

Boone was restless. He had seen Kentucky and hedid not wish to settle down to the life of NorthCarolina.

In two years Boone sold his farm in North Carolinaand set out for Kentucky. He took with him his wifeand children and two brothers. Some of their neighborswent with them. They traveled by pack train. All theirgoods were packed on horses.

When they reached the place on the Kentucky Riverthat Boone had chosen for a home they built a fort oflog houses. These cabins all stood round a square. The


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backs of the houses were outward. There was no dooror window in the back of a house. The outer walls werethus shut up. They made the place a fort. The houses atthe four corners were a little taller and stronger thanthe others. There were gates leading into the fort.These gates were kept shut at night.

In the evening the people danced and amusedthemselves in the square. Indians could not creep upand attack them.

When the men went out to feed the horses andcows they carried their guns. They walked softly andturned their eyes quickly from point to point to see ifIndians were hiding near. They held their guns so theycould shoot quickly.

The women and children had to stay very near thefort so they could run in if an Indian came in sight.

Daniel Boone had a daughter named Jemima. Shewas about fourteen years old. She had two friendsnamed Frances and Betsey Calloway. FrancesCalloway was about the same age as Jemima.

One summer afternoon these three girls went out ofthe fort. They went to the river and got into a canoe. Itwas not far from the fort. They felt safe. They laughedand talked and splashed the water with their paddles.

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The current carried them slowly near the othershore. They could still see the fort. They did not thinkof danger.

Trees and bushes grew thick down to the edge ofthe river. Five strong Indians were hiding in the bushes.

One Indian crept carefully through the bushes. Hemade no more noise than a snake. When he got to theedge of the water he put out his long arm and caughthold of the rope that hung down from the canoe. In amoment he had turned the boat around and drawn itout of sight from the fort. The girls screamed whenthey saw the Indian. Their friends heard them butcould not cross the river to help them. The girls hadtaken the only canoe.

Boone and Calloway were both gone from the fort.They got home too late to start that day. No sleepcame to their eyes while they waited for light to travelby.

As soon as there was a glimmer of light they and aparty of their friends set out. It was in July and theycould start early.

They crossed the river and easily found the Indians'tracks where they started. The brush was broken downthere. The Indians were cunning. They did not keepclose together after they set out. Each Indian walked by


36

himself through the tall canes. Three of the Indianstook the captives.

Boone and his friends tried in vain to follow them.Sometimes they would find a track but it would soonbe lost in the thick canes.

Boone's party gave up trying to find their path.They noticed which way the Indians were going. Thenthey walked as fast as they could the same way forthirty miles. They thought the Indians would growcareless about their tracks after traveling so far.

They turned so as to cross the path they thoughtthe Indians had taken. They looked carefully at theground and at the bushes to see if any one had gone by.

Before long they found the Indians' tracks in abuffalo path. Buffaloes and other animals go often tolick salt from the rocks round salt springs. They beatdown the brush and make great roads. These roads runto the salt springs. The hunters call them streets.

The Indians took one of these roads after they gotfar from the fort. They could travel more easily in it.They did not take pains to hide their tracks.

As fast as their feet could carry them, Boone and hisfriends traveled along the trail. When they had goneabout ten miles they saw the Indians.

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The Indians had stopped to rest and to eat. It wasvery warm and they had put off their moccasins andlaid down their arms. They were kindling a fire to cookby.

In a moment the Indians saw the white men. Booneand Calloway were afraid the Indians would kill thegirls.

Four of the white men shot at the Indians. Then allrushed at them. The Indians ran away as fast as theycould. They did not stop to pick up their guns or knivesor hatchets. They had no time to put on theirmoccasins.

The poor worn out girls were soon safe in theirfathers' arms.

Back to Boonesborough they went, not mindingtheir tired feet. When they got to the fort there wasgreat joy to see them alive. I do not believe they everplayed in the water again.

38

Stories About Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was one of the great men of theRevolution. He was not a soldier. He was not a greatspeaker. But he was a great thinker. And he was a greatwriter.

He wrote a paper that was the very beginning of theUnited States. It was a paper that said that we would befree from England, and be a country by ourselves. Wecall that paper the Declaration of Independence.

When he was a boy, Jefferson was fond of boyishplays. But when he was tired of play, he took up a book.It pleased him to learn things. From the time when hewas a boy he never sat down to rest without a book.

At school he learned what other boys did. But thedifference between him and most other boys was this:he did not stop with knowing just what the other boysknew. Most boys want to learn what other boys learn.Most girls would like to know what their schoolmatesknow. But Jefferson wanted to know a great deal more.

Stories About Thomas Jefferson

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As a young man, Jefferson knew Latin and Greek.He also knew French and Spanish and Italian.

He did not talk to show off what he knew. He triedto learn what other people knew. When he talked to awagon maker, he asked him about such things as awagon maker knows most about. He would sometimesask how a wagon maker would go to work to make awheel.

When Jefferson talked to a learned man, he askedhim about those things that this man knew most about.When he talked with Indians, he got them to tell himabout their language. That is the way he came to knowso much about so many things. Whenever anybodytold him anything worth while, he wrote it down assoon as he could.

One day Jefferson was traveling. He went onhorseback. That was a common way of traveling at thattime. He stopped at a country tavern. At this tavern hetalked with a stranger who was staying there.

After a while Jefferson rode away. Then the strangersaid to the landlord, "Who is that man? He knew somuch about law, that I was sure he was a lawyer. Butwhen we talked about medicine, he knew so muchabout that, that I thought he must be a doctor. And


40

after a while he seemed to know so much aboutreligion, that I was sure he was a minister. Who is he?"

The stranger was very much surprised to hear thatthe man he had talked with was Thomas Jefferson.

41

Quicksilver Bob

Robert Fulton was the man who set steamboats torunning on the rivers. Other men had made such boatsbefore. But Fulton made the first good one.

When he was a boy, he lived in the town ofLancaster in Pennsylvania. Many guns were made inLancaster. The men who made these guns put littlepictures on them. That was to make them sell to thehunters who liked a gun with pictures. Little RobertFulton could draw very well for a boy. He made somepretty little drawings. These the gun makers put ontheir guns.

Fulton went to the gun shops a great deal. He likedto see how things were made. He tried to make a smallair gun for himself.

He was always trying to make things. He got somequicksilver. He was trying to do something with it. Buthe would not tell what he wanted to do. So thegunsmiths called him Quicksilver Bob.


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He was so much interested in such things, that hesometimes neglected his lessons. He said that his headwas so full of new notions, that he had not much roomleft for school learning. One morning he came toschool late.

"What makes you so late?" asked the teacher.

"I went to one of the shops to make myself a leadpencil," said little Bob. "Here it is. It is the best one Iever had."

The teacher tried it, and found it very good. Leadpencils in that day were made of a long piece of leadsharpened at the end.

Quicksilver Bob was a very odd little boy. He saidmany curious things. Once the teacher punished himfor not getting his lessons. He rapped Robert on theknuckles with a ferule. Robert did not like this anymore than any other boy would.

"Sir," said the boy, "I came here to have somethingbeaten into my head, not into my knuckles."

In that day people used to light candles and standthem in the window on the Fourth of July. Thesecandles in every window lighted up the whole town.But one year candles were scarce and high. The city

Quicksilver Bob

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asked the people not to light up their windows on theFourth.

Bob did not like to miss the fun of his Fourth ofJuly. He went to work to make something like rocketsor Roman candles. It was a very dangerous business fora boy.

"What are you doing, Bob?" some one asked him.

"The city does not want us to burn our candles onthe Fourth," he said. "I am going to shoot mine into theair."

He used to go fishing with a boy named ChrisGumpf. The father of Chris went with them. Theyfished from a flat boat. The two boys had to push theboat to the fishing place with poles.

"I am tired of poling that boat," said Robert to Chrisone day when they came home.

So he set to work to think out a plan to move theboat in an easier way than by poles. He whittled out themodel of a tiny paddle wheel. Then he went to workwith Chris Gumpf, and they made a larger paddlewheel. This they set up in the fishing boat. The wheelwas turned by the boys with a crank. They did not usethe poles any more.

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The First Steamboat

The first good steamboat was built in New York.She was built by Robert Fulton. Her name was"Clermont." When the people saw her, they laughed.They said that such a boat would never go. Forthousands of years boatmen had made their boats goby using sails and oars. People had never seen any suchboat as this. It seemed foolish to believe that a boatcould be pushed along by steam.

The time came for Fulton to start his boat. A crowdof people were standing on the shore. The black smokewas coming out of the smokestack. The people werelaughing at the boat. They were sure that it would notgo. At last the boat's wheels began to turn round. Thenthe boat began to move. There were no oars. Therewere no sails. But still the boat kept moving. Faster andfaster she went. All the people now saw that she couldgo by steam. They did not laugh any more. They beganto cheer.

The First Steamboat

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The little steamboat ran up to Albany. The peoplewho lived on the river did not know what to make of it.They had never heard of a steamboat. They could notsee what made the boat go.

There were many sailing vessels on the river.Fulton's boat passed some of these in the night. Thesailors were afraid when they saw the fire and smoke.The sound of the steam seemed dreadful to them.Some of them went downstairs in their ships for fear.Some of them went ashore. Perhaps they thought itwas a living animal that would eat them up.

But soon there were steamboats on all the largerivers.

46

Washington Irvingas a Boy

The Revolution was about over. Americans werevery happy. Their country was to be free.

At this time a little boy was born in New York. Hisfamily was named Irving. What should this little boy benamed?

His mother said, "Washington's work is done. Letus name the baby Washington." So he was calledWashington Irving.

When this baby grew to be a little boy, he was oneday walking with his nurse. The nurse was a Scotch girl.She saw General Washington go into a shop. She ledthe little boy into the shop also.

The nurse said to General Washington, "Please,your Honor, here is a bairn that is named for you."

"Bairn" is a Scotch word for child. Washington put hishand on the little boy's head and gave him his blessing.

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When Irving became an author, he wrote a life ofWashington.

Little Irving was a merry, playful boy. He was full ofmischief.

Sometimes he would climb out of a window to theroof of his father's house. From this he would go toroofs of other houses. Then the little rascal would dropa pebble down a neighbor's chimney. Then he wouldhurry back and get into the window again. He wouldwonder what the people thought when the pebblecame rattling down their chimney. Of course he waspunished when his tricks were found out. But he was afavorite with his teacher. With all his faults, he wouldnot tell a lie. The teacher called the little fellow"General."

In those days naughty schoolboys were whipped.Irving could not bear to see another boy suffer. Whena boy was to be whipped, the girls were sent out. Irvingalways asked the schoolmaster to let him go out withthe girls.

Like other boys, Irving was fond of stories. He likedto read about Sinbad the Sailor, and Robinson Crusoe.But most of all he liked to read about other countries.He had twenty small volumes called "The World


48

Displayed." They told about the people and countriesof the world. Irving read these little books a great deal.

One day the schoolmaster caught him reading inschool. The master slipped behind him and grabbedthe book. Then he told Irving to stay after school.

Irving expected a punishment. But the master toldhim he was pleased to find that he liked to read suchgood books. He told him not to read them in school.

Reading about other countries made Irving wish tosee them. He thought he would like to travel. Likeother wild boys, he thought of running away. Hewanted to go to sea.

But he knew that sailors had to eat salt pork. He didnot like salt pork. He thought he would learn to like it.When he got a chance, he ate pork. And sometimes hewould sleep all night on the floor. He wanted to getused to a hard bed.

But the more he ate pork, the more he disliked it.And the more he slept on the floor, the more he likeda good bed. So he gave up his foolish notion of being asailor boy.

Some day you will read Irving's "Sketch Book." Youwill find some famous stories in it. There is the story ofRip Van Winkle, who slept twenty years. And there is

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the funny story of the Headless Horseman. When youread these amusing stories, you will remember theplayful boy who became a great author.

50

The Star-Spangled Banner

Everybody in the United States has heard the songabout the star-spangled banner. Nearly everybody hassung it. It was written by Francis Scott Key.

Key was a young lawyer. In the War of 1812 hefought with the American army. The British landedsoldiers in Maryland. At Bladensburg they fought andbeat the Americans. Key was in this battle on theAmerican side.

After the battle the British army took Washington,and burned the public buildings. Key had a friend whowas taken prisoner by the British. He was on one of theBritish ships.

Key went to the ships with a flag of truce. A flag oftruce is a white flag. It is carried in war when one sidesends a message to the other.

When Key got to the British ships, they were sailingto Baltimore. They were going to try to take Baltimore.The British commander would not let Key go back. He


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was afraid that he would let the Americans know wherethe ships were going.

Key was kept a kind of prisoner while the shipsattacked Baltimore. The ships tried to take the city byfiring at it from the water. The British army tried totake the city on the land side.

The ships did their worst firing at night. They triedto take the little fort near the city.

Key could see the battle. He watched the little fort.He was afraid that the men in it would give up. He wasafraid that the fort would be broken down by thecannon balls.

The British fired bombshells and rockets at the fort.When these burst, they made a light. By this light Keycould see that the little fort was still standing. He couldsee the flag still waving over it. He tells this in his songin these words:

"And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there."

But after many hours of fighting the British becamediscouraged. They found that they could not take thecity. The ships almost ceased to fire.

Key did not know whether the fort had beenknocked down or not. He could not see whether the


52

flag was still flying or not. He thought that theAmericans might have given up. He felt what he wrotein the song:

"Oh! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?"

When the break of day came, Key looked towardthe fort. It was still standing. There was a flag flyingover it. It grew lighter. He could see that it was theAmerican flag. His feelings are told in two lines of thesong:

"Tis the star spangled banner, oh, long may it wave O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave!"

Key was full of joy. He took an old letter from hispocket. The back of this letter had no writing on it.Here he wrote the song about the star-spangledbanner.

The British commander now let Key go ashore.When he got to Baltimore, he wrote out his song. Hegave it to a friend. This friend took it to a printingoffice. But the printers had all turned soldiers. Theyhad all gone to defend the city.

There was one boy left in the office. He knew howto print. He took the verses and printed them on abroad sheet of paper.


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The printed song was soon in the hands of thesoldiers around Baltimore. It was sung in the streets. Itwas sung in the theaters. It traveled all over thecountry. Everybody learned to sing:

"Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just; And this be our motto--'In God is our trust'-- And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave."

54

How Audubon Came to Know About Birds

John James Audubon knew more about the birds ofthis country than any man had ever known before. Hewas born in the State of Louisiana. His father took himto France when he was a boy. He went to school inFrance.

The little John James was fond of studying aboutwild animals. But most of all he wished to know aboutbirds. Seeing that the boy liked such things, his fathertook pains to get birds and flowers for him.

While he was yet a boy at school, he began to gatherbirds and other animals for himself. He learned to skinand stuff them. But his stuffed birds did not please him.Their feathers did not look bright, like those of livebirds. He wanted living birds to study.

His father told him that he could not keep so manybirds alive. To please the boy he got him a book withpictures in it. Looking at these pictures made John


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James wish to draw. He thought that he could makepictures that would look like the live birds.

But when he tried to paint a picture of a bird, itlooked worse than his stuffed birds. The birds he drewwere not much like real birds. He called them a "familyof cripples." As often as his birthday came round, hemade a bonfire of his bad pictures. Then he wouldbegin over again.

All this time he was learning to draw birds. But hewas not willing to make pictures that were not just likethe real birds. So when he grew to be a man he went toa great French painter whose name was David. Davidtaught him to draw and paint things as they are.

Then he came back to this country, and lived awhilein Pennsylvania. Here his chief study was the wildcreatures of the woods.

He gathered many eggs of birds. He made picturesof these eggs. He did not take birds' eggs to break upthe nests. He was not cruel. He took only what heneeded to study.

He would make two little holes in each egg. Thenhe would shake the egg, or stir it up with a little stick orstraw, or a long pin. This would break up the inside ofthe egg. Then he would blow into one of the holes.


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That would blow the inside of the egg out through theother hole.

These egg shells he strung together by runningstrings through the holes. He hung these strings of eggshells all over the walls of his room. On themantelpiece he put the stuffed skins of squirrels,raccoons, opossums, and other small animals. On theshelves his friends could see frogs, snakes, and otheranimals.

He married a young lady, and brought her to live inthis museum with his dead snakes, frogs, and strings ofbirds' eggs. She liked what he did, and was sure that hewould come to be a great man.

He made up his mind to write a great book aboutAmerican birds. He meant to tell all about the birds inone book. Then in another book he would printpictures of the birds, just as large as the birdsthemselves. He meant to have them look just like thebirds.

To do this he must travel many thousands of miles.He must live for years almost all of the time in thewoods. He would have to find and shoot the birds, inorder to make pictures of them. And he must see howthe birds lived, and how they built their nests, so that


57

he could tell all about them. It would take a great dealof work and trouble. But he was not afraid of trouble.

That was many years ago. Much of our country wasthen covered with great trees. Audubon sometimeswent in a boat down a lonesome river. Sometimes herode on horseback. Often he had to travel on footthrough woods where there were no roads. Many atime he had to sleep out of doors.

He lost his money and became poor. Sometimes hehad to paint portraits to get money to live on. Once heturned dancing master for a while. But he did not giveup his great idea. He still studied birds, and worked tomake his books about American birds. His wife went toteaching to help make a living.

After years of hard work, he made paintings ofnearly a thousand birds. That was almost enough forhis books. But, while he was traveling, two large rats gotinto the box in which he kept his pictures. They cut upall his paintings with their teeth, and made a nest of thepieces. This almost broke his heart for a while. Formany nights he could not sleep, because he had lost allhis work.

But he did not give up. After some days he took hisgun, and went into the woods. He said to himself, "Iwill begin over again. I can make better paintings than


58

those that the rats spoiled." But it took him four longyears and a half to find the birds, and make the picturesagain.

He was so careful to have his drawings just like thebirds, that he would measure them in every way. Thushe made his pictures just the size of the birdsthemselves.

At last the great books were printed. In this country,in France, and in England, people praised thewonderful books. They knew that Audubon was indeeda great man.

59

Webster andthe Poor Woman

When Daniel Webster was a young lawyer, he wasgoing home one night. There was snow on the ground.It was very cold. It was late, and there was nobody to beseen.

But after a while he saw a poor woman. She wasahead of him. He wondered what had brought her outon so cold a night.

Sometimes she stopped and looked around. Thenshe would stand and listen. Then she would go onagain.

Webster kept out of her sight. But he watched her.After looking around, she turned down the street inwhich Webster lived. She stopped in front of Webster'shouse. She looked around and listened.

Webster had put down some loose boards to walkon. They reached from the gate to the door of his


60

house. After standing still a minute, the woman tookone of the boards, and went off quickly.

Webster followed her. But he kept out of her sight.She went to a distant part of the town. She went into apoor little house.

Webster went home without saying anything to thewoman. He knew that she had stolen the board forfirewood.

The next day the poor woman got a present. It wasa nice load of wood.

Can you guess who sent it to her?

61

The India Rubber Man

Many years ago a strange-looking man wassometimes seen in the streets of New York. His cap wasmade of India rubber. So was his coat. He wore arubber waistcoat. Even his cravat was of India rubber.He wore rubber shoes in dry weather. People calledthis man "The India rubber man."

His name was Charles Goodyear. He was very poor.He was trying to find out how to make India rubberuseful.

India rubber trees grow in South America. Thejuice of these trees is something like milk or cream. Bydrying this juice, India rubber is made.

The Indians in Brazil have no glass to make bottleswith. A long time ago they learned to make bottles outof rubber. More than a hundred years ago some ofthese rubber bottles were brought to this country. Thepeople in this country had never seen India rubberbefore. They thought the bottles made out of it by theIndians very curious.


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In this country, rubber was used only to rub outpencil marks. That is why we call it rubber. People inSouth America learned to make a kind of heavy shoeout of it. But these shoes were hard to make. They costa great deal when they were sold in this country.

Men tried to make rubber shoes in this country.They got the rubber from Brazil. Rubber shoes made inthis country were cheaper than those brought fromSouth America. But they were not good. They wouldfreeze till they were as hard as stones in winter. Thatwas not the worst of it. In summer they would melt.Goodyear was trying to find out a way to make rubberbetter. He wanted to get it so that it would not melt insummer. He wanted to get a rubber that would not gethard in cold weather. The first rubber coats that weremade were so hard in cold weather, that they wouldstand alone, and look like a man.

Goodyear wanted to try his rubber. That is why hewore a rubber coat and a rubber waistcoat and a rubbercravat. That is why he wore a rubber cap and rubbershoes when it was not raining. He made paper out ofrubber, and wrote a book on it. He had a doorplatemade of it. He even carried a cane made of Indiarubber. It is no wonder people called him the Indiarubber man.

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He was very poor. Sometimes he had to borrowmoney to buy rubber with. Sometimes his friends gavehim money to keep his family from starving.Sometimes there was no wood and no coal in thehouse in cold weather.

But Goodyear kept on trying. He thought that hewas just going to find out. Years went by, and still hekept on trying.

One day he was mixing some rubber with sulphur.It slipped out of his hand. It fell on the hot stove. But itdid not melt. Goodyear was happy at last. That night itwas cold. Goodyear took the burned piece of rubberout of doors, and nailed it to the kitchen door. Whenmorning came, he went and got it. It had not frozen.

He was now sure that he was on the right track. Buthe had to find out how to mix and heat his rubber andsulphur. He was too poor to buy rubber to try with.Nobody would lend him any more money. His familyhad to live by the help of his friends. He had alreadysold almost everything that he had. Now he had to sellhis children's schoolbooks to get money to buy rubberwith.

At last his rubber goods were made and sold. Poormen who had to stand in the rain could now keepthemselves dry. People could walk in the wet with dry


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feet. A great many people are alive who would havedied if they had not been kept dry by India rubber.

You may count up, if you can, how many usefulthings are made of rubber. We owe them all to oneman. People laughed at Goodyear once. But at last theypraised him. To be "The India rubber man" wassomething to be proud of.

65

Longfellow as a Boy

Longfellow was a noble boy. He always wanted todo right. He could not bear to see one person do anywrong to another.

He was very tender-hearted. One day he took a gunand went shooting. He killed a robin. Then he felt sorryfor the robin. He came home with tears in his eyes. Hewas so grieved, that he never went shooting again.

He liked to read Irving's "Sketch Book." Its strangestories about Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winklepleased his fancy.

When he was thirteen he wrote a poem. It wasabout Lovewell's fight with the Indians. He sent hisverses to a newspaper. He wondered if the editorwould print them. He could not think of anything else.He walked up and down in front of the printing office.He thought that his poem might be in the printer'shands.


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When the paper came out, there was his poem. Itwas signed "Henry." Longfellow read it. He thought ita good poem. But a judge who did not know whosepoem it was talked about it that evening. He said toyoung Longfellow, "Did you see that poem in thepaper? It was stiff. And all taken from other poets, too."

This made Henry Longfellow feel bad. But he kepton trying. After many years, he became a famous poet.

For more than fifty years, young people have likedto read his poem called "A Psalm of Life." Here arethree stanzas of it:

Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us

Footprints on the sands of time,

Footprints, that perhaps another, Sailing o'er life's solemn main,

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, Seeing, may take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing, With a heart for any fate;

Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labor and to wait.

67

Horace Greeley as a Boy

Horace Greeley was the son of a poor farmer. Hewas always fond of books. He learned to read almost assoon as he could talk. He could read easy books whenhe was three years old. When he was four, he couldread any book that he could get.

He went to an old-fashioned school. Twice a day allthe children stood up to spell. They were in two classes.Little Horace was in the class with the grownup youngpeople. He was the best speller in the class. It was funnyto see the little midget at the head of this class of olderpeople. But he was only a little boy in his feelings. If hemissed a word, he would cry. The one that spelled aword that he missed would have a right to take thehead of the class. Sometimes when he missed, the bigboys would not take the head. They did not like tomake the little fellow cry. He was the pet of all theschool.


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People in that day were fond of spelling. They usedto hold meetings at night to spell. They called these"spelling schools."

At a spelling school two captains were picked out.These chose their spellers. Then they tried to see whichside could beat the other at spelling.

Little Horace was always chosen first. The side thatgot him got the best speller in the school. Sometimesthe little fellow would go to sleep. When it came histurn to spell, somebody would wake him up. He wouldrub his eyes, and spell the word. He would spell it right,too.

When he was four or five years old, he would lieunder a tree, and read. He would lie there, and forgetall about his dinner or his supper. He would not moveuntil somebody stumbled over him or called him.

People had not found out how to burn kerosene oilin lamps then. They used candles. But poor people likethe Greeleys could not afford to burn many candles.Horace gathered pine knots to read by at night.

He would light a pine knot. Then he would throwit on top of the large log at the back of the fire. Thiswould make a bright flickering light.

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Horace would lay all the books he wanted on thehearth. Then he would lie down by them. His head wastoward the fire. His feet were drawn up out of the way.

The first thing that he did was to study all hislessons for the next day. Then he would read otherbooks. He never seemed to know when anybody cameor went. He kept on with his reading. His father did notwant him to read too late. He was afraid that he wouldhurt his eyes. And he wanted to have him get up earlyin the morning to help with the work. So when nineo'clock came, he would call, "Horace, Horace, Horace!"But it took many callings to rouse him.

When he got to bed, he would say his lessons overto his brother. He would tell his brother what he hadbeen reading. But his brother would fall asleep whileHorace was talking.

Horace liked to read better than he liked to work.But when he had a task to do, he did it faithfully. Hisbrother would say, "Let us go fishing." But Horacewould answer, "Let us get our work done first."

Horace Greeley's father grew poorer and poorer.When Horace was ten years old, his land was sold. Thefamily were now very poor. They moved from NewHampshire. They settled in Vermont. They lived in apoor little cabin.


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Horace had to work hard like all the rest of thefamily. But he borrowed all the books he could get.Sometimes he walked seven miles to borrow a book.

A rich man who lived near the Greeleys used to lendbooks to Horace. Horace had grown tall. His hair waswhite. He was poorly dressed. He was a strange-looking boy. One day he went to the house of the richman to borrow books. Some one said to the owner ofthe house, "Do you lend books to such a fellow asthat?"

But the gentleman said, "That boy will be a greatman some day."

This made all the company laugh. It seemed funnythat anybody should think of this poor boy becominga great man. But it came true. The poor white-headedboy came to be a great man.

Horace Greeley learned all that he could learn inthe country schools. When he was thirteen, one teachersaid to his father,--

"Mr. Greeley, Horace knows more than I do. It isnot of any use to send him to school any more."

71

Horace GreeleyLearning to Print

Horace Greeley had always wanted to be a printer.He liked books and papers. He thought it would be afine thing to learn to make them.

One day he heard that the newspaper at EastPoultney wanted a boy to learn the printer's trade. Hewalked many long miles to see about it. He went to seeMr. Bliss. Mr. Bliss was one of the owners of the paper.Horace found him working in his garden. Mr. Blisslooked up. He saw a big boy coming toward him. Theboy had on a white felt hat with a narrow brim. Itlooked like a half peck measure. His hair was white. Histrousers were too short for him. All his clothes werecoarse and poor. He was such a strange looking boy,that Mr. Bliss wanted to laugh.

"I heard that you wanted a boy," Horace said.

"Do you want to learn to print?" Mr. Bliss said.

"Yes," said Horace.


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"But a printer ought to know a good many things,"said Mr. Bliss. "Have you been to school much?"

"No," said Horace. "I have not had much chance atschool. But I have read some."

"What have you read?" asked Mr. Bliss.

"Well, I have read some history, and some travels,and a little of everything."

Mr. Bliss had examined a great manyschoolteachers. He liked to puzzle teachers with hardquestions. He thought he would try Horace with these.But the gawky boy answered them all. This tow headedboy seemed to know everything.

Mr. Bliss took a piece of paper from his pocket. Hewrote on it, "Guess we'd better try him."

He gave this paper to Horace, and told him to takeit to the printing office. Horace, with his little white hatand strange ways, went into the printing office. Theboys in the office laughed at him. But the foreman saidhe would try him.

That night the boys in the office said to Mr. Bliss,"You are not going to take that tow head, are you?"

Mr. Bliss said, "There is something in that towhead.You boys will find it out soon."

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A few days after this, Horace came to East Poultneyto begin his work. He carried a little bundle of clothestied up in a handkerchief.

The foreman showed him how to begin. From thattime he did not once look around. All day he worked athis type. He learned more in a day than some boys doin a month.

Day after day he worked, and said nothing. Theother boys joked him. But he did not seem to hearthem. He only kept on at his work. They threw type athim. But he did not look up.

The largest boy in the office thought he could finda way to tease him. One day he said that Horace's hairwas too white. He went and got the ink ball. He stainedHorace's hair black in four places. This ink stain wouldnot wash out. But Horace did not once look up.

After that, the boys did not try to tease him anymore. They all liked the good hearted Horace. Andeverybody in the town wondered that the boy knew somuch.

Horace's father had moved away to Pennsylvania.Horace sent him all the money he could spare. He soonbecame a good printer. He started a paper of his own.He became a famous newspaper man.

74

A Wonderful Woman

Little Dorothy Dix was poor. Her father did notknow how to make a living. Her mother did not knowhow to bring up her children.

The father moved from place to place. Sometimeshe printed little tracts to do good. But he let his ownchildren grow up poor and wretched.

Dorothy wanted to learn. She wanted to become ateacher. She wanted to get money to send her littlebrothers to school.

Dorothy was a girl of strong will and temper. Whenshe was twelve years old, she left her wretched home.She went to her grandmother. Her grandmother Dixlived in a large house in Boston. She sent Dorothy toschool.

Dorothy learned fast. But she wanted to makemoney. She wanted to help her brothers. When she wasfourteen, she taught a school. She tried to make herselflook like a woman. She made her dresses longer.

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She soon went back to her grandmother. She wentto school again. Then she taught school. She soon hada school in her grandmother's house. It was a very goodschool. Many girls were sent to her school. Miss Dixwas often ill. But when she was well enough, sheworked away. She was able to send her brothers toschool until they grew up.

Besides helping her brothers, she wanted to helpother poor children. She started a school for poorchildren in her grandmother's barn.

After a while she left off teaching. She was not well.She had made all the money she needed.

But she was not idle. She went one day to teachsome poor women in an alms house. Then she went tosee the place where the crazy people were kept. Theseinsane people had no fire in the coldest weather.

Miss Dix tried to get the managers to put up a stovein the room. But they would not do it. Then she wentto the court. She told the judge about it. The judge saidthat the insane people ought to have a fire. He madethe managers put up a stove in the place where theywere kept.

Then Miss Dix went to other towns. She wanted tosee how the insane people were treated. Some of them


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were shut up in dark, damp cells. One young man waschained up with an iron collar about his neck.

Miss Dix got new laws made about the insane. Shepersuaded the States to build large houses for keepingthe insane. She spent most of her life at this work. TheCivil War broke out. There were many sick andwounded soldiers to be taken care of.

All of the nurses in the hospitals were put underMiss Dix. She worked at this as long as the war lasted.Then she spent the rest of her life doing all that shecould for insane people.

FiftyFamous People

SELECTED STORIES

James Baldwin

Author’s Notes

One of the best things to be said of thestories in this volume is that, although they arenot biographical, they are about real personswho actually lived and performed their parts inthe great drama of the world’s history. Some ofthese persons were more famous than others,yet all have left enduring “footprints on thesands of time” and their names will not cease tobe remembered. In each of these stories thereis a basis of truth and an ethical lesson whichcannot fail to have a wholesome influence; andeach possesses elements of interest which, it isbelieved, will go far towards proving thefallibility of the doctrine that children finddelight only in tales of the imaginative andunreal.

—James Baldwin

79

Saving the Birds

One day in spring four men were riding onhorseback along a country road. These men werelawyers, and they were going to the next town to attendcourt.

There had been a rain, and the ground was verysoft. Water was dripping from the trees, and the grasswas wet.

The four lawyers rode along, one behind another;for the pathway was narrow, and the mud on each sideof it was deep. They rode slowly, and talked andlaughed and were very jolly.

As they were passing through a grove of small trees,they heard a great fluttering over their heads and afeeble chirping in the grass by the roadside.

"Stith! stith! stith!" came from the leafy branchesabove them.

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"Cheep! cheep! cheep!" came from the wet grass.

"What is the matter here?" asked the first lawyer,whose name was Speed. "Oh, it's only some oldrobins!" said the second lawyer, whose name wasHardin. "The storm has blown two of the little ones outof the nest. They are too young to fly, and the motherbird is making a great fuss about it."

"What a pity! They'll die down there in the grass,"said the third lawyer, whose name I forget.

"Oh, well! They're nothing but birds," said Mr.Hardin. "Why should we bother?"

"Yes, why should we?" said Mr. Speed.

The three men, as they passed, looked down andsaw the little birds fluttering in the cold, wet grass.They saw the mother robin flying about, and crying toher mate.

Then they rode on, talking and laughing as before.In a few minutes they had forgotten about the birds.

But the fourth lawyer, whose name was AbrahamLincoln, stopped. He got down from his horse and verygently took the little ones up in his big warm hands.

They did not seem frightened, but chirped softly, asif they knew they were safe.

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"Never mind, my little fellows," said Mr. Lincoln "Iwill put you in your own cozy little bed."

Then he looked up to find the nest from which theyhad fallen. It was high, much higher than he couldreach.

But Mr. Lincoln could climb. He had climbed manya tree when he was a boy. He put the birds softly, oneby one, into their warm little home. Two other babybirds were there, that had not fallen out. All cuddleddown together and were very happy.

Soon the three lawyers who had ridden aheadstopped at a spring to give their horses water.

"Where is Lincoln?" asked one.

All were surprised to find that he was not withthem.

"Do you remember those birds?" said Mr. Speed."Very likely he has stopped to take care of them."

In a few minutes Mr. Lincoln joined them. Hisshoes were covered with mud; he had torn his coat onthe thorny tree.

"Hello, Abraham!" said Mr. Hardin. "Where haveyou been?"

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"I stopped a minute to give those birds to theirmother," he answered.

"Well, we always thought you were a hero," said Mr.Speed. "Now we know it."

Then all three of them laughed heartily. Theythought it so foolish that a strong man should take somuch trouble just for some worthless young birds.

"Gentlemen," said Mr. Lincoln, "I could not haveslept tonight, if I had left those helpless little robins toperish in the wet grass."

Abraham Lincoln afterwards became very famousas a lawyer and statesman. He was elected president.Next to Washington, he was the greatest American.

83

Another Bird Story

A great battle had begun. Cannon were booming,some far away, some near at hand. Soldiers weremarching through the fields. Men on horseback wereriding in haste toward the front.

"Whiz!" A cannon ball struck the ground quite nearto a company of soldiers. But they marched straightonward. The drums were beating, the fifes wereplaying.

"Whiz!" Another cannon ball flew through the airand struck a tree near by. A brave general was ridingacross the field. One ball after another came whizzingnear him.

"General, you are in danger here," said an officerwho was riding with him. "You had better fall back to aplace of safety."

But the general rode on.

Suddenly he stopped at the foot of a tree. "Halt!" hecried to the men who were with him. He leaped from

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his horse. He stooped and picked up a bird's nest thathad fallen upon the ground. In the nest were some tiny,half-fledged birds. Their mouths were open for thefood they were expecting their mother to give them.

"I cannot think of leaving these little things here tobe trampled upon," said the general.

He lifted the nest gently and put it in a safe place inthe forks of the tree.

"Whiz!" Another cannon ball.

He leaped into the saddle, and away he dashed withhis officers close behind him.

"Whiz! whiz! whiz!"

He had done one good deed. He would do manymore before the war was over. "Boom! boom! boom!"

The cannon were roaring, the balls were flying, thebattle was raging. But amid all the turmoil and danger,the little birds chirped happily in the safe shelter wherethe great general, Robert E. Lee, had placed them.

"He prayeth best, who loveth best All things both great and small; For the dear God who loveth us, He made and loveth all."

85

The Midnight Ride

Listen, my children, and you shall hear Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.

Longfellow.

The midnight ride of Paul Revere happened a longtime ago when this country was ruled by the king ofEngland.

There were thousands of English soldiers in Boston.The king had sent them there to make the people obeyhis unjust laws. These soldiers guarded the streets ofthe town; they would not let any one go out or come inwithout their leave.

The people did not like this. They said, "We have aright to be free men, but the king treats us as slaves. Hemakes us pay taxes and gives us nothing in return. Hesends soldiers among us to take away our liberty."

The whole country was stirred up. Brave men lefttheir homes and hurried toward Boston.

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They said, "We do not wish to fight against the king,but we are free men, and he must not send soldiers tooppress us. If the people of Boston must fight for theirliberty, we will help them." These men were not afraidof the king's soldiers. Some of them camped inCharlestown, a village near Boston. From the hills ofCharlestown they could watch and see what the king'ssoldiers were doing.

They wished to be ready to defend themselves, ifthe soldiers should try to do them harm. For thisreason they had bought some powder and stored it atConcord, nearly twenty miles away.

When the king's soldiers heard about this powder,they made up their minds to go out and get it forthemselves.

Among the watchers at Charlestown was a braveyoung man named Paul Revere. He was ready to servehis country in any way that he could.

One day a friend of his who lived in Boston came tosee him. He came very quietly and secretly, to escapethe soldiers.

"I have something to tell you," he said. "Some of theking's soldiers are going to Concord to get the powderthat is there. They are getting ready to start this verynight."

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"Indeed!" said Paul Revere. "They shall get nopowder, if I can help it. I will stir up all the farmersbetween here and Concord, and those fellows will havea hot time of it. But you must help me."

"I will do all that I can," said his friend.

"Well, then," said Paul Revere, "you must go back toBoston and watch. Watch, and as soon as the soldiersare ready to start, hang a lantern in the tower of the oldNorth Church. If they are to cross the river, hang two.I will be here, ready. As soon as I see the light, I willmount my horse and ride out to give the alarm."

And so it was done.

When night came, Paul Revere was at the riversidewith his horse. He looked over toward Boston. Heknew where the old North Church stood, but he couldnot see much in the darkness.

Hour after hour he stood and watched. The townseemed very still; but now and then he could hear thebeating of a drum or the shouting of some soldier.

The moon rose, and by its light he could see thedim form of the church tower, far away. He heard theclock strike ten. He waited and watched.

The clock struck eleven. He was beginning to feeltired. Perhaps the soldiers had given up their plan.

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He walked up and down the river bank, leading hishorse behind him; but he kept his eyes turned alwaystoward the dim, dark spot which he knew was the oldNorth Church.

All at once a light flashed out from the tower. "Ah!there it is!" he cried. The soldiers had started.

He spoke to his horse. He put his foot in the stirrup.He was ready to mount.

Then another light flashed clear and bright by theside of the first one. The soldiers would cross the river.

Paul Revere sprang into the saddle. Like a bird letloose, his horse leaped forward. Away they went.

Away they went through the village street and outupon the country road. "Up! up!" shouted Paul Revere."The soldiers are coming! Up! up! and defendyourselves!"

The cry awoke the farmers; they sprang from theirbeds and looked out. They could not see the speedinghorse, but they heard the clatter of its hoofs far downthe road, and they understood the cry, "Up! up! anddefend yourselves!"

"It is the alarm! The redcoats are coming," they saidto each other. Then they took their guns, their axes,anything they could find, and hurried out.

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So, through the night, Paul Revere rode towardConcord. At every farmhouse and every village herepeated his call.

The alarm quickly spread. Guns were fired. Bellswere rung. The people for miles around were roused asthough a fire were raging.

The king's soldiers were surprised to find everybodyawake along the road. They were angry because theirplans had been discovered.

When they reached Concord, they burned thecourthouse there.

At Lexington, not far from Concord, there was asharp fight in which several men were killed. This, inhistory, is called the Battle of Lexington. It was thebeginning of the war called the Revolutionary War. Butthe king's soldiers did not find the gunpowder. Theywere glad enough to march back without it. All alongthe road the farmers were waiting for them. It seemedas if every man in the country was after them. And theydid not feel themselves safe until they were once morein Boston.

90

The Landlord’s Mistake

When John Adams was president and ThomasJefferson was vice president of the United States, therewas not a railroad in all the world.

People did not travel very much. There were nobroad, smooth highways as there are now. The roadswere crooked and muddy and rough.

If a man was obliged to go from one city to another,he often rode on horseback. Instead of a trunk for hisclothing, he carried a pair of saddlebags. Instead ofsitting at his ease in a parlor car, he went jolting alongthrough mud and mire, exposed to wind and weather.

One day some men were sitting by the door of ahotel in Baltimore. As they looked down the street theysaw a horseman coming. He was riding very slowly, andboth he and his horse were bespattered with mud.

"There comes old Farmer Mossback," said one ofthe men, laughing. "He's just in from the backwoods."


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"He seems to have had a hard time of it," saidanother; "I wonder where he'll put up for the night."

"Oh, any kind of a place will suit him," answered thelandlord. "He's one of those country fellows who cansleep in the haymow and eat with the horses."

The traveler was soon at the door. He was dressedplainly, and, with his reddish-brown hair andmud-bespattered face, looked like a hardworkingcountryman just in from the backwoods.

"Have you a room here for me?" he asked thelandlord.

Now the landlord prided himself upon keeping afirst class hotel, and he feared that his guests would notlike the rough-looking traveler. So he answered: "No,sir. Every room is full. The only place I could put youwould be in the barn."

"Well, then," answered the stranger, "I will see whatthey can do for me at the Planters' Tavern, round thecorner;" and he rode away.

About an hour later, a well dressed gentleman cameinto the hotel and said, "I wish to see Mr. Jefferson."

"Mr. Jefferson!" said the landlord.

"Yes, sir. Thomas Jefferson, the vice president of theUnited States."

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"He isn't here."

"Oh, but he must be. I met him as he rode intotown, and he said that he intended to stop at this hotel.He has been here about an hour."

"No, he hasn't. The only man that has been here forlodging today was an old clodhopper who was sospattered with mud that you couldn't see the color ofhis coat. I sent him round to the Planters'."

"Did he have reddish-brown hair, and did he ride agray horse?"

"Yes, and he was quite tall."

"That was Mr. Jefferson," said the gentleman.

"Mr. Jefferson!" cried the landlord. "Was that thevice president? Here, Dick! build a fire in the bestroom. Put everything in tiptop order, Sally. What adunce I was to turn Mr. Jefferson away! He shall haveall the rooms in the house, and the ladies' parlor, too,I'll go right round to the Planters' and fetch him back."

So he went to the other hotel, where he found thevice president sitting with some friends in the parlor.

"Mr. Jefferson," he said, "I have come to ask yourpardon. You were so bespattered with mud that Ithought you were some old farmer. If you'll come back


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to my house, you shall have the best room in it--yes, allthe rooms if you wish. Won't you come?"

"No," answered Mr. Jefferson. "A farmer is as goodas any other man; and where there's no room for afarmer, there can be no room for me."

94

Going to Sea

"I should like to be a sailor," said GeorgeWashington. "Then I could go to many strange landsand see many wonderful things. And, by and by, Imight become the captain of a ship."

He was only fourteen years old.

His older brothers were quite willing that he shouldgo to sea. They said that a bright boy like Georgewould not long be a common sailor. He would soonbecome a captain and then perhaps a great admiral.

And so the matter was at last settled. George'sbrothers knew the master of a trading ship who wasgetting ready to sail to England. He agreed to take theboy with him and teach him how to be a good sailor.

George's mother was very sad. His uncle hadwritten her a letter saying:

"Do not let him go to sea. If he begins as a commonsailor, he will never be anything else."

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But George had made up his mind to go. He washeadstrong and determined. He would not listen to anyone who tried to persuade him to stay at home. At lastthe day came for the ship to sail. It was waiting in theriver. A boat was at the landing, ready to take him onboard. The little chest that held his clothing had beencarried down to the bank. George was in high glee atthe thought of going.

"Good-bye, mother," he said.

He stood on the doorstep and looked back into thehouse. He saw the kind faces of those whom he loved.He began to feel very sad.

"Good-bye, my dear boy!"

George saw the tears in his mother's eyes. He sawthem rolling down her cheeks. He knew that she didnot wish him to go. He could not bear to see her grief.

He stood still for a moment, thinking. Then heturned quickly and said, "Mother, I have changed mymind. I will stay at home and do as you wish." Then hecalled to the black boy, who was waiting at the door,and said, "Tom, run down to the shore and tell themnot to put the chest in the boat. Send word to thecaptain not to wait for me, for I have changed my mind.I am not going to sea."

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Who has not heard of George Washington? It hasbeen said of him that he was the "first in war, the first inpeace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." Hewas our most famous president. He has been called theFather of his Country.

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The Young Scout

When Andrew Jackson was a little boy he lived withhis mother in South Carolina. He was eight years oldwhen he heard about the ride of Paul Revere and thefamous fight at Lexington.

It was then that the long war, called theRevolutionary War, began. The king's soldiers weresent into every part of the country. The people calledthem the British. Some called them "redcoats."

There was much fighting; and several great battlestook place between the British and the Americans.

At last Charleston, in South Carolina, was taken bythe British. Andrew Jackson was then a tallwhite-haired boy, thirteen years old.

"I am going to help drive those red-coated Britishout of the country," he said to his mother.

Then, without another word, he mounted hisbrother's little farm horse and rode away. He was not

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old enough to be a soldier, but he could be a scout--anda good scout he was.

He was very tall--as tall as a man. He was not afraidof anything. He was strong and ready for every duty.

One day as he was riding through the woods, someBritish soldiers saw him. They quickly surrounded himand made him their prisoner.

"Come with us," they said, "and we will teach youthat the king's soldiers are not to be trifled with."

They took him to the British camp.

"What is your name, young rebel?" said the Britishcaptain.

"Andy Jackson."

"Well, Andy Jackson, get down here and clean themud from my boots."

Andrew's gray eyes blazed as he stood up straightand proud before the haughty captain.

"Sir," he said, "I am a prisoner of war, and demandto be treated as such."

"You rebel!" shouted the captain. "Down with you,and clean those boots at once."

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The slim, tall boy seemed to grow taller, as heanswered, "I'll not be the servant of any Englishmanthat ever lived."

The captain was very angry. He drew his sword tohit the boy with its flat side. Andrew threw out his handand received an ugly gash across the knuckles.

Some other officers, who had seen the whole affair,cried out to the captain, "Shame! He is a brave boy. Hedeserves to be treated as a gentleman."

Andrew was not held long as a prisoner. The Britishsoldiers soon returned to Charleston, and he wasallowed to go home.

In time, Andrew Jackson became a very great man.He was elected to Congress, he was chosen judge of thesupreme court of Tennessee, he was appointed generalin the army, and lastly he was for eight years thepresident of the United States.

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The Whisperers

"Boys, what did I tell you?"

The schoolmaster spoke angrily. He was in troublebecause his scholars would not study. Whenever hisback was turned, they were sure to begin whispering toone another.

"Girls, stop your whispering, I say."

But still they would whisper, and he could notprevent it. The afternoon was half gone, and thetrouble was growing. Then the master thought of aplan.

"Children," he said, "we are going to play a newgame. The next one that whispers must come out andstand in the middle of the floor. He must stand thereuntil he sees some one else whisper. Then he will tellme, and the one whom he names must come and takehis place. He, in turn, will watch and report the first onethat he sees whisper. And so we will keep the gamegoing till it is time for school to be dismissed. The boy

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or girl who is standing at that time will be punished forall of you."

"What will the punishment be, Mr. Johnson?" askeda bold, bad boy. "A good thrashing," answered themaster. He was tired, he was vexed, he hardly knewwhat he said.

The children thought the new game was very funny.First, Tommy Jones whispered to Billy Brown and wasat once called out to stand on the floor. Within lessthan two minutes, Billy saw Mary Green whispering,and she had to take his place. Mary looked around andsaw Samuel Miller asking his neighbor for a pencil, andSamuel was called. And so the fun went on until theclock showed that it lacked only ten minutes till schoolwould be dismissed.

Then all became very good and very careful, for noone wished to be standing at the time of dismissal.They knew that the master would be as good as hisword. The clock ticked loudly, and Tommy Jones, whowas standing up for the fourth time, began to feel veryuneasy. He stood on one leg and then on the other, andwatched very closely; but nobody whispered. Could itbe possible that he would receive that thrashing?Suddenly, to his great joy he saw little Lucy Martin leanover her desk and whisper to the girl in front of her.Now Lucy was the pet of the school. Everybody loved

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her, and this was the first time she had whispered thatday. But Tommy didn't care for that. He wished toescape the punishment, and so he called out, "LucyMartin!" and went proudly to his seat.

Little Lucy had not meant to whisper. There wassomething which she wished very much to know beforegoing home, and so, without thinking, she had leanedover and whispered just three little words. With tears inher eyes she went out and stood in the whisperer'splace.

She was very much ashamed and hurt, for it was thefirst time that she had ever been in disgrace at school.The other girls felt sorry that she should suffer for sosmall a fault. The boys looked at her and wondered ifthe master would really be as good as his word.

The clock kept on ticking. It lacked only oneminute till the bell would strike the time for dismissal.What a shame that dear, gentle Lucy should bepunished for all those unruly boys and girls!

Then, suddenly, an awkward half-grown boy whosat right in front of the master's desk turned squarelyaround and whispered to Tommy Jones, three desksaway.

Everybody saw him. Little Lucy Martin saw himthrough her tears, but said nothing. Everybody was

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astonished, for that boy was the best scholar in theschool, and he had never been known to break a rule.

It lacked only half a minute now. The awkward boyturned again and whispered so loudly that even themaster could not help hearing: "Tommy, you deservea thrashing!"

"Elihu Burritt, take your place on the floor," said themaster sternly. The awkward boy stepped out quickly,and little Lucy Martin returned to her seat sobbing. Atthe same moment the bell struck and school wasdismissed.

After all the others had gone home, the master tookdown his long birch rod and said: "Elihu, I suppose Imust be as good as my word. But tell me why you sodeliberately broke the rule against whispering."

"I did it to save little Lucy," said the awkward boy,standing up very straight and brave. "I could not bear tosee her punished."

"Elihu, you may go home," said the master.

All this happened many years ago in New Britain,Connecticut. Elihu Burritt was a poor boy who wasdetermined to learn. He worked many years as ablacksmith and studied books whenever he had a sparemoment. He learned many languages and becameknown all over the world as "The Learned Blacksmith."

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The Dark Day

Listen, and I will tell you of the famous dark day inConnecticut. It was in the month of May, more than ahundred years ago.

The sun rose bright and fair, and the morning waswithout a cloud. The air was very still. There was not abreath of wind to stir the young leaves on the trees.

Then, about the middle of the day, it began to growdark. The sun was hidden. A black cloud seemed tocover the earth.

The birds flew to their nests. The chickens went toroost. The cows came home from the pasture andstood mooing at the gate. It grew so dark that thepeople could not see their way along the streets.

Then everybody began to feel frightened. "What isthe matter? What is going to happen?" each one askedof another. The children cried. The dogs howled. Thewomen wept, and some of the men prayed.

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"The end of the world has come!" cried some; andthey ran about in the darkness.

"This is the last great day!" cried others; and theyknelt down and waited.

In the old statehouse, the wise men of Connecticutwere sitting. They were men who made the laws, andmuch depended upon their wisdom.

When the darkness came, they too began to bealarmed. The gloom was terrible.

"It is the day of the Lord." said one.

"No use to make laws," said another, "for they willnever be needed."

"I move that we adjourn," said a third.

Then up from his seat rose Abraham Davenport.

His voice was clear and strong, and all knew that he,at least, was not afraid.

"This may be the last great day," he said. "I do notknow whether the end of the world has come or not.But I am sure that it is my duty to stand at my post aslong as I live. So, let us go on with the work that isbefore us. Let the candles be lighted."

His words put courage into every heart. Thecandles were brought in. Then with his strong face

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aglow in their feeble light, he made a speech in favor ofa law to help poor fishermen.

And as he spoke, the other lawmakers listened insilence till the darkness began to fade and the sky grewbright again.

The people of Connecticut still rememberAbraham Davenport, because he was a wise judge anda brave lawmaker. The poet Whittier has written apoem about him, which you will like to hear.

107

The Surly Guest

One day John Randolph, of Roanoke, set out onhorseback to ride to a town that was many miles fromhis home. The road was strange to him, and he traveledvery slowly.

When night came on he stopped at a pleasantroadside inn and asked for lodging. The innkeeperwelcomed him kindly. He had often heard of the greatJohn Randolph, and therefore he did all that he couldto entertain him well.

A fine supper was prepared, and the innkeeperhimself waited upon his guest. John Randolph ate insilence. The innkeeper spoke of the weather, of theroads, of the crops, of politics. But his surly guest saidscarcely a word.

In the morning a good breakfast was served, andthen Mr. Randolph made ready to start on his journey.He called for his bill and paid it. His horse was led tothe door, and a servant helped him to mount it.

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As he was starting away, the friendly innkeeper said,"Which way will you travel, Mr. Randolph?"

Mr. Randolph looked at him in no gentle way, andanswered, "Sir!"

"I only asked which way you intend to travel," saidthe man.

"Oh! I have I paid you my bill?"

"Yes, sir."

"Do I owe you anything more?"

"No, sir."

"Then, I intend to travel the way I wish to go--doyou understand?"

He turned his horse and rode away. He had notgone farther than to the end of the innkeeper's field,when to his surprise he found that the road forked. Hedid not know whether he should take the right handfork or the left hand.

He paused for a while. There was no signboard tohelp him. He looked back and saw the innkeeper stillstanding by the door. He called to him:--"My friend,which of these roads shall I travel to go to Lynchburg?"

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"Mr. Randolph," answered the innkeeper, "you havepaid your bill and don't owe me a cent. Travel the wayyou wish to go. Good-bye!"

As bad luck would have it, Mr. Randolph took thewrong road. He went far out of his way and lost muchtime, all on account of his surliness.

John Randolph, of Roanoke, lived in Virginia onehundred years ago. He was famous as a lawyer andstatesman. He was a member of Congress for manyyears, and was noted for his odd manners and strongself-will.

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Why He Carriedthe Turkey

In Richmond, Virginia, one Saturday morning, anold man went into the market to buy something. Hewas dressed plainly, his coat was worn, and his hat wasdingy. On his arm he carried a small basket.

"I wish to get a fowl for tomorrow's dinner," he said.

The market man showed him a fat turkey, plumpand white and ready for roasting.

"Ah! that is just what I want," said the old man. "Mywife will be delighted with it."

He asked the price and paid for it. The market manwrapped a paper round it and put it in the basket.

Just then a young man stepped up. "I will take oneof those turkeys," he said. He was dressed in fine styleand carried a small cane.

"Shall I wrap it up for you?" asked the market man.

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"Yes, here is your money," answered the younggentleman; "and send it to my house at once."

"I cannot do that," said the market man. "My errandboy is sick today, and there is no one else to send.Besides, it is not our custom to deliver goods."

"Then how am I to get it home?" asked the younggentleman.

"I suppose you will have to carry it yourself," saidthe market man. "It is not heavy."

"Carry it myself! Who do you think I am? Fancy mecarrying a turkey along the street!" said the younggentleman; and he began to grow very angry. The oldman who had bought the first turkey was standingquite near. He had heard all that was said.

"Excuse me, sir," he said; "but may I ask where youlive?"

"I live at Number 39, Blank Street," answered theyoung gentleman; "and my name is Johnson."

"Well, that is lucky," said the old man, smiling. "Ihappen to be going that way, and I will carry yourturkey, if you will allow me."

"Oh, certainly!" said Mr. Johnson. "Here it is. Youmay follow me."

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When they reached Mr. Johnson's house, the oldman politely handed him the turkey and turned to go.

"Here, my friend, what shall I pay you?" said theyoung gentleman.

"Oh, nothing, sir, nothing," answered the old man."It was no trouble to me, and you are welcome."

He bowed and went on. Young Mr. Johnson lookedafter him and wondered. Then he turned and walkedbriskly back to the market.

"Who is that polite old gentleman who carried myturkey for me?" he asked of the market man.

"That is John Marshall, Chief Justice of the UnitedStates. He is one of the greatest men in our country,"was the answer.

The young gentleman was surprised and ashamed."Why did he offer to carry my turkey?" he asked.

"He wished to teach you a lesson," answered themarket man.

"What sort of lesson?" "He wished to teach you thatno man should feel himself too fine to carry his ownpackages."

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"Oh, no!" said another man who had seen and heardit all. "Judge Marshall carried the turkey simply becausehe wished to be kind and obliging. That is his way."

114

Four GreatAmericans:

Washington, Franklin, Webster, Lincoln

A Book forYoung Americans

SELECTED STORIES

James Baldwin

To the Young Reader

I am about to tell you the story of a verygreat and noble man. It is the story of onewhom all the world honors--of one whose namewill forever be remembered with admiration.Benjamin Franklin was not born to greatness.He had none of the advantages which even thepoorest boys may now enjoy. But he achievedgreatness by always making the best use of suchopportunities as came in his way. He was notafraid of work. He did not give up todiscouragements. He did not overestimate hisown abilities. He was earnest and faithful inlittle things; and that, after all, is the surest wayof attaining to great things. There is no man towhom we Americans owe a greater debt ofgratitude. Without his aid the Americancolonies would hardly have won independence.It was said of him that he knew how to subdueboth thunder and tyranny; and a famous oratorwho knew him well, described him as "thegenius that gave freedom to America and shedtorrents of light upon Europe." But, at the closeof a very long life, the thing which gave him thegreatest satisfaction was the fact that he hadmade no man his enemy; there was no humanbeing who could justly say, "Ben Franklin haswronged me."

-James Baldwin

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The Story ofBenjamin Franklin

I.--The Whistle

Nearly two hundred years* ago, there lived inBoston a little boy whose name was Benjamin Franklin.

On the day that he was seven years old, his mothergave him a few pennies.

He looked at the bright, yellow pieces and said,"What shall I do with these coppers, mother?"

It was the first money that he had ever had.

"You may buy something with them, if you wouldlike," said his mother.

"And will you give me more when they are gone?"he asked.

* Now over 300 years ago.

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His mother shook her head and said: "No,Benjamin. I cannot give you any more. So you must becareful not to spend them foolishly."

The little fellow ran out into the street. He heardthe pennies jingle in his pocket as he ran. He felt asthough he was very rich.

Boston was at that time only a small town, and therewere not many stores. As Benjamin ran down towardthe busy part of the street, he wondered what he shouldbuy.

Should he buy candy or toys? It had been a longtime since he had tasted candy. As for toys, he hardlyknew what they were.

If he had been the only child in the family, thingsmight have been different. But there were fourteenboys and girls older than he, and two little sisters thatwere younger.

It was as much as his father could do to earn foodand clothing for so many. There was no money tospend for toys.

Before Benjamin had gone very far he met a boyblowing a whistle.

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"That is just the thing that I want," he said. Then hehurried on to the store where all kinds of things werekept for sale.

"Have you any good whistles?" he asked.

He was out of breath from running, but he triedhard to speak like a man.

"Yes, plenty of them," said the man.

"Well, I want one, and I'll give you all the money Ihave for it," said the little fellow. He forgot to ask theprice.

"How much money have you?" asked the man.

Benjamin took the coppers from his pocket. Theman counted them and said, "All right, my boy. It's abargain."

Then he put the pennies into his money drawer,and gave one of the whistles to the boy.

Benjamin Franklin was a proud and happy boy. Heran home as fast as he could, blowing his whistle as heran.

His mother met him at the door and said, "Well, mychild, what did you do with your pennies?"

"I bought a whistle!" he cried. "Just hear me blowit!"


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"How much did you pay for it?"

"All the money I had."

One of his brothers was standing by and asked tosee the whistle. "Well, well!" he said, "did you spend allof your money for this thing?"

"Every penny," said Benjamin.

"Did you ask the price?"

"No. But I offered them to the man, and he said itwas all right."

His brother laughed and said, "You are a veryfoolish fellow. You paid four times as much as it isworth."

"Yes," said his mother, "I think it is rather a dearwhistle. You had enough money to buy a whistle andsome candy, too."

The little boy saw what a mistake he had made. Thewhistle did not please him any more. He threw it uponthe floor, and began to cry. But his mother took himupon her lap and said:

"Never mind, my child. We must all live and learn;and I think that my little boy will be careful, after this,not to pay too dear for his whistles."


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II.--Schooldays

When Benjamin Franklin was a boy there were nogreat public schools in Boston as there are now. But helearned to read almost as soon as he could talk, and hewas always fond of books.

His nine brothers were older than he, and every onehad learned a trade. They did not care so much forbooks.

"Benjamin shall be the scholar of our family," saidhis mother.

"Yes, we will educate him for a minister," said hisfather. For at that time all the most learned men wereministers.

And so, when he was eight years old, BenjaminFranklin was sent to a grammar school, where boyswere prepared for college. He was a very apt scholar,and in a few months was promoted to a higher class.

But the lad was not allowed to stay long in thegrammar school. His father was a poor man. It wouldcost a great deal of money to give Benjamin a collegeeducation. The times were very hard. The idea ofeducating the boy for the ministry had to be given up.


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In less than a year he was taken from the grammarschool, and sent to another school where arithmeticand writing were taught.

He learned to write very well, indeed; but he didnot care so much for arithmetic, and so failed to dowhat was expected of him.

When he was ten years old he had to leave schoolaltogether. His father needed his help; and thoughBenjamin was but a small boy, there were many thingsthat he could do.

He never attended school again. But he kept onstudying and reading; and we shall find that heafterwards became the most learned man in America.

Benjamin's father was a soap-boiler andcandlemaker. And so when the boy was taken fromschool, what kind of work do you think he had to do?

He was kept busy cutting wicks for the candles,pouring the melted tallow into the candle moulds, andselling soap to his father's customers.

Do you suppose that he liked this business?

He did not like it at all. And when he saw the shipssailing in and out of Boston harbor, he longed to be asailor and go to strange, faraway lands, where candlesand soap were unknown.


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But his father would not listen to any of his talkabout going to sea.

III.--The Boys and the Wharf

Busy as Benjamin was in his father's shop, he stillhad time to play a good deal.

He was liked by all the boys of the neighborhood,and they looked up to him as their leader. In all theirgames he was their captain; and nothing wasundertaken without asking his advice.

Not far from the home of the Franklins there was amillpond, where the boys often went to swim. Whenthe tide was high they liked to stand at a certain spot onthe shore of the pond and fish for minnows.

But the ground was marshy and wet, and the boys'feet sank deep in the mud.

"Let us build a wharf along the water's edge," saidBenjamin. "Then we can stand and fish with somecomfort."

"Agreed!" said the boys. "But what is the wharf to bemade of?"

Benjamin pointed to a heap of stones that lay notfar away. They had been hauled there only a few days


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before, and were to be used in building a new housenear the millpond.

The boys needed only a hint. Soon they were asbusy as ants, dragging the stones to the water's edge.

Before it was fully dark that evening, they had builta nice stone wharf on which they could stand and fishwithout danger of sinking in the mud.

The next morning the workmen came to begin thebuilding of the house. They were surprised to find allthe stones gone from the place where they had beenthrown. But the tracks of the boys in the mud told thestory.

It was easy enough to find out who had done themischief.

When the boys' fathers were told of the troublewhich they had caused, you may imagine what theydid.

Young Benjamin Franklin tried hard to explain thata wharf on the edge of the millpond was a publicnecessity.

His father would not listen to him. He said, "Myson, nothing can ever be truly useful which is not at thesame time truly honest."

And Benjamin never forgot this lesson.


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IV.--Choosing a Trade

As I have already said, young Benjamin did not likethe work which he had to do in his father's shop.

His father was not very fond of the trade himself,and so he could not blame the boy. One day he said:

"Benjamin, since you have made up your mind notto be a candlemaker, what trade do you think youwould like to learn?"

"You know I would like to be a sailor," said the boy.

"But you shall not be a sailor," said his father. "Iintend that you shall learn some useful business, onland; and, of course, you will succeed best in that kindof business which is most pleasant to you."

The next day he took the boy to walk with himamong the shops of Boston. They saw all kinds ofworkmen busy at their various trades.

Benjamin was delighted. Long afterwards, when hehad become a very great man, he said, "It has ever sincebeen a pleasure to me to see good workmen handletheir tools."

He gave up the thought of going to sea, and saidthat he would learn any trade that his father wouldchoose for him.


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His father thought that the cutler's trade was a goodone. His cousin, Samuel Franklin, had just set up acutler's shop in Boston, and he agreed to take Benjamina few days on trial.

Benjamin was pleased with the idea of learning howto make knives and scissors and razors and all otherkinds of cutting tools. But his cousin wanted so muchmoney for teaching him the trade that his father couldnot afford it; and so the lad was taken back to thecandlemaker's shop.

Soon after this, Benjamin's brother, James Franklin,set up a printing press in Boston. He intended to printand publish books and a newspaper.

"Benjamin loves books," said his father. "He shalllearn to be a printer."

And so, when he was twelve years old, he wasbound to his brother to learn the printer's trade. Hewas to stay with him until he was twenty-one. He wasto have his board and clothing and no other wages,except during the last year. I suppose that during thelast year he was to be paid the same as any otherworkman.


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V.--How Franklin Educated Himself

When Benjamin Franklin was a boy there were nobooks for children. Yet he spent most of his spare timein reading.

His father's books were not easy to understand.People nowadays would think them very dull andheavy.

But before he was twelve years old, Benjamin hadread the most of them. He read everything that hecould get.

After he went to work for his brother he found iteasier to obtain good books. Often he would borrow abook in the evening, and then sit up nearly all nightreading it so as to return it in the morning.

When the owners of books found that he alwaysreturned them soon and clean, they were very willing tolend him whatever he wished.

He was about fourteen years of age when he beganto study how to write clearly and correctly. Heafterwards told how he did this. He said:

"About this time I met with an odd volume of theSpectator. I had never before seen any of them.


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"I bought it, read it over and over, and was muchdelighted with it.

"I thought the writing excellent, and wished ifpossible to imitate it.

"With that view, I took some of the papers, andmaking short hints of the sentiments in each sentence,laid them by a few days, and then, without looking atthe book, tried to complete the papers again, byexpressing each hinted sentiment at length and as fullyas it had been expressed before, in any suitable wordsthat should occur to me.

"Then I compared my Spectator with the original,discovered some of my faults and corrected them.

"But I found that I wanted a stock of words, or areadiness in recollecting and using them.

"Therefore, I took some of the tales in the Spectatorand turned them into verse; and, after a time, when Ihad pretty well forgotten the prose, turned them backagain."

About this time his brother began to publish anewspaper.

It was the fourth newspaper published in America,and was called the New England Courant.


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People said that it was a foolish undertaking. Theysaid that one newspaper was enough for this country,and that there would be but little demand for more.

In those days editors did not dare to write freelyabout public affairs. It was dangerous to criticize menwho were in power.

James Franklin published something in the NewEngland Courant about the lawmakers ofMassachusetts. It made the lawmakers very angry.They caused James Franklin to be shut up in prison fora month, and they ordered that he should no longerprint the newspaper called the New England Courant.

But, in spite of this order, the newspaper wasprinted every week as before. It was printed, however,in the name of Benjamin Franklin. For several years itbore his name as editor and publisher.

VI.--Farewell to Boston

Benjamin Franklin did not have a very happy lifewith his brother James.

His brother was a hard master, and was alwaysfinding fault with his workmen. Sometimes he wouldbeat young Benjamin and abuse him without cause.


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When Benjamin was nearly seventeen years old hemade up his mind that he would not endure thistreatment any longer.

He told his brother that he would leave him andfind work with some one else.

When his brother learned that he really meant to dothis, he went round to all the other printers in Bostonand persuaded them not to give Benjamin any work.

The father took James's part, and scolded Benjaminfor being so saucy and so hard to please. But Benjaminwould not go back to James's printing house.

He made up his mind that since he could not findwork in Boston he would run away from his home. Hewould go to New York and look for work there.

He sold his books to raise a little money. Then,without saying good-bye to his father or mother or anyof his brothers or sisters, he went on board a ship thatwas just ready to sail from the harbor.

It is not likely that he was very happy while doingthis. Long afterwards he said: "I reckon this as one ofthe first ‘errata’ of my life."

What did he mean by “errata?”

“Errata” are mistakes--mistakes that cannot easilybe corrected.


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Three days after leaving Boston, young Franklinfound himself in New York. It was then October, in theyear 1723.

The lad had but very little money in his pocket.There was no one in New York that he knew. He wasthree hundred miles from home and friends.

As soon as he landed he went about the streetslooking for work.

New York was only a little town then, and there wasnot a newspaper in it. There were but a few printinghouses there, and these had not much work to do. Theboy from Boston called at every place, but he foundthat nobody wanted to employ any more help.

At one of the little printing houses Franklin was toldthat perhaps he could find work in Philadelphia, whichwas at that time a much more important place thanNew York.

Philadelphia was one hundred miles farther fromhome. One hundred miles was a long distance in thosedays.

But Franklin made up his mind to go there withoutdelay. It would be easier to do this than to give up andtry to return to Boston.


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VII.--The First Day in Philadelphia

There are two ways of going from New York toPhiladelphia.

One way is by the sea. The other is by land, acrossthe state of New Jersey.

As Franklin had but little money, he took theshorter route by land; but he sent his little chest,containing his Sunday clothes, round by sea, in a boat.

He walked all the way from Perth Amboy, on theeastern shore of New Jersey, to Burlington, on theDelaware river.

Nowadays you may travel that distance in an hour,for it is only about fifty miles.

But there were no railroads at that time; andFranklin was nearly three days trudging along lonelywagon tracks, in the midst of a pouring rain.

At Burlington he was lucky enough to be taken onboard a small boat that was going down the river.

Burlington is only twenty miles above Philadelphia.But the boat moved very slowly, and as there was nowind, the men took turns at rowing.


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Night came on, and they were afraid that theymight pass by Philadelphia in the darkness. So theylanded, and camped on shore till morning.

Early the next day they reached Philadelphia, andBenjamin Franklin stepped on shore at the foot ofMarket street, where the Camden ferry-boats now land.

No one who saw him could have guessed that hewould one day be the greatest man in the city.

He was a sorry-looking fellow.

He was dressed in his working clothes, and was verydirty from being so long on the road and in the littleboat.

His pockets were stuffed out with shirts andstockings, and all the money that he had was not morethan a dollar.

He was hungry and tired. He had not a single friend.He did not know of anyplace where he could look forlodging.

It was Sunday morning.

He went a little way up the street, and lookedaround him.

A boy was coming down, carrying a basket of bread.


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"My young friend," said Franklin, "where did youget that bread?"

"At the baker's," said the boy.

"And where is the baker's?"

The boy showed him the little baker shop justaround the corner.

Young Franklin was so hungry that he could hardlywait. He hurried into the shop and asked forthree-penny worth of bread.

The baker gave him three great, puffy rolls.

Franklin had not expected to get so much, but hetook the rolls and walked out.

His pockets were already full, and so, while he ateone roll, he held the others under his arms.

As he went up Market Street, eating his roll, a younggirl stood in a doorway laughing at him. He was,indeed, a very funny-looking fellow.

The girl's name was Deborah Read. A few yearsafter that, she became the wife of Benjamin Franklin.

Hungry as he was, Franklin found that he could eatbut one of the rolls, and so he gave the other two to apoor woman who had come down the river in the sameboat with him.


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As he was strolling along the street he came to aQuaker meeting house.

The door was open, and many people were sittingquietly inside. The seats looked inviting, and soFranklin walked in and sat down.

The day was warm; the people in the house werevery still; Franklin was tired. In a few minutes he wassound asleep.

And so it was in a Quaker meeting-house thatBenjamin Franklin found the first shelter and rest inPhiladelphia.

Later in the day, as Franklin was strolling towardthe river, he met a young man whose honest face wasvery pleasing to him.

"My friend," he said, "can you tell me of any housewhere they lodge strangers?"

"Yes," said the young man, "there is a house on thisvery street; but it is not a place I can recommend. Ifthee will come with me I will show thee a better one."

Franklin walked with him to a house on WaterStreet, and there he found lodging for the night.

And so ended his first day in Philadelphia.


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VIII.--Governor William Keith

Franklin soon obtained work in a printing houseowned by a man named Keimer.

He found a boarding place in the house of Mr.Read, the father of the girl who had laughed at himwith his three rolls.

He was only seventeen years old, and he soonbecame acquainted with several young people in thetown who loved books.

In a little while he began to lay up money, and hetried to forget his old home in Boston as much as hecould.

One day a letter came to Philadelphia for BenjaminFranklin.

It was from Captain Robert Holmes, abrother-in-law of Franklin's.

Captain Holmes was the master of a trading sloopthat sailed between Boston and Delaware Bay. Whilehe was loading his vessel at Newcastle, forty milesbelow Philadelphia, he had happened to hear about theyoung man Franklin who had lately come from Boston.

He sat down at once and wrote a letter to the youngman. He told him how his parents and friends were


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grieving for him in Boston. He begged him to go backhome, and said that everything would be made right ifhe would do so.

When Franklin read this letter he felt very sad tothink of the pain and distress which he had caused.

But he did not want to return to Boston. He felt thathe had been badly treated by his brother, and,therefore, that he was not the only one to be blamed.He believed that he could do much better inPhiladelphia than anywhere else.

So he sat down and wrote an answer to CaptainHolmes. He wrote it with great care, and sent it off toNewcastle by the first boat that was going that way.

Now it so happened that Sir William Keith, thegovernor of the province, was at Newcastle at that verytime. He was with Captain Holmes when the lettercame to hand.

When Captain Holmes had read the letter he was sopleased with it that he showed it to the governor.

Governor Keith read it and was surprised when helearned that its writer was a lad only seventeen yearsold.

"He is a young man of great promise," he said; "andhe must be encouraged. The printers in Philadelphia


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know nothing about their business. If young Franklinwill stay there and set up a press, I will do a great dealfor him."

One day not long after that, when Franklin was atwork in Keimer's printing office, the governor came tosee him. Franklin was very much surprised.

The governor offered to set him up in a business ofhis own. He promised that he should have all the publicprinting in the province.

"But you will have to go to England to buy yourtypes and whatever else you may need."

Franklin agreed to do this. But he must first returnto Boston and get his father's consent and assistance.

The governor gave him a letter to carry to his father.In a few weeks he was on his way home.

You may believe that Benjamin's father and motherwere glad to see him. He had been gone seven months,and in all that time they had not heard a word fromhim.

His brothers and sisters were glad to see him,too--all but the printer, James, who treated him veryunkindly.

His father read the governor's letter, and thenshook his head.


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"What kind of a man is this Governor Keith?" heasked. "He must have but little judgment to think ofsetting up a mere boy in business of this kind."

After that he wrote a letter of thanks to thegovernor. He said that he was grateful for the kindnesshe had shown to his son, and for his offer to help him.But he thought that Benjamin was still too young to betrusted with so great a business, and therefore he wouldnot consent to his undertaking it. As for helping him,that he could not do; for he had but little more moneythan was needed to carry on his own affairs.

IX.--The Return to Philadelphia

Benjamin Franklin felt much disappointed when hisfather refused to help send him to England. But he wasnot discouraged.

In a few weeks he was ready to return toPhiladelphia. This time he did not have to run awayfrom home.

His father blessed him, and his mother gave himmany small gifts as tokens of her love.

"Be diligent," said his father, "attend well to yourbusiness, and save your money carefully, and, perhaps,


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by the time you are twenty-one years old, you will beable to set up for yourself without the governor's help."

All the family, except James the printer, bade him akind good-bye, as he went on board the little ship thatwas to take him as far as New York.

There was another surprise for him when hereached New York.

The governor of New York had heard that therewas a young man from Boston on board the ship, andthat he had a great many books.

There were no large libraries in New York at thattime. There were no bookstores, and but few peoplewho cared for books.

So the governor sent for Franklin to come and seehim. He showed him his own library, and they had along talk about books and authors.

This was the second governor that had taken noticeof Benjamin. For a poor boy, like him, it was a greathonor, and very pleasing.

When he arrived in Philadelphia he gave toGovernor Keith the letter which his father had written.

The governor was not very well pleased. He said:


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"Your father is too careful. There is a greatdifference in persons. Young men can sometimes betrusted with great undertakings as well as if they wereolder."

He then said that he would set Franklin up inbusiness without his father's help.

"Give me a list of everything needed in a first-classprinting office. I will see that you are properly fittedout."

Franklin was delighted. He thought that GovernorKeith was one of the best men in the world.

In a few days he laid before the governor a list of thethings needed in a little printing office.

The cost of the outfit would be about five hundreddollars.

The governor was pleased with the list. There wereno type foundries in America at that time. There wasno place where printing presses were made. Everythinghad to be bought in England.

The governor said, "Don't you think it would bebetter if you could go to England and choose the typesfor yourself, and see that everything is just as youwould like to have it?"


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"Yes, sir," said Franklin, "I think that would be agreat advantage."

"Well, then," said the governor, "get yourself readyto go on the next regular ship to London. It shall be atmy expense."

At that time there was only one ship that maderegular trips from Philadelphia to England, and it sailedbut once each year.

The name of this ship was the Annis. It would notbe ready to sail again for several months.

And so young Franklin, while he was getting readyfor the voyage, kept on working in Mr. Keimer's littleprinting office.

He laid up money enough to pay for his passage. Hedid not want to be dependent upon Governor Keith foreverything; and it was well that he did not.

X.--The First Visit to England

At last the Annis was ready to sail.

Governor Keith had promised to give to youngFranklin letters of introduction to some of his friendsin England.


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He had also promised to give him money to buy hispresses and type.

But when Franklin called at the governor's house tobid him good-bye, and to get the letters, the governorwas too busy to see him. He said that he would sendthe letters and the money to him on shipboard.

The ship sailed.

But no letters, nor any word from Governor Keith,had been sent to Franklin.

When he at last arrived in London he found himselfwithout money and without friends.

Governor Keith had given him nothing butpromises. He would never give him anything more. Hewas a man whose word was not to be depended upon.

Franklin was then just eighteen years old. He mustnow depend wholly upon himself. He must make hisown way in the world, without aid from anyone.

He went out at once to look for work. He foundemployment in a printing office, and there he stayed fornearly a year.

Franklin made many acquaintances with literarypeople while he was in London.


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He proved himself to be a young man of talent andingenuity. He was never idle.

His companions in the printing office were beerdrinkers and sots. He often told them how foolish theywere to spend their money and ruin themselves fordrink.

He drank nothing but water. He was strong andactive. He could carry more, and do more work, thanany of them.

He persuaded many of them to leave off drinking,and to lead better lives.

Franklin was also a fine swimmer. There was no onein London who could swim as well. He wrote twoessays on swimming, and made some plans for openinga swimming school.

When he had been in London about a year, he meta Mr. Denham, a merchant of Philadelphia, and astrong friendship sprang up between them.

Mr. Denham at last persuaded Franklin to return toPhiladelphia, and be a clerk in his dry goods store.

And so, on the 23rd of the next July, he set sail forhome. The ship was nearly three months in making thevoyage, and it was not until October that he again setfoot in Philadelphia.


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XI.--A Leading Man in Philadelphia

When Franklin was twenty-four years old he wasmarried to Miss Deborah Read, the young lady whohad laughed at him when he was walking the streetwith his three rolls.

They lived together very happily for a great manyyears.

Some time before this marriage, Franklin's friendand employer, Mr. Denham, had died.

The dry goods store, of which he was the owner,had been sold, and Franklin's occupation as a salesman,or clerk, was gone. But the young man had shownhimself to be a person of great industry and ability. Hehad the confidence of everybody that knew him.

A friend of his, who had money, offered to take himas a partner in the newspaper business. And so he againbecame a printer, and the editor of a paper called thePennsylvania Gazette.

It was not long until Franklin was recognized as oneof the leading men in Philadelphia. His name wasknown, not only in Pennsylvania, but in all thecolonies.

He was all the time thinking of plans for making thepeople about him wiser and better and happier.


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He established a subscription and circulatinglibrary, the first in America. This library was thebeginning of the present Philadelphia Public Library.

He wrote papers on education. He founded theUniversity of Pennsylvania. He organized theAmerican Philosophical Society.

He established the first fire company inPhiladelphia, which was also the first in America.

He invented a copper-plate press, and printed thefirst paper money of New Jersey.

He also invented the iron fireplace, which is calledthe Franklin stove, and is still used where wood isplentiful and cheap.

After an absence of ten years, he paid a visit to hisold home in Boston. Everybody was glad to see himnow,--even his brother James, the printer.

When he returned to Philadelphia, he was electedclerk of the colonial assembly.

Not long after that, he was chosen to be postmasterof the city. But his duties in this capacity did notrequire very much labor in those times.

He did not handle as much mail in a whole year aspasses now through the Philadelphia postoffice in asingle hour.


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XII.--Franklin’s Rules of Life

Here are some of the rules of life which Franklinmade for himself when he was a very young man:

1. To live very frugally till he had paid all that heowed.

2. To speak the truth at all times; to be sincere inword and action.

3. To apply himself earnestly to whatever businesshe took in hand; and to shun all foolish projects forbecoming suddenly rich. "For industry and patience,"he said, "are the surest means of plenty."

4. To speak ill of no man whatever, not even in amatter of truth; but to speak all the good he knew ofeverybody.

When he was twenty-six years old, he published thefirst number of an almanac called Poor Richard'sAlmanac.

This almanac was full of wise and witty sayings, andeverybody soon began to talk about it.

Every year, for twenty-five years, a new number ofPoor Richard's Almanac was printed. It was sold in allparts of the country. People who had no other bookswould buy and read Poor Richard's Almanac. The


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library of many a farmer consisted of only the familyBible with one or more numbers of this famousalmanac. Here are a few of Poor Richard's sayings:

"A word to the wise is enough."

"God helps them that help themselves."

"Early to bed and early to rise, Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."

"There are no gains without pains."

"Plow deep while sluggards sleep, And you shall have corn to sell and to keep."

"One today is worth two tomorrows."

"Little strokes fell great oaks."

"Keep thy shop and thy shop will keep thee."

"The sleeping fox catches no poultry."

"Diligence is the mother of good luck."

"Constant dropping wears away stones."

"A small leak will sink a great ship."

"Who dainties love shall beggars prove."

"Creditors have better memories than debtors."

"Many a little makes a mickle."


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"Fools make feasts and wise men eat them."

"Many have been ruined by buying good pennyworths."

"Rather go to bed supperless than rise in debt."

"For age and want save while you may; No morning sun lasts the whole day."

It is pleasant to know that Franklin observed therules of life which he made. And his wife, Deborah, wasas busy and as frugal as himself.

They kept no idle servants. Their furniture was ofthe cheapest sort. Their food was plain and simple.

Franklin's breakfast, for many years, was only breadand milk; and he ate it out of a twopenny earthen bowlwith a pewter spoon.

But at last, when he was called one morning tobreakfast, he found his milk in a china bowl; and by theside of the bowl there was a silver spoon.

His wife had bought them for him as a surprise. Shesaid that she thought her husband deserved a silverspoon and china bowl as well as any of his neighbors.


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XIII.--Franklin’s Services to the Colonies

And so, as you have seen, Benjamin Franklinbecame in time one of the foremost men in ourcountry.

In 1753, when he was forty-five years old, he wasmade deputy postmaster general for America.

He was to have a salary of about $3,000 a year, andwas to pay his own assistants.

People were astonished when he proposed to havethe mail carried regularly once every week betweenNew York and Boston.

Letters starting from Philadelphia on Mondaymorning would reach Boston the next Saturday night.This was thought to be a wonderful and almostimpossible feat. But nowadays, letters leavingPhiladelphia at midnight are read at the breakfast tablein Boston the next morning.

At that time there were not seventy post-offices inthe whole country. There are now more than seventythousand.

Benjamin Franklin held the office of deputypostmaster general for the American colonies fortwenty-one years.


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In 1754 there was a meeting of the leading men ofall the colonies at Albany. There were fears of a warwith the French and Indians of Canada, and thecolonies had sent these men to plan some means ofdefence.

Benjamin Franklin was one of the men fromPennsylvania at this meeting.

He presented a plan for the union of the colonies,and it was adopted. But our English rulers said it wastoo democratic, and refused to let it go into operation.

This scheme of Franklin's set the people of thecolonies to thinking. Why should the colonies notunite? Why should they not help one another, and thusform one great country?

And so, we may truthfully say that it was BenjaminFranklin who first put into men's minds the idea of thegreat Union which we now call the United States ofAmerica.

The people of the colonies were not happy underthe rule of the English. One by one, laws were madewhich they looked upon as oppressive andburdensome. These laws were not intended to benefitthe American people, but were designed to enrich themerchants and politicians of England.


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In 1757 the people of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts,Maryland, and Georgia, decided to send someone toEngland to petition against these oppressions.

In all the colonies there was no man better fitted forthis business than Benjamin Franklin. And so he wasthe man sent.

The fame of the great American had gone beforehim. Everybody seemed anxious to do him honor.

He met many of the leading men of the day, and heat last succeeded in gaining the object of his mission.

But such business moved slowly in those times. Fiveyears passed before he was ready to return to America.

He reached Philadelphia in November, 1762, andthe colonial assembly of Pennsylvania thanked himpublicly for his great services.

But new troubles soon came up between thecolonies and the government in England. Other lawswere passed, more oppressive than before.

It was proposed to tax the colonies, and to force thecolonists to buy stamped paper. This last act was calledthe Stamp Tax, and the American people opposed itwith all their might.


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Scarcely had Franklin been at home two years whenhe was again sent to England to plead the cause of hiscountrymen.

This time he remained abroad for more than tenyears; but he was not so successful as before.

In 1774 he appeared before the King's council topresent a petition from the people of Massachusetts.

He was now a venerable man nearly seventy yearsof age. He was the most famous man of America.

His petition was rejected. He himself wasshamefully insulted and abused by one of the membersof the council. The next day he was dismissed from theoffice of deputy postmaster-general of America.

In May, 1775, he was again at home in Philadelphia.

Two weeks before his arrival the battle of Lexingtonhad been fought, and the war of the Revolution hadbeen begun.

Franklin had done all that he could to persuade theEnglish king to deal justly with the American colonies.But the king and his counsellors had refused to listen tohim.

During his ten years abroad he had not stayed allthe time in England. He had traveled in many countriesof Europe, and had visited Paris several times.


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Many changes had taken place while he was absent.

His wife, Mrs. Deborah Franklin, had died. Hisparents and fifteen of his brothers and sisters had alsobeen laid in the grave.

The rest of his days were to be spent in the serviceof his country, to which he had already given nearlytwenty years of his life.

XIV.--Franklin’s Wonderful Kite

Benjamin Franklin was not only a printer,politician, and statesman, he was the first scientist ofAmerica. In the midst of perplexing cares it was hisdelight to study the laws of nature and try tounderstand some of the mysteries of creation.

In his time no very great discoveries had yet beenmade. The steam engine was unknown. The telegraphhad not so much as been dreamed about. Thousands ofcomforts which we now enjoy through the discoveriesof science were then unthought of; or if thought of,they were deemed to be impossible.

Franklin began to make experiments in electricitywhen he was about forty years old.


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He was the first person to discover that lightning iscaused by electricity. He had long thought that this wastrue, but he had no means of proving it.

He thought that if he could stand on some hightower during a thunder-storm, he might be able todraw some of the electricity from the clouds through apointed iron rod. But there was no high tower inPhiladelphia. There was not even a tall church spire.

At last he thought of making a kite and sending it upto the clouds. A paper kite, however, would be ruinedby the rain and would not fly to any great height.

So instead of paper he used a light silk handkerchiefwhich he fastened to two slender but strong crosspieces. At the top of the kite he placed a pointed ironrod. The string was of hemp, except a short piece at thelower end, which was of silk. At the end of the hempstring an iron key was tied.

"I think that is a queer kind of kite," said Franklin'slittle boy. "What are you going to do with it?"

"Wait until the next thunderstorm, and you willsee," said Franklin. "You may go with me and we willsend it up to the clouds."

He told no one else about it, for if the experimentshould fail, he did not care to have everybody laugh athim.


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At last, one day, a thunderstorm came up, andFranklin, with his son, went out into a field to fly hiskite. There was a steady breeze, and it was easy to sendthe kite far up towards the clouds.

Then, holding the silken end of the string, Franklinstood under a little shed in the field, and watched to seewhat would happen. The lightnings flashed, thethunder rolled, but there was no sign of electricity inthe kite. At last, when he was about to give up theexperiment, Franklin saw the loose fibers of hishempen string begin to move.

He put his knuckles close to the key, and sparks offire came flying to his hand. He was wild with delight.The sparks of fire were electricity; he had drawn themfrom the clouds.

That experiment, if Franklin had only known it, wasa very dangerous one. It was fortunate for him, and forthe world, that he suffered no harm. More than oneperson who has since tried to draw electricity from theclouds has been killed by the lightning that has flasheddown the hempen kite string.

When Franklin's discovery was made known itcaused great excitement among the learned men ofEurope. They could not believe it was true until someof them had proved it by similar experiments.


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They could hardly believe that a man in the farawaycity of Philadelphia could make a discovery which theyhad never thought of as possible. Indeed, how could anAmerican do anything that was worth doing?

Franklin soon became famous in foreign countriesas a philosopher and man of science. The universitiesof Oxford and Edinburgh honored him by conferringupon him their highest degrees. He was now DoctorBenjamin Franklin. But in America people still thoughtof him only as a man of affairs, as a great printer, and asthe editor of Poor Richard's Almanac.

All this happened before the beginning of his careeras ambassador from the colonies to the king andgovernment of England.

I cannot tell you of all of his discoveries in science.He invented the lightning rod, and, by trying manyexperiments, he learned more about electricity than theworld had ever known before.

He made many curious experiments to discover thelaws of heat, light, and sound. By laying strips ofcolored cloth on snow, he learned which colors are thebest conductors of heat.

He invented the harmonica, an ingenious musicalinstrument, in which the sounds were produced bymusical glasses.


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During his long stay abroad he did not neglect hisscientific studies. He visited many of the greatestscholars of the time, and was everywhere received withmuch honor.

The great scientific societies of Europe, the RoyalAcademies in Paris and in Madrid, had already electedhim as one of their members. The King of France wrotehim a letter, thanking him for his useful discoveries inelectricity, and for his invention of the lightning-rod.

All this would have made some men very proud.But it was not so with Dr. Franklin. In a letter which hewrote to a friend at the time when these honors werebeginning to be showered upon him, he said:

"The pride of man is very differently gratified; andhad his Majesty sent me a marshal's staff I think Ishould scarce have been so proud of it as I am of youresteem."

XV.--The Last Years

In 1776 delegates from all the colonies met inPhiladelphia. They formed what is called the secondContinental Congress of America.


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It was now more than a year since the war hadbegun, and the colonists had made up their minds notto submit to the king of England and his council.

Many of them were strongly in favor of setting up anew government of their own.

A committee was appointed to draft a declaration ofindependence, and Benjamin Franklin was one of thatcommittee.

On the 4th of July, Congress declared the coloniesto be free and independent states. Among the signers ofthe Declaration of Independence was BenjaminFranklin of Pennsylvania.

Soon after this Dr. Franklin was sent to Paris asminister from the United States. Early in the followingyear, 1777, he induced the king of France toacknowledge the independence of this country.

He thus secured aid for the Americans at a timewhen they were in the greatest need of it. Had it notbeen for his services at this time, the war of theRevolution might have ended very differently, indeed.

It was not until 1785 that he was again able toreturn to his home.

He was then nearly eighty years old.


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He had served his country faithfully for fifty-threeyears. He would have been glad if he might retire toprivate life.

When he reached Philadelphia he was received withjoy by thousands of his countrymen. GeneralWashington was among the first to welcome him, andto thank him for his great services.

That same year the grateful people of his stateelected him President of Pennsylvania.

Two years afterwards, he wrote:

"I am here in my niche in my own house, in thebosom of my family, my daughter and grandchildren allabout me, among my old friends, or the sons of myfriends, who equally respect me.

"In short, I enjoy here every opportunity of doinggood, and everything else I could wish for, exceptrepose; and that I may soon expect, either by thecessation of my office, which cannot last more thanthree years, or by ceasing to live."

The next year he was a delegate to the conventionwhich formed the present Constitution of the UnitedStates.

In a letter written to his friend Washington not longafterwards, he said: "For my personal ease I should


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have died two years ago; but though those years havebeen spent in pain, I am glad to have lived them, sinceI can look upon our present situation."

In April, 1790, he died, and was buried by the sideof his wife, Deborah, in Arch Street graveyard inPhiladelphia. His age was eighty-four years and threemonths.

Many years before his death he had written thefollowing epitaph for himself:

The Body of Benjamin Franklin, Printer,

(Like the cover of an old book, Its contents torn out,

And stripped of its lettering and gilding,) Lies here food for worms.

Yet the work itself shall not be lost, For it will (as he believed) appear once more

In a new And more beautiful Edition,

Corrected and Amended By The Author.

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The Story ofDaniel Webster

I.--Captain Webster

Many years ago there lived in New Hampshire apoor farmer, whose name was Ebenezer Webster.

His little farm was among the hills, not far from theMerrimac River. It was a beautiful place to live in; butthe ground was poor, and there were so many rocksthat you would wonder how anything could growamong them.

Ebenezer Webster was known far and wide as abrave, wise man. When any of his neighbors were introuble or in doubt about anything, they always said,"We will ask Captain Webster about it."

They called him Captain because he had fought theFrench and Indians and had been a brave soldier in theRevolutionary War. Indeed, he was one of the first menin New Hampshire to take up arms for his country.

The Story of Daniel Webster

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When he heard that the British were sendingsoldiers to America to force the people to obey theunjust laws of the king of England, he said, "We mustnever submit to this."

So he went among his neighbors and persuadedthem to sign a pledge to do all that they could todefend the country against the British. Then he raiseda company of two hundred men and led them toBoston to join the American army.

The Revolutionary War lasted several years; andduring all that time, Captain Webster was known asone of the bravest of the American patriots.

One day, at West Point, he met GeneralWashington. The patriots were in great trouble at thattime, for one of their leaders had turned traitor and hadgone to help the British. The officers and soldiers weremuch distressed, for they did not know who might bethe next to desert them.

As I have said, Captain Webster met GeneralWashington. The general took the captain's hand, andsaid: "I believe that I can trust you, Captain Webster."

You may believe that this made Captain Websterfeel very happy. When he went back to his humblehome among the New Hampshire hills, he was never so


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proud as when telling his neighbors about this meetingwith General Washington.

If you could have seen Captain Ebenezer Websterin those days, you would have looked at him more thanonce. He was a remarkable man. He was very tall andstraight, with dark, glowing eyes, and hair as black asnight. His face was kind, but it showed much firmnessand decision.

He had never attended school; but he had tried, aswell as he could, to educate himself. It was on accountof his honesty and good judgment that he was lookedup to as the leading man in the neighborhood.

In some way, I do not know how, he had gotten alittle knowledge of the law. And at last, because of thisas well as because of his sound common sense, he wasappointed judge of the court in his county.

This was several years after the war was over. Hewas now no longer called Captain Webster, but JudgeWebster.

It had been very hard for him to make a living forhis large family on the stony farm among the hills. Butnow his office as judge would bring him three hundredor four hundred dollars a year. He had never had somuch money in his life.


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"Judge Webster," said one of his neighbors, "whatare you going to do with the money that you get fromyour office? Going to build a new house?"

"Well, no," said the judge. "The old house is small,but we have lived in it a long time, and it still does verywell."

"Then I suppose you are planning to buy moreland?" said the neighbor.

"No, indeed, I have as much land now as I cancultivate. But I will tell you what I am going to do withmy money. I am going to try to educate my boys. Iwould rather do this than have lands and houses."

II.--The Youngest Son

Ebenezer Webster had several sons. But at the timethat he was appointed judge there were only two athome. The older ones were grown up and were doingfor themselves.

It was of the two at home that he was thinking whenhe said, "I am going to try to educate my boys."

Of the ten children in the family, the favorite was ablack-haired, dark-skinned little fellow called Daniel.He was the youngest of all the boys; but there was onegirl who was younger than he.


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Daniel Webster was born on the 18th of January,1782.

He was a puny child, very slender and weak; and theneighbors were fond of telling his mother that he couldnot live long. Perhaps this was one of the things thatcaused him to be favored and petted by his parents.

But there were other reasons why every one wasattracted by him. There were other reasons why hisbrothers and sisters were always ready to do him aservice.

He was an affectionate, loving child; and he waswonderfully bright and quick.

He was not strong enough to work on the farm likeother boys. He spent much of his time playing in thewoods or roaming among the hills.

And when he was not at play he was quite sure to befound in some quiet corner with a book in his hand. Heafterwards said of himself: "In those boyish days therewere two things that I dearly loved--reading andplaying."

He could never tell how or when he had learned toread. Perhaps his mother had taught him when he wasbut a mere babe.


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He was very young when he was first sent to school.The schoolhouse was two or three miles away, but hedid not mind the long walk through the woods andover the hills.

It was not a great while until he had learned all thathis teacher was able to teach him; for he had a quickunderstanding, and he remembered everything that heread.

The people of the neighborhood never tired oftalking about "Webster's boy," as they called him. Allagreed that he was a wonderful child.

Some said that so wonderful a child was sure to dieyoung. Others said that if he lived he would certainlybecome a very great man.

When the farmers, on their way to market, drovepast Judge Webster's house, they were always glad ifthey could see the delicate boy, with his great dark eyes.

If it was near the hour of noon, they would stoptheir teams under the shady elms and ask him to comeout and read to them. Then, while their horses restedand ate, they would sit round the boy and listen to hiswonderful tones as he read page after page from theBible.

There were no children's books in those times.Indeed, there were very few books to be had of any


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kind. But young Daniel Webster found nothing toohard to read.

"I read what I could get to read," he afterwards said;"I went to school when I could, and when not at school,was a farmer's youngest boy, not good for much forwant of health and strength, but expected to dosomething."

One day the man who kept the little store in thevillage, showed him something that made his heartleap.

It was a cotton handkerchief with the Constitutionof the United States printed on one side of it.

In those days people were talking a great deal aboutthe Constitution, for it had just then come into force.

Daniel had never read it. When he saw thehandkerchief he could not rest till he had made it hisown.

He counted all his pennies, he borrowed a few fromhis brother Ezekiel. Then he hurried back to the storeand bought the wished-for treasure.

In a short time he knew everything in theConstitution, and could repeat whole sections of itfrom memory. We shall learn that, when he afterwardsbecame one of the great men of this nation, he proved


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to be the Constitution's wisest friend and ablestdefender.

III.--Ezekiel and Daniel

Ezekiel Webster was two years older than hisbrother Daniel. He was a strong, manly fellow, and wasready at all times to do a kindness to the lad who hadnot been gifted with so much health and strength.

But he had not Daniel's quickness of mind, and healways looked to his younger brother for advice andinstruction.

And so there was much love between the twobrothers, each helping the other according to histalents and his ability.

One day they went together to the county fair. Eachhad a few cents in his pocket for spending money, andboth expected to have a fine time.

When they came home in the evening Danielseemed very happy, but Ezekiel was silent.

"Well, Daniel," said their mother, "what did you dowith your money?"

"I spent it at the fair," said Daniel.

"And what did you do with yours, Ezekiel?"


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"I lent it to Daniel," was the answer.

It was this way at all times, and with everybody. Notonly Ezekiel, but others were ever ready to give up theirown means of enjoyment if only it would make Danielhappy.

At another time the brothers were standingtogether by their father, who had just come home afterseveral days' absence.

"Ezekiel," said Mr. Webster, "what have you beendoing since I went away?"

"Nothing, sir," said Ezekiel.

"You are very frank," said the judge. Then turning toDaniel, he said:

"What have you been doing, Dan?"

"Helping Zeke," said Daniel.

When Judge Webster said to his neighbor, "I amgoing to try to educate my boys," he had no thought ofever being able to send both of them to college.

Ezekiel, he said to himself, was strong and hearty.He could make his own way in the world withouthaving a finished education.


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But Daniel had little strength of body, although hewas gifted with great mental powers. It was he thatmust be the scholar of the family.

The judge argued with himself that since he wouldbe able to educate only one of the boys, he musteducate that one who gave the greatest promise ofsuccess. And yet, had it not been for his poverty, hewould gladly have given the same opportunities toboth.

IV.--Plans for the Future

One hot day in summer the judge and his youngestson were at work together in the hayfield.

"Daniel," said the judge, "I am thinking that thiskind of work is hardly the right thing for you. You mustprepare yourself for greater things than pitching hay."

"What do you mean, father?" asked Daniel.

"I mean that you must have that which I havealways felt the need of. You must have a goodeducation; for without an education a man is always ata disadvantage. If I had been able to go to school whenI was a boy, I might have done more for my countrythan I have. But as it is, I can do nothing but strugglehere for the means of living."


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"Zeke and I will help you, father," said Daniel; "andnow that you are growing old, you need not work sohard."

"I am not complaining about the work," said thejudge. "I live only for my children. When your olderbrothers were growing up I was too poor to give theman education; but I am able now to do something foryou, and I mean to send you to a good school."

"Oh, father, how kind you are!" cried Daniel.

"If you will study hard," said his father--"if you willdo your best, and learn all that you can; you will nothave to endure such hardships as I have endured. Andthen you will be able to do so much more good in theworld."

The boy's heart was touched by the manner inwhich his father spoke these words. He dropped hisrake; he threw his arms around his father's neck, andcried for thankfulness and joy.

It was not until the next spring that Judge Websterfelt himself able to carry out his plans to send Daniel toschool.

One evening he said, "Daniel, you must be up earlyin the morning, I am going with you to Exeter."

"To Exeter?" said the boy.


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"Yes, to Exeter. I am going to put you in theacademy there."

The academy at Exeter was then, as it still is, afamous place for preparing boys for college. ButDaniel's father did not say anything about making himready for college. The judge knew that the expenseswould be heavy, and he was not sure that he would everbe able to give him a finished education.

It was nearly fifty miles to Exeter, and Daniel andhis father were to ride there on horseback. That wasalmost the only way of traveling in those days.

The next morning two horses were brought to thedoor. One was Judge Webster's horse, the other was agentle nag, with a lady's sidesaddle on his back.

"Who is going to ride on that nag?" asked Daniel.

"Young Dan Webster," answered the judge.

"But I don't want a sidesaddle. I am not a lady."

"Neighbor Johnson is sending the nag to Exeter forthe use of a lady who is to ride back with me. Iaccommodate him by taking charge of the animal, andhe accommodates me by allowing you to ride on it."

"But won't it look rather funny for me to ride toExeter on a lady's saddle?"


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"If a lady can ride on it, perhaps Dan Webster cando as much."

And so they set out on their journey to Exeter. Thejudge rode in advance, and Daniel, sitting astride of thelady's saddle, followed behind.

It was, no doubt, a funny sight to see them ridingthus along the muddy roads. None of the countrypeople who stopped to gaze at them could haveguessed that the dark-faced lad who rode so awkwardlywould some day become one of the greatest men of theage.

It was thus that Daniel Webster made his firstappearance among strangers.

V.--At Exeter Academy

It was the first time that Daniel Webster had beenso far from home. He was bashful and awkward. Hisclothes were of homemade stuff, and they were cut inthe quaint style of the back-country districts.

He must have been a funny looking fellow. Nowonder that the boys laughed when they saw himgoing up to the principal to be examined for admission.


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The principal of the academy at that time was Dr.Benjamin Abbott. He was a great scholar and a verydignified gentleman.

He looked down at the slender, black-eyed boy andasked:

"What is your age, sir?"

"Fourteen years," said Daniel.

"I will examine you first in reading. Take this Bible,and let me hear you read some of these verses."

He pointed to the twenty-second chapter of SaintLuke's Gospel.

The boy took the book and began to read. He hadread this chapter a hundred times before. Indeed, therewas no part of the Bible that was not familiar to him.

He read with a clearness and fervor which few mencould equal.

The dignified principal was astonished. He stood asthough spellbound, listening to the rich, mellow tonesof the bashful lad from among the hills.

In the case of most boys it was enough if he heardthem read a verse or two. But he allowed DanielWebster to read on until he had finished the chapter.Then he said:


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"There is no need to examine you further. You arefully qualified to enter this academy."

Most of the boys at Exeter were gentlemen's sons.They dressed well, they had been taught fine manners,they had the speech of cultivated people.

They laughed at the awkward, new boy. They madefun of his homespun coat; they twitted him on accountof his poverty; they annoyed him in a hundred ways.

Daniel felt hurt by this cruel treatment. He grievedbitterly over it in secret, but he did not resent it.

He studied hard and read much. He was soon at thehead of all his classes. His schoolmates ceased laughingat him; for they saw that, with all his uncouth ways, hehad more ability than any of them.

He had, as I have said, a wonderful memory. Hehad also a quick insight and sound judgment.

But he had had so little experience with the world,that he was not sure of his own powers. He knew thathe was awkward; and this made him timid and bashful.

When it came his turn to declaim before the school,he had not the courage to do it. Long afterwards, whenhe had become the greatest orator of modern times, hetold how hard this thing had been for him at Exeter:


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"Many a piece did I commit to memory, andrehearse in my room over and over again. But when theday came, when the school collected, when my namewas called and I saw all eyes turned upon my seat, Icould not raise myself from it.

"Sometimes the masters frowned, sometimes theysmiled. My tutor always pressed and entreated with themost winning kindness that I would venture only once;but I could not command sufficient resolution, andwhen the occasion was over I went home and wepttears of bitter mortification."

Daniel stayed nine months at Exeter. In those ninemonths he did as much as the other boys of his agecould do in two years.

He mastered arithmetic, geography, grammar, andrhetoric. He also began the study of Latin. Besides this,he was a great reader of all kinds of books, and headded something every day to his general stock ofknowledge.

His teachers did not oblige him to follow a gradedcourse of study. They did not hold him back with theduller pupils of his class. They did not oblige him towait until the end of the year before he could bepromoted or could begin the study of a new subject.


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But they encouraged him to do his best. As soon ashe had finished one subject, he advanced to a moredifficult one.

More than fifty years afterwards, Dr. Abbottdeclared that in all his long experience he had neverknown any one whose power of gaining knowledge wasat all equal to that of the bashful country lad from theNew Hampshire hills.

Judge Webster would have been glad to let Danielstay at Exeter until he had finished the studies requiredat the academy. But he could not afford the expense.

If he should spend all his money to keep the boy atthe academy, how could he afterwards find the meansto send him to college where the expenses would bemuch greater?

So he thought it best to find a private teacher for theboy. This would be cheaper.


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VI.--Getting Ready for College

One day in the early winter, Judge Webster askedDaniel to ride with him to Boscawen. Boscawen was alittle town, six miles away, where they sometimes wentfor business or for pleasure.

Snow was on the ground. Father and son rodetogether in a little, old-fashioned sleigh; and as theyrode, they talked about many things. Just as they weregoing up the last hill, Judge Webster said:

"Daniel, do you know the Rev. Samuel Wood, herein Boscawen?"

"I have heard of him," said Daniel. "He takes boysinto his family, and gets them ready for college."

"Yes, and he does it cheap, too," said his father. "Hecharges only a dollar a week for board and tuition, fueland lights and everything."

"But they say he is a fine teacher," said Daniel. "Hisboys never fail in the college examinations."

"That is what I have heard, too," answered hisfather. "And now, Dannie, I may as well tell you asecret. For the last six years I have been planning tohave you take a course in Dartmouth College. I wantyou to stay with Dr. Wood this winter, and he will get


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you ready to enter. We might as well go and see himnow."

This was the first time that Daniel had ever heardhis father speak of sending him to college. His heartwas so full that he could not say a word. But the tearscame in his eyes as he looked up into the judge's stern,kind face.

He knew that if his father carried out this plan, itwould cost a great deal of money; and if this moneyshould be spent for him, then the rest of the familywould have to deny themselves of many comfortswhich they might otherwise have.

"Oh, never mind that, Dan," said his brotherEzekiel. "We are never so happy as when we are doingsomething for you. And we know that you will dosomething for us, some time."

And so the boy spent the winter in Boscawen withDr. Wood. He learned everything very easily, but hewas not as close a student as he had been at Exeter.

He was very fond of sport. He liked to go fishing.And sometimes, when the weather was fine, his studieswere sadly neglected.

There was a circulating library in Boscawen, andDaniel read every book that was in it. Sometimes he


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slighted his Latin for the sake of giving more time tosuch reading.

One of the books in the library was Don Quixote.Daniel thought it the most wonderful story inexistence. He afterwards said:

"I began to read it, and it is literally true that I neverclosed my eyes until I had finished it, so great was thepower of this extraordinary book on my imagination."

But it was so easy for the boy to learn, that he madevery rapid progress in all his studies. In less than a year,Dr. Wood declared that he was ready for college.

He was then fifteen years old. He had a prettythorough knowledge of arithmetic; but he had neverstudied algebra or geometry. In Latin he had read fourof Cicero's orations, and six books of Virgil's Aeneid.He knew something of the elements of Greekgrammar, and had read a portion of the GreekTestament.

Nowadays, a young man could hardly enter even athird-rate college without a better preparation thanthat. But colleges are much more thorough than theywere a hundred years ago.


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VII.--At Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College is at Hanover, New Hampshire.It is one of the oldest colleges in America and amongits students have been many of the foremost men ofNew England.

It was in the fall of 1797, that Daniel Websterentered this college.

He was then a tall, slender youth, with high cheekbones and a swarthy skin.

The professors soon saw that he was no commonlad. They said to one another, "This young Websterwill one day be a greater man than any of us."

And young Webster was well-behaved and studiousat college. He was as fond of sport as any of thestudents, but he never gave himself up to boyishpranks.

He was punctual and regular in all his classes. Hewas as great a reader as ever.

He could learn anything that he tried. No otheryoung man had a broader knowledge of things than he.

And yet he did not make his mark as a student inthe prescribed branches of study. He could not confinehimself to the narrow routine of the college course.


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He did not, as at Exeter, push his way quickly to thehead of his class. He won no prizes.

"But he minded his own business," said one of theprofessors. "As steady as the sun, he pursued, withintense application, the great object for which he cameto college."

Soon everybody began to appreciate hisscholarship. Everybody admired him for his manlinessand good common sense.

"He was looked upon as being so far in advance ofany one else, that no other student of his class was everspoken of as second to him."

He very soon lost that bashfulness which hadtroubled him so much at Exeter. It was no task now forhim to stand up and declaim before the professors andstudents.

In a short time he became known as the best writerand speaker in the college. Indeed, he loved to speak;and the other students were always pleased to listen tohim.

One of his classmates tells us how he prepared hisspeeches. He says: "It was Webster's custom to arrangehis thoughts in his mind while he was in his room, orwhile he was walking alone. Then he would put themupon paper just before the exercise was to be called for.


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"If he was to speak at two o'clock, he would oftenbegin to write after dinner; and when the bell rang hewould fold his paper, put it in his pocket, go in, andspeak with great ease.

"In his movements he was slow and deliberate,except when his feelings were aroused. Then his wholesoul would kindle into a flame."

In the year 1800, he was chosen to deliver theFourth of July address to the students of the collegeand the citizens of the town. He was then eighteenyears old.

The speech was a long one. It was full of the love ofcountry. Its tone throughout was earnest andthoughtful.

But in its style it was overdone; it was full ofpretentious expressions; it lacked the simplicity andgood common sense that should mark all publicaddresses.

And yet, as the speech of so young a man, it was avery able effort. People said that it was the promise ofmuch greater things. And they were right.

In the summer of 1801, Daniel graduated. But hetook no honors. He was not even present at theCommencement.


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His friends were grieved that he had not beenchosen to deliver the valedictory address. Perhaps healso was disappointed. But the professors had thoughtbest to give that honor to another student.

VIII.--How Daniel Taught School

While Daniel Webster was taking his course incollege, there was one thing that troubled him verymuch. It was the thought of his brother Ezekiel toilingat home on the farm.

He knew that Ezekiel had great abilities. He knewthat he was not fond of the farm, but that he wasanxious to become a lawyer.

This brother had given up all his dearest plans inorder that Daniel might be favored; and Daniel knewthat this was so.

Once, when Daniel was at home on a vacation, hesaid, "Zeke, this thing is all wrong. Father hasmortgaged the farm for money to pay my expenses atschool, and you are making a slave of yourself to pay offthe mortgage. It isn't right for me to let you do this."

Ezekiel said, "Daniel, I am stronger than you are,and if one of us has to stay on the farm, of course I amthe one."


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"But I want you to go to college," said Daniel. "Aneducation will do you as much good as me."

"I doubt it," said Ezekiel; "and yet, if father was onlyable to send us both. I think that we might pay himback some time."

"I will see father about it this very day," said Daniel.

He did see him.

"I told my father," said Daniel, afterwards, "that Iwas unhappy at my brother's prospects. For myself, Isaw my way to knowledge, respectability, andself-protection. But as to Ezekiel, all looked the otherway. I said that I would keep school, and get along aswell as I could, be more than four years in gettingthrough college, if necessary, provided he also could besent to study."

The matter was referred to Daniel's mother, andshe and his father talked it over together. They knewthat it would take all the property they had to educateboth the boys. They knew that they would have to dowithout many comforts, and that they would have ahard struggle to make a living while the boys werestudying.

But the mother said, "I will trust the boys." And itwas settled that Ezekiel, too, should have a chance tomake his mark in the world.


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He was now a grown-up man. He was tall andstrong and ambitious. He entered college the very yearthat Daniel graduated.

As for Daniel, he was now ready to choose aprofession. What should it be?

His father wanted him to become a lawyer. And so,to please his parents, he went home and began to readlaw in the office of a Mr. Thompson, in the little villageof Salisbury, which adjoined his father's farm.

The summer passed by. It was very pleasant to havenothing to do but to read. And when the young mangrew tired of reading, he could go out fishing, or couldspend a day in hunting among the New Hampshirehills.

It is safe to say that he did not learn very much lawduring that summer.

But there was not a day that he did not think abouthis brother. Ezekiel had done much to help himthrough college, and now ought he not to help Ezekiel?

But what could he do?

He had a good education, and his first thought wasthat he might teach school, and thus earn a little moneyfor Ezekiel.


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The people of Fryeburg, in Maine, wanted him totake charge of the academy in their little town. And so,early in the fall, he decided to take up with their offer.

He was to have three hundred and fifty dollars forthe year's work, and that would help Ezekiel a greatdeal.

He bade good-bye to Mr. Thompson and his littlelaw office, and made ready to go to his new field oflabor. There were no railroads at that time, and ajourney of even a few miles was a great undertaking.

Daniel had bought a horse for twenty-four dollars.In one end of an old-fashioned pair of saddle bags heput his Sunday clothes, and in the other he packed hisbooks.

He laid the saddle bags upon the horse, then hemounted and rode off over the hills toward Fryeburg,sixty miles away.

He was not yet quite twenty years old. He was veryslender, and nearly six feet in height. His face was thinand dark. His eyes were black and bright andpenetrating--no person who once saw them could everforget them.

Young as he was, he was very successful as a teacherduring that year which he spent at Fryeburg. Thetrustees of the academy were so highly pleased that


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they wanted him to stay a second year. They promisedto raise his salary to five or six hundred dollars, and togive him a house and a piece of land.

He was greatly tempted to give up all furtherthoughts of becoming a lawyer.

"What shall I do?" he said to himself. "Shall I say,'Yes, gentlemen,' and sit down here to spend my days ina kind of comfortable privacy?"

But his father was anxious that he should return tothe study of the law. And so he was not long in makingup his mind.

In a letter to one of his friends he said: "I shall makeone more trial of the law in the ensuing autumn.

"If I prosecute the profession, I pray God to fortifyme against its temptations. To be honest, to be capable,to be faithful to my client and my conscience."

Early the next September, he was again in Mr.Thompson's little law office. All the money that he hadsaved, while at Fryeburg, was spent to help Ezekielthrough college.


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IX.--Daniel Goes to Boston

For a year and a half, young Daniel Webster stayedin the office of Mr. Thompson. He had now fully madeup his mind as to what profession he would follow; andso he was a much better student than he had beenbefore.

He read many law books with care. He read Hume'sHistory of England, and spent a good deal of time withthe Latin classics.

"At this period of my life," he afterwards said, "Ipassed a great deal of time alone.

"My amusements were fishing and shooting andriding, and all these were without a companion. I lovedthis solitude then, and have loved it ever since, and loveit still."

The Webster family were still very poor. JudgeWebster was now too old to do much work of any kind.The farm had been mortgaged for all that it was worth.It was hard to find money enough to keep Daniel at hislaw studies and Ezekiel in college.

At last it became necessary for one of the youngmen to do something that would help matters along.Ezekiel decided that he would leave college for a timeand try to earn enough money to meet the present


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needs of the family. Through some of his friends heobtained a small private school in Boston.

There were very few pupils in Ezekiel Webster'sschool. But there were so many branches to be taughtthat he could not find time to hear all the recitations.So, at last, he sent word to Daniel to come down andhelp him. If Daniel would teach an hour and a half eachday, he should have enough money to pay his board.

Daniel was pleased with the offer. He had longwanted to study law in Boston, and here was hisopportunity. And so, early in March, 1804, he joinedhis brother in that city, and was soon doing what hecould to help him in his little school.

There was in Boston, at that time, a famous lawyerwhose name was Christopher Gore. While DanielWebster was wondering how he could best carry on hisstudies in the city, he heard that Mr. Gore had no clerkin his office.

"How I should like to read law with Mr. Gore!" hesaid to Ezekiel.

"Yes," said Ezekiel. "You could not want a bettertutor."

"I mean to see him today and apply for a place in hisoffice," said Daniel.


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It was with many misgivings that the young manwent into the presence of the great lawyer. We will lethim tell the story in his own words:

"I was from the country, I said;--had studied law fortwo years; had come to Boston to study a year more;had heard that he had no clerk; thought it possible hewould receive one.

"I told him that I came to Boston to work, not toplay; was most desirous, on all accounts, to be hispupil; and all I ventured to ask at present was, that hewould keep a place for me in his office, till I could writeto New Hampshire for proper letters showing meworthy of it."

Mr. Gore listened to this speech very kindly, andthen bade Daniel be seated while he should have ashort talk with him.

When at last the young man rose to go, Mr. Goresaid: "My young friend, you look as if you might betrusted. You say you came to study and not to wastetime. I will take you at your word. You may as wellhang up your hat at once."

And this was the beginning of Daniel Webster'scareer in Boston.


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He must have done well in Mr. Gore's office; for, ina few months, he was admitted to the practice of law inthe Court of Common Pleas in Boston.

It was at some time during this same winter thatDaniel was offered the position of clerk in the CountyCourt at home. His father, as you will remember, wasone of the judges in this court, and he was very muchdelighted at the thought that his son would be withhim.

The salary would be about fifteen hundred dollarsa year--and that was a great sum to Daniel as well as tohis father. The mortgage on the farm could be paid off;Ezekiel could finish his course in college; and lifewould be made easier for them all.

At first Daniel was as highly pleased as his father.But after he had talked with Mr. Gore, he decided notto accept the offered position.

"Your prospects as a lawyer," said Mr. Gore, "aregood enough to encourage you to go on. Go on, andfinish your studies. You are poor enough, but there aregreater evils than poverty. Live on no man's favor.Pursue your profession; make yourself useful to yourfriends and a little formidable to your enemies, and youhave nothing to fear."


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A few days after that, Daniel paid a visit to hisfather. The judge received him very kindly, but he wasgreatly disappointed when the young man told himthat he had made up his mind not to take the place.

With his deep-set, flashing eyes, he looked at his sonfor a moment as though in anger. Then he said, veryslowly:

"Well, my son, your mother has always said that youwould come to something or nothing--she was not surewhich. I think you are now about settling that doubt forher."

A few weeks after this, Daniel, as I have already toldyou, was admitted to the bar in Boston. But he did notthink it best to begin his practice there.

He knew how anxious his father was that he shouldbe near him. He wanted to do all that he could to cheerand comfort the declining years of the noble man whohad sacrificed everything for him. And so, in the springof 1805, he settled in the town of Boscawen, six milesfrom home, and put up at his office door this sign:

D. WEBSTER, ATTORNEY.


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X.--Lawyer and Congressman

When Daniel Webster had been in Boscawen nearlytwo years, his father died. It was then decided thatEzekiel should come and take charge of the home farm,and care for their mother.

Ezekiel had not yet graduated from college, but hehad read law and was hoping to be admitted to the bar.He was a man of much natural ability, and many peoplebelieved that he would some day become a very famouslawyer.

And so, in the autumn of 1807, Daniel gave up tohis brother the law business which he had in Boscawen,and removed to the city of Portsmouth.

He was now twenty-five years old. In Portsmouthhe would find plenty of work to do; it would be thevery kind of work that he liked. He was now wellstarted on the road towards greatness.

The very next year, he was married to Miss GraceFletcher, the daughter of a minister in Hopkinton. Thehappy couple began housekeeping in a small, modest,wooden house, in Portsmouth; and there they lived,very plainly and without pretension, for several years.

Mr. Webster's office was "a common,ordinary-looking room, with less furniture and more


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books than common. He had a small inner room,opening from the larger, rather an unusual thing."

It was not long until the name of Daniel Websterwas known all over New Hampshire. Those who wereacquainted with him said that he was the smartestyoung lawyer in Portsmouth. They said that if he kepton in the way that he had started, there were greatthings in store for him.

The country people told wonderful stories abouthim. They said that he was as black as a coal--but ofcourse they had never seen him. They believed that hecould gain any case in court that he chose tomanage--and in this they were about right.

There was another great lawyer in Portsmouth. Hisname was Jeremiah Mason, and he was much olderthan Mr. Webster. Indeed, he was already a famousman when Daniel first began the practice of law.

The young lawyer and the older one soon becamewarm friends; and yet they were often opposed to eachother in the courts. Daniel was always obliged to do hisbest when Mr. Mason was against him. This causedhim to be very careful. It no doubt made him becomea better lawyer than he otherwise would have been.

While Webster was thus quietly practicing law inNew Hampshire, trouble was brewing between the


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United States and England. The English were doingmuch to hinder American merchants from trading withforeign countries.

They claimed the right to search American vesselsfor seamen who had deserted from the British service.And it is said that American sailors were often draggedfrom their own vessels and forced to serve on board theEnglish ships.

Matters kept getting worse and worse for severalyears. At last, in June, 1812, the United States declaredwar against England.

Daniel Webster was opposed to this war, and hemade several speeches against it. He said that, althoughwe had doubtless suffered many wrongs, there wasmore cause for war with France than with England.And then, the United States had no navy, and hencewas not ready to go to war with any nation.

Webster's influence in New Hampshire was so greatthat he persuaded many of the people of that state tothink just as he thought on this subject. Theynominated him as their representative in Congress;and when the time came, they elected him.

It was on the 24th of May, 1813, that he first tookhis seat in Congress. He was then thirty-one years old.


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In that same Congress there were two other youngmen who afterwards made their names famous in thehistory of their country. One was Henry Clay, ofKentucky. The other was John C. Calhoun, of SouthCarolina. Both were a little older than Webster; bothhad already made some mark in public life; and bothwere in favor of the war.

During his first year in Congress, Mr. Webstermade some stirring speeches in support of his ownopinions. In this way, as well by his skill in debate, hemade himself known as a young man of more thancommon ability and promise.

Chief Justice Marshall, who was then at the head ofthe Supreme Court of the United States, said of him: "Ihave never seen a man of whose intellect I had a higheropinion."

In 1814, the war that had been going on so longcame to an end. But now there were other subjectswhich claimed Mr. Webster's attention in Congress.

Then, as now, there were important questionsregarding the money of the nation; and upon thesequestions there was great difference of opinion. DanielWebster's speeches, in favor of a sound currency, didmuch to maintain the national credit and to save thecountry from bankruptcy.


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The people of New Hampshire were so well pleasedwith the record which he made in Congress that, whenhis first term expired, they re-elected him for a second.

XI.--The Dartmouth College Case

In 1816, before his second term in Congress hadexpired, Daniel Webster removed with his family toBoston. He had lived in Portsmouth nine years, and henow felt that he needed a wider field for the exercise ofhis talents.

He was now no longer the slender, delicate personthat he had been in his boyhood and youth. He was aman of noble mien--a sturdy, dignified personage, whobore the marks of greatness upon him.

People said, "When Daniel Webster walked thestreets of Boston, he made the buildings look small."

As soon as his term in Congress had expired, hebegan the practice of law in Boston.

For nearly seven years he devoted himself strictly tohis profession. Of course, he at once took his place asthe leading lawyer of New England. Indeed, he soonbecame known as the ablest counsellor and advocate inAmerica.


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The best business of the country now came to him.His income was very large, amounting to more than$20,000 a year.

And during this time there was no harder workerthan he. In fact, his natural genius could have done butlittle for him, had it not been for his untiring industry.

One of his first great victories in law was that whichis known as the Dartmouth College case. Thelawmakers of New Hampshire had attempted to passa law to alter the charter of the college. By doing thisthey would endanger the usefulness and prosperity ofthat great school, in order to favor the selfish projectsof its enemies.

Daniel Webster undertook to defend the college.The speech which he made before the Supreme Courtof the United States was a masterly effort.

"Sir," he said, "you may destroy this littleinstitution--it is weak, it is in your hands. I know it isone of the lesser lights in the literary horizon of ourcountry. You may put it out.

"But if you do so, you must carry through yourwork! You must extinguish, one after another, all thosegreater lights of science which, for more than a century,have thrown their light over our land!"


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He won the case; and this, more than anything else,helped to gain for him the reputation of being theablest lawyer in the United States.

XII.--Webster’s Great Orations

In 1820, when he was thirty-eight years old, DanielWebster was chosen to deliver an oration at a greatmeeting of New Englanders at Plymouth,Massachusetts.

Plymouth is the place where the Pilgrims landed in1620. Just two hundred years had passed since thattime, and this meeting was to celebrate the memory ofthe brave men and women who had risked so much tofound new homes in what was then a bleak wilderness.

The speech which Mr. Webster delivered was oneof the greatest ever heard in America. It placed him atonce at the head of American orators.

John Adams, the second president of the UnitedStates, was then living, a very old man. He said, "Thisoration will be read five hundred years hence with asmuch rapture as it was heard. It ought to be read at theend of every century, and, indeed, at the end of everyyear, forever and ever."

But this was only the first of many great addressesby Mr. Webster. In 1825, he delivered an oration at the


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laying of the cornerstone of the Bunker Hillmonument. Eighteen years later, when that monumentwas finished, he delivered another. Many of Mr.Webster's admirers think that these two orations arehis masterpieces.

On July 4th, 1826, the United States had beenindependent just fifty years. On that day there passedaway two of the greatest men of the country--JohnAdams and Thomas Jefferson.

Both were ex-presidents, and both had been leadersin the councils of the nation. It was in memory of thesetwo patriots that Daniel Webster was called to deliveran oration in Faneuil Hall, Boston.

No other funeral oration has ever been delivered inany age or country that was equal to this in eloquence.Like all his other discourses, it was full of patrioticfeeling.

"This lovely land," he said, "this glorious liberty,these benign institutions, the dear purchase of ourfathers, are ours; ours to enjoy, ours to preserve, oursto transmit. Generations past and generations to comehold us responsible for this sacred trust.

"Our fathers, from behind, admonish us with theiranxious, paternal voices; posterity calls out to us fromthe bosom of the future; the world turns hither its


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solicitous eyes; all, all conjure us to act wisely andfaithfully in the relation which we sustain."

Most of his other great speeches were delivered inCongress, and are, therefore, political in tone andsubject.

Great as Daniel Webster was in politics and in law,it is as an orator and patriot that his name will belongest remembered.

XIII.--Mr. Webster in the Senate

When Daniel Webster was forty years old, thepeople of Boston elected him to represent them inCongress. They were so well pleased with all that hedid while there, that they re-elected him twice.

In June, 1827, the legislature of Massachusettschose him to be United States senator for a term of sixyears. He was at that time the most famous man inMassachusetts, and his name was known and honoredin every state of the Union.

After that he was re-elected to the same place againand again; and for more than twenty years hecontinued to be the distinguished senator fromMassachusetts.


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I cannot now tell you of all his public servicesduring the long period that he sat in Congress. Indeed,there are some things that you would find hard tounderstand until you have learned more about thehistory of our country. But you will by-and-by read ofthem in the larger books which you will study atschool; and, no doubt, you will also read some of hisgreat addresses and orations.

It was in 1830 that he delivered the most famous ofall his speeches in the senate chamber of the UnitedStates. This speech is commonly called, "The Reply toHayne."

I shall not here try to explain the purport of Mr.Hayne's speeches--for there were two of them. I shallnot try to describe the circumstances which led Mr.Webster to make his famous reply to them.

But I will quote Mr. Webster's closing sentences.Forty years ago the schoolboys all over the countrywere accustomed to memorize and declaim thesepatriotic utterances.

"When my eyes shall be turned to behold, for thelast time, the sun in heaven, may I not see him shiningon the broken and dishonored fragments of a onceglorious Union; on states dissevered, discordant,belligerent, on a land rent with civil feuds, or drenched,it may be, in fraternal blood!


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"Let their last feeble and lingering glance ratherbehold the gorgeous ensign of the republic, nowknown and honored throughout the earth, still highadvanced, its arms and trophies streaming in theiroriginal lustre, not a stripe erased or polluted, not asingle star obscured, bearing for its motto no suchmiserable interrogatory, 'What is all this worth?' northose other words of elusion and folly, 'Liberty first andUnion afterwards;' but everywhere, spread all over incharacters of living light, blazing on all its folds, as theyfloat over the land, and in every wind under the wholeheavens, that other sentiment, dear to every Americanheart--Liberty and Union, now and forever, one andinseparable!"

In 1841, Daniel Webster resigned his seat in thesenate. He did this in order to become secretary ofstate in the cabinet of the newly elected president,William Henry Harrison.

But President Harrison died on the 5th of April,after having held his office just one month; and hisplace was taken by the vice-president, John Tyler. Mr.Webster now felt that his position in the cabinet wouldnot be a pleasant one; but he continued to hold it fornearly two years.

His most important act as secretary of state was toconclude a treaty with England which fixed the


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northeastern boundary of the United States. Thistreaty is known in history as the Ashburton Treaty.

In 1843, Mr. Webster resigned his place inPresident Tyler's cabinet. But he was not allowed toremain long in private life. Two years later he was againelected to the United States Senate.

About this time, Texas was annexed to the UnitedStates. But Mr. Webster did not favor this, for hebelieved that such an act was contrary to theConstitution of our country.

He did all that he could to keep our governmentfrom making war upon Mexico. But after this war hadbeen begun, he was a firm friend of the soldiers whotook part in it, and he did much to provide for theirsafety and comfort.

Among these soldiers was Edward, the second sonof Daniel Webster. He became a major in the maindivision of the army, and died in the City of Mexico.

XIV.--Mr. Webster in Private Life

Let us now go back a little way in our story, andlearn something about Mr. Webster's home and privatelife.


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In 1831, Mr. Webster bought a large farm atMarshfield, in the southeastern part of Massachusetts,not far from the sea.

He spent a great deal of money in improving thisfarm; and in the end it was as fine a country seat as onemight see anywhere in New England.

When he became tired with the many cares of hisbusy life, Mr. Webster could always find rest and quietdays at Marshfield. He liked to dress himself as afarmer, and stroll about the fields looking at the cattleand at the growing crops.

"I had rather be here than in the senate," he wouldsay.

But his life was clouded with many sorrows. Longbefore going to Marshfield, his two eldest childrenwere laid in the grave. Their mother followed them justone year before Mr. Webster's first entry into theUnited States senate.

In 1829, his brother Ezekiel died suddenly whilespeaking in court at Concord. Ezekiel had never caredmuch for politics, but as a lawyer in his native state, hehad won many honors. His death came as a great shockto everybody that knew him. To his brother it broughtoverwhelming sorrow.


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When Daniel Webster was nearly forty-eight yearsold, he married a second wife. She was the daughter ofa New York merchant, and her name was CarolineBayard Le Roy. She did much to lighten thedisappointments of his later life, and they livedtogether happily for more than twenty years.

In 1839, Mr. and Mrs. Webster made a short visit toEngland. The fame of the great orator had gone beforehim, and he was everywhere received with honor. Thegreatest men of the time were proud to meet him.

Henry Hallam, the historian, wrote of him: "Mr.Webster approaches as nearly to the ‘beau ideal’ of arepublican senator as any man that I have ever seen inthe course of my life."

Even the Queen invited him to dine with her; andshe was much pleased with his dignified ways andnoble bearing.

And, indeed, his appearance was such as to win therespect of all who saw him. When he walked the streetsof London, people would stop and wonder who thenoble stranger was; and workingmen whispered to oneanother: "There goes a king!"


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XV.--The Last Years

Many people believed that Daniel Webster wouldfinally be elected president of the United States. And,indeed, there was no man in all this country who wasbetter fitted for that high position than he.

But it so happened that inferior men, who werewilling to stoop to the tricks of politics, always steppedin before him.

In the meanwhile the question of slavery wasbecoming, every day, more and more important. It wasthe one subject which claimed everybody's attention.

Should slavery be allowed in the territories?

There was great excitement all over the country.There were many hot debates in Congress. It seemedas though the Union would be destroyed.

At last, the wiser and cooler-headed leaders inCongress said, "Let each side give up a little to theother. Let us have a compromise."

On the 7th of March, 1850, Mr. Webster delivereda speech before the senate. It was a speech in favor ofcompromise, in favor of conciliation.


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He thought that this was the only way to preservethe Union. And he was willing to sacrifice everythingfor the Constitution and the Union.

He declared that all the ends he aimed at were forhis country's good.

"I speak today for the preservation of the Union," hesaid. "Hear me for my cause! I speak today out of asolicitous and anxious heart, for the restoration to thecountry of that quiet and harmony, which make theblessings of this Union so rich and so dear to us all."

He then went on to defend the law known as theFugitive Slave Law. He declared that this law was inaccordance with the Constitution, and hence it shouldbe enforced according to its true meaning.

The speech was a great disappointment to hisfriends. They said that he had deserted them; that hehad gone over to their enemies; that he was no longera champion of freedom, but of slavery.

Those who had been his warmest supporters, nowturned against him.

A few months after this, President Taylor died. Thevice-president, Millard Fillmore, then becamepresident. Mr. Fillmore was in sympathy with DanielWebster, and soon gave him a seat in his cabinet assecretary of state.


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This was the second time that Mr. Webster hadbeen called to fill this high and honorable position. But,under President Fillmore, he did no very great orimportant thing.

He was still the leading man in the Whig party; andhe hoped, in 1852, to be nominated for the presidency.But in this he was again disappointed.

He was now an old man. He had had greatsuccesses in life; but he felt that he had failed at the endof the race. His health was giving way. He went hometo Marshfield for the quiet and rest which he so muchneeded.

In May, that same year, he was thrown from hiscarriage and severely hurt. From this hurt he neverrecovered. He offered to resign his seat in the cabinet,but Mr. Fillmore would not listen to this.

In September he became very feeble, and his friendsknew that the end was near. On the 24th of October,1852, he died. He was nearly seventy-one years old.

In every part of the land his death was sincerelymourned. Both friends and enemies felt that a greatman had fallen. They felt that this country had lost itsleading statesman, its noblest patriot, its worthiestcitizen.


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Rufus Choate, who had succeeded him as theforemost lawyer in New England, delivered a greatoration upon his life and character. He said:

"Look in how manly a sort, in how high a moraltone, Mr. Webster uniformly dealt with the mind of hiscountry.

"Where do you find him flattering his countrymen,indirectly or directly, for a vote? On what did he everplace himself but good counsels and useful service?

"Who ever heard that voice cheering the people onto rapacity, to injustice, to a vain and guilty glory?

"How anxiously, rather, did he prefer to teach, thatby all possible acquired sobriety of mind, by askingreverently of the past, by obedience to the law, byhabits of patient labor, by the cultivation of the mind,by the fear and worship of God, we educate ourselvesfor the future that is revealing."

Stories ofPatriotism:

A Patriotic Readerfor the

Intermediate Grades

SELECTED STORIES

Norma Helen DemingKatharine Isabel Bemis

From the Preface

Love of country springs up in the hearts ofmen living under the sweet influence of justiceand freedom as flowers bloom at the call ofwarm sunshine. It is the natural way of living.

Unseen and unheard, subtle influenceshave shaped the thought and kindled theemotions of youth. As they have learned of thegreatness of our country...an honest pride hasmade each stand taller...

It was a happy undertaking to bringtogether in this little book so many of ournational stories.

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The Martyr Patriot

Nathan Hale was born in Connecticut in 1755. Hegrew up to be a handsome, talented boy, who was notonly bright in his studies, but one of the finest athletesin all the country round. He was a swift runner, a fineleaper, and excelled all his playmates in outdoor sports.

He was cheerful in his disposition, truthful, and afavorite with all who knew him. He was very much likeWashington, and it is no wonder that his friends wereproud of him.

When Hale was a boy he was so far along in hisstudies that he was sent to Yale College. There he waspopular with the teachers and students, for he wasmanly and noble in all that he did.

You know that Yale College, like other high schoolsof its kind, gives much attention to athletics. If they hadhad a champion football team in those days, I am surethat Nathan Hale would have been among their starplayers.


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One day there was a jumping match on the NewHaven Green. The young men were skillful at that, andmany of them made much longer leaps than you or Ican make today.

When it came Hale's turn to try, he caused everyeye to open in astonishment, for as he sprang from theground he seemed to go sailing through the air like abird. When he struck the earth he was so far in advanceof all the others that they clapped their hands withdelight.

Nothing of the kind was ever seen before, and noone tried to see what he could do after Hale made thattremendous leap.

His friends were so pleased that they marked thespot where he left the ground and where he camedown. Then they put a fence around it to prevent themarks from being rubbed out. That fence stood formany years. When some student began to boast ofwhat he could do in the way of jumping, the otherswould take him to the spot and point out what NathanHale did when he was a student at Yale.

"Suppose you begin with that," they would say tothe ambitious athlete, who, after measuring the lengthwith his eye, would shake his head and walk away. Heknew he never could perform a feat like that, and so hesaid no more about it.

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Hale was graduated from college with high honorsand everybody wished him well. He was poor andbegan teaching school at New London, and was therewhen news came of the battle of Lexington. He wasscarcely twenty years old, but his whole soul glowedwith patriotism.

He had intended to become a minister, but he feltnow that his duty was to serve his country. He gave uphis school at once and went around among his friends,asking them to join him in going to the help of thepatriots. A good many did so, and the next day the littlecompany were marching as rapidly as they could toBoston.

He was so bright and devoted to his work that assoon as they arrived Nathan was made a lieutenant. Hewas set to work guarding the seacoast near NewLondon, but after a time was sent to Boston again,where he was with Washington during the siege of thattown. He made so fine an officer and was so well likedby his men that he became a captain.

There was no company in the whole army thatshowed finer drill and discipline than Captain Hale's.When the term for which his men had enlisted hadended, he offered to give them all his own pay if theywould reenlist. They did so, for they loved their bravecaptain and knew that he was not afraid of any danger.


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One night in the spring of 1776, Captain Halepicked out a number of his most daring men and rowedout in a boat to where a British vessel was anchoredwithin a few yards of a powerful frigate. Climbingquickly and silently upon the deck they took the wholecrew prisoners, shut them in the hold, and thenbrought the vessel to the wharf without any one of theenemy suspecting what was going on.

If you will study the history of your country, youwill learn that the summer of 1776 was one of gloomand almost despair to the Americans. I have told youhow everything seemed to go wrong with the patriotsuntil Washington made his brilliant capture of theHessians at the close of the year at Trenton.

The Americans had suffered a bad defeat on LongIsland in August, and only by a narrow chance did themain army manage to escape to Manhattan Island. TheBritish forces were almost double in number and nearat hand, eager to attack the Americans, while a fleet oftheir warships were in New York Bay. It was a sad time,indeed, and had any one but Washington been at thehead of the patriot army, it would have been captured.

As it was, Washington felt that he must find out insome way what the enemy meant to do, how manytroops it had and how they were placed. There was

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only one way of getting this knowledge, and that was bysending a spy into the British lines.

You may know that the most dangerous thing asoldier can do is to act as a spy. While he keeps on hisuniform and fights in the ranks, if he has the badfortune to be made a prisoner, his life is in no danger.He may be kept for a good while, but no civilizednation ever harms a prisoner who has been captured ina fair fight.

But it is different with a spy. He does not wear hisuniform, but pretends to belong to the enemy's side, orat least is friendly to it. He tries to move about andlearn all he can, and then he waits for a chance to slipaway and take the news to his own commander.

You can see how valuable such knowledge is, for itmay give his friends the chance to win a great victory.So it is that spies are looked upon as so dangerous, thatif they are caught, they are always hanged or shot.Major Andre, a British spy, was captured within ourlines and hanged. All nations follow that course.

You will understand from this that a man must bevery brave to play the spy. He must be cool andcautious, for he knows that if he is found out, nothingcan save him from the most disgraceful of deaths.


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A large number of men in Washington's army wereasked to go into the British lines, but every one of themsaid no — the risk was too great. At last, when it lookedas if no one could be persuaded, the matter was namedto Captain Hale.

" I'll go," he said promptly; " I will take any risk forWashington and my country; I am ready to start atonce."

Hale went before Washington and told him this.That great man looked admiringly upon the brave,handsome youth and reminded him of the dreadfuldanger which hung over him.

" I have thought of all that," said Hale, with a smile,"and am ready to receive my instructions from YourExcellency."

Washington had not many to give. He told Halethat he wished him to learn all he could about thenumber of troops under Howe, the Britishcommander, where they were placed, and what thatleader intended to do. As to how the young officer wasto learn this, he must settle for himself.

Bidding good-bye to Washington, who took hishand and gave him his best wishes, Captain Haledressed himself up as a schoolteacher. He could do thatvery well, for, as you know, he had been a teacher.

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It was at Norwalk that he made this change, leavinghis uniform there, while he put on a brown suit and abroad-brimmed hat. Then he went aboard of a slooplate at night, and was landed at Great Neck Point onHuntingdon Bay. He stayed all day and night with afarmer, who was his friend, and the next day boldlywalked into the enemy's lines.

I wish I could tell you all that Captain Hale,disguised as a Quaker schoolteacher, did in the nexttwo weeks, but nobody has ever been able to find out.

He spent the whole time with the enemy and musthave played his part well, for no one suspected him. Hewent from place to place, talked with soldiers andofficers, studied the plans of the British general, and didnot think of leaving until he had learned all that hewanted. He did not trust his memory, but put it downon paper, which he let no one see.

It is known that he visited all the Britishencampments near Brooklyn, and that he passed theenemy's lines twice. Finally, at the end of two weeks, hefelt that he knew all that was necessary. It was mostvaluable information, and would be of great help toWashington, who was anxiously waiting for his return.

Still no one suspected the sober, silent Quakerschoolmaster, and he crossed over from New York to


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Brooklyn, where he was still in the enemy's lines. Cool,brave, and careful, he made his way to Huntingdon.

Captain Hale was now close to his friends. A littlefarther and he would be safe. There a boat was to comefor him and take him across the water to the Americanlines, where his perils would be at an end.

There was a little tavern at Huntingdon, into whichhe walked and sat down to wait until his comradescame for him. While he was there a man came in andlooked closely at him. Hale did not notice him, and itis a great pity that he did not, for he was a Tory and arelative of Hale. He recognized the spy and, slippingout of the tavern, hurried with the news to a Britishnaval officer, whose vessel lay near by.

Meanwhile, Hale, who was watching for the boat tocome for him, thought he saw it approaching andwalked down to the Point to meet it. With no thoughtof anything wrong, he took several steps out into thewater to leap into the boat, but, as he was about to doso, the men suddenly leveled their guns and orderedhim to surrender.

Seeing he had been betrayed, he turned again andstarted to run up the bank, but the soldiers called againto him to surrender. He looked around, and saw that hewould be shot dead the next instant if he did not obey.

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So he turned about and again walked down the bankand stepped into the boat belonging to his enemies.

He was rowed out to the ship Halifax and theresearched. No papers were discovered about hisclothing, but knowing how careful spies are to hidetheir secrets, the officer took off his shoes and pried thesoles apart. There the documents were found whichproved Nathan Hale to be a spy.

The prisoner scorned to make any denial, and wastaken to New York, where he was brought into thepresence of Lord Howe, who examined the papers.

"Who are you?" asked the British general.

"Captain Nathan Hale, of the Continental army,"was the prompt reply.

"You have been within our lines seekinginformation?"

"I have, sir."

"And you seem to have obtained it," grimly addedHowe, looking again at the papers.

"Yes; I was quite successful, and am sorry that Icould not place those in the hands of GeneralWashington."


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"No doubt; and you are aware also of thepunishment which all nations visit upon spies?"

The prisoner bowed his head, as he replied: -

" I am, sir; and I do not ask for a court martial. I amready for whatever you deem right to do with me."

Lord Howe could not help admiring this bravepatriot, who, without any boasting in his manner,confessed he was a spy and asked for no mercy. Hewould have been glad to spare him, but that could notbe.

He ordered him to be hanged the next morning,and turned him over to William Cunningham, who wasProvost Marshal of the British army in New York.

Captain Hale was led to the gallows the nextmorning and, turning to the bystanders, whose eyeswere filled with tears, said: —

"My only regret is that I have but one life to give tomy country."

"Swing him off! swing off the rebel!" commandedCunningham.

And so one of the bravest and purest patriots thatever lived died the death of a martyr for his native land.

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Another sad fact about the death of Hale is that tothis day no one knows where his body was buried. Howgladly we would raise a monument over his grave if weknew where to build it. It is thought that it was dugbeneath the gallows, but it was never marked and thetruth can never be known.

The 25th of November, 1893, was crisp and cold.On that day thousands of people gathered in City HallPark, New York, where a statue of Captain NathanHale was unveiled. It is an impressive figure, showingthe martyr patriot with the thongs upon him, and withan expression of calm nobility and dauntless courageon his countenance.

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The Truth Speaker

"ONE, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.Three more rows, and then I must knit the heel," saidHetty Marvin to herself one bright summer day in theyear 1777, as she sat knitting for the soldiers.

War was going on in this country, for King Georgethe Third had made laws for America which the peoplehad thought very unjust, and they had refused to obeythem.

"I was knitting these for Brother Jack," said Hetty toherself; " but I pity poor Cousin Griswold so much thatmother says I may give them to him; that is, if I getthem done before he goes away.

Poor man! how he must feel, shut up in that littledark attic all the tune, and expecting every minute tohear the British soldiers knocking at the door, anddemanding entrance to search for Governor Griswold.

Oh! I am glad I am not a Governor! If I were, Isuppose the Redcoats would be after me; and then Ishould be hung or shot unless I promised to obey King

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George. But I wouldn’t promise any such thing, anymore than Cousin Griswold would, — and he woulddie first! I wonder if my linen needs sprinkling again!"

Putting down her knitting, she took a pail of waterand began to sprinkle the linen which had been spreadon the grass near her. She was startled to see a man leapover the fence, but in a moment recognized her CousinGriswold.

"Hetty, I shall lose my life unless I get to the boatbefore the soldiers come. You see where the roads part,close by the orchard; I want you to run down towardsthe shore, and meet the soldiers who are sure to ask forme, and then you must tell them that I am gone up theroad to meet the mailcart, and they will turn off theother way."

"But, cousin, how can I say so? It would not be true.Oh, why did you tell me which way you were going?"

"Would you betray me, Hetty, and see me put todeath? Hark! they are coming. I hear the clink of thehorses' feet. Tell them I have gone up the road, andHeaven will bless you."

"Those who speak false words will never be happy.But they shall not make me tell which way you go, evenif they kill me, — so run as fast as you can."

"It is too late to run! Where can I hide myself?"


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"Be quick, cousin! Come down, and lie under thiscloth; I will throw it over you, and go on sprinkling thelinen."

"I will come down, for it is my last chance," said theman.

Hetty quickly covered him with the folds of thelong cloth and went on with her sprinkling. In a fewminutes a company of soldiers on horseback dashedinto the yard. One of the officers called out to her,"Have you seen a man run by this way?"

"Yes, sir."

"Which way did he go?"

"I promised not to tell, sir."

"But you must tell me this instant, or it will be worsefor you."

"I will not tell, for I must keep my word."

"Let me speak, for I think I know the child. Is yourname Hetty Marvin?"

"Yes, sir."

"Perhaps the man who ran past you was yourcousin?"

"Yes, sir, he was."

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"Well, we wish to speak with him. What did he sayto you when he came by?"

"He told me that he had to run to save his life."

"Just so; that was quite true. I hope he will not havefar to run. Where was he going to hide himself ? "

"My cousin said that he would go to the river to finda boat, and he wanted me to tell the men in search ofhim that he had gone the other way to meet themailcart."

"You are a good girl, Hetty, and we know you speaktruth. What did your cousin say when he heard thatyou could not tell a lie to save his life? "

"He said, 'Would you betray me and see me put todeath?'"

"And you said you would not tell if you were killedfor it? "

"Yes, sir," she cried, as her tears fell fast.

"Those were brave words; and I suppose hethanked you, and ran down the road as fast as hecould?"

"I promised not to tell which way he went, sir."

" Oh, yes, I forgot; but tell me his last words, and Iwill not trouble you any more."


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"He said, 'I will come down, for it is my lastchance.'"

Hetty was now very much frightened, and criedaloud as she hid her face in her apron. The soldiersthought they had all they wanted and rode off to theriverside.

While Griswold had been in hiding in the attic hehad agreed to signal his boatmen, if he needed help, byhanging a white cloth in the window if it was daytimeor a lantern if it was at night. They were to be on thewatch and ready to help in case of need.

As soon as the soldiers rode away, his friends hungout a white cloth to warn the boatmen and they pulledaway from the shore as they saw the red coats of theBritish.

By the time the soldiers reached the shore the boatwas almost out of sight and this made them think thatGriswold had escaped.

Hetty, who had been watching, came towardswhere he lay under the cloth, clapping her hands.

"Safe! Safe!" cried Griswold, "and all through you,my brave Hetty! Now go in and get your supper, andwhen it is dark, put a light in the attic window. My menwill see it and come back in the boat for me, and I shallget beyond the reach of the Redcoats."

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" Come with me and have something to eat, cousin,"said Hetty. " I will watch and tell you if any one comes."

"No, Hetty, I must not do that; I will stay here.When it is quite dark, bring me my little bundle ofclothing and something to eat. I shall quietly make myway down to the boat when I hear the oars."

"Well, good-bye, cousin," said the brave little girl.

"Good-bye, Hetty! If all our soldiers were as braveand true as you are, we should not have to fight manyyears before we should say in truth, AMERICA ISFREE! "

Needless to say, the little girl did as she was told.The signal was seen, and Griswold soon reached aplace of safety.

When the war was over, he named his first childHetty Marvin, so that he might have always before himthe name of the brave little cousin whose truth-speaking had saved his life.

232

A Winter at Valley Forge(1777-1778)

During the Revolution the British had the idea thatit would be a great thing if they could take Philadelphia.They called it the "rebel capital," because Congress hadmet there; and they did not seem to realize thatCongress could easily meet somewhere else. Theymarched into the city with colors flying and bandsplaying, and Washington could not prevent them.

When they were once in, the best thing for him todo was to see that they did not get out or do anymischief; and so he chose for his winter quarters ValleyForge, 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 thanto spend that winter in Valley Forge. It was December,and there was no shelter of any kind. Men and officersset to work bravely to build huts for themselves.

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These huts were of all sorts. Some were built ofheavy logs. Their roofs were made of small treeswrapped with straw and laid side by side. Clay was laidon top of the straw, and splints were laid on top of that.The windows were simply holes cut through the logsand covered with oiled paper.

A house like this was looked upon as the height ofluxury. Most of the huts were made of sods piled up, orfence rails or poles held together by twigs twisted inand out and daubed with clay. The snow sifted in atevery little opening, the rain dripped through even thebest of the roofs, and the wind howled and roared andblew in at every crevice.

There were few blankets, and many brave defendersof their country lay on the frozen ground because theyhad not even straw to put under them. Sometimes theysat up all night, crowding up to the fires to keep fromfreezing.

They were no better off for clothing than forhouses. 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 werewithout shoes. Wherever they walked, the snow wasmarked with blood. Some cut strips from their preciousblankets, and wound them about their feet to protectthem from the frozen ground.


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Food was scanty; sometimes for several days theywere without meat, and some companies were oncewithout bread for three days. When the word wentaround, "No meat tonight," the soldiers groaned, butthey never yielded.

The cause of these hardships was the fact thatCongress had no power. It could say to a State, "Weneed money for the army, and your share will be somuch"; 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 weresuffering in their rags, whole hogsheads of clothes andshoes and stockings were waiting at different places onthe roads until money to pay for teaming could befound. Sometimes the soldiers themselves took theplaces of horses and oxen, and when they could learn ofany supplies, dragged the wagons into camp.

Washington shared all this suffering with his men,and he had even more to bear from fault-finders. ThePennsylvania Legislature thought he ought not toshelter his men in huts at Valley Forge. "Why doesn'the 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 Legislature, tellingthem how little they were doing for the army. He said


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it was much easier to find fault "in a comfortable roomby a good fireside than to camp upon a cold, bleak hilland sleep under frost and snow without clothes orblankets."

Not all the soldiers were Americans by any means.Some of them were foreigners who had come toAmerica to get what they could out of the country; butthere were also many who came because they believedthat the United States was in the right, and they wantedto help her win her independence.

One of these true friends was a young Frenchman,the Marquis de Lafayette. For some time theAmericans had been trying to persuade France to helpthem, but Lafayette could not bear to wait for hiscountry to act. "The moment I heard of America, Iloved her," he wrote. He fitted out a ship at his owncost and crossed the ocean.

Then he asked two "favors" of Congress — to serveas a volunteer, and to pay his own expenses. Congressmade him an officer, although he was only nineteen.He won the heart of the commander-in- chief at theirfirst meeting, and from that day Washington trustedhim as he trusted few people.

Lafayette was rich, a nobleman, and a favorite at theFrench court. He had lived in luxury all his days; but he


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shared with Washington the hard life at Valley Forge,never complaining, always bright and cheerful.

All this time he was writing letters home, which didmuch to bring about something that delightedWashington and "the boy," as the British scornfullycalled Lafayette.

Word came across the sea that the French king haddecided to help America. Then there was rejoicing atgloomy Valley Forge. A day of thanksgiving wasappointed. Prayer was offered, the troops werereviewed, thirteen cannon were fired, and at a signalthe whole army shouted, "Long live the king ofFrance!"

The French Government had asked many questionsabout the American army. The answer was always thesame: "They are brave and patient and determined, butthey lack drill and discipline. They are splendidfighters, but they need to be taught how to fighttogether."

There was a Prussian officer, Baron von Steuben,who was better prepared than any one else to teachwhat the army ought to know, and the Frenchpersuaded him to cross the ocean.

The baron was amazed when he went to ValleyForge and saw the miserable little huts and the starving,


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half-naked men. "There is not a commander in Europewho could keep troops together a week if they weresuffering like this," he declared.

There was hardly any artillery and almost nocavalry. Many of the guns were not fit to use. Few ofthem had bayonets. 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 — whenthey were so fortunate as to have any meat.

Baron von Steuben was horrified. He drilled anddrilled. One minute he stormed at the ignorance of themen, and the next he praised their quickness in learningsome difficult movement. Then at their next blunderhe stormed again in a comical mixture of German andFrench and English. In spite of his scoldings, however,he was devoted to the men and exceedingly proud ofthem.

During that cruel winter many fell ill, and the hot-tempered baron went about from one wretched hut toanother, doing everything that he could to help andcheer them. It is no wonder that they loved him andwere eager to learn.

The terrible winter at Valley Forge came to an endat last. Out of the cold and hunger and sickness andsuffering an army came forth that was stronger thanbefore, an army that was "never beaten in a fair fight."

238

Lincoln, The Young Man

None of our presidents, excepting Washington, hasbeen so greatly loved or so highly honored as Lincoln.The two men were very different. Washington was richand had strong friends; Lincoln was poor and had todepend entirely upon himself; but both were strong,self-reliant, always ready to overcome danger andtrouble, and determined to succeed in everything theyundertook.

Abraham Lincoln was born on the 12th ofFebruary, 1809, in a tumble-down log cabin in thecountry, about fifty miles south of Louisville, Kentucky.

His father was an easy-going sort of person whocould neither read nor write, and who never seemedable to take care of his family.

His mother was a fine woman, and all that AbrahamLincoln afterwards became, he used to say he owed toher teaching. But the rough life which she had to leadwas too hard for her, and she died when "Abe" was onlynine years old. The family had then moved from

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Kentucky to Indiana and were living in a shanty in thewoods.

After the mother's death they were for a timedesolate, indeed, but the father at length married again,and the second Mrs. Lincoln, who was a strong andable woman, put the home in order once more andtook good care of the children. It was at about this timethat our story begins.

240

Lincoln’s First Reading

Squire Josiah Crawford was seated on the porch ofhis house in Gentryville, Indiana, one spring afternoonwhen a small boy called to see him. The Squire was atesty old man, not very fond of boys, and he glanced upover his book, impatient and annoyed at theinterruption.

"What do you want here?" he demanded.

The boy had pulled off his raccoon-skin cap andstood holding it in his hand while he eyed the old man.

"They say down at the store, sir," said the boy, "thatyou have a Life of George Washington. I'd like mightywell to read it."

The Squire peered closer at his visitor, surprised outof his annoyance at the words. He looked the boy over,carefully examining his long, lank figure, his tangledmass of black hair, his deep-set eyes, and large mouth.He was evidently from some poor country family. Hisclothes were homemade, and the trousers were shrunkuntil they barely reached below his knees.


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"What's your name, boy?" asked the Squire.

"Abe Lincoln, son of Tom Lincoln, down on PigeonCreek."

The Squire said to himself: "It must be that TomLincoln who, folks say, is a ne'er-do-well and movesfrom place to place every year because he can't makehis farm support him." Then he said aloud to the boy,"What do you want with my Life of Washington ?"

"I've been learning about him at school, and I'd liketo know more."

The old man studied the boy in silence for somemoments; something about the lad seemed to attracthim. Finally he said, " Can I trust you to take good careof the book if I lend it to you?"

"As good care," said the boy, "as if it was made ofgold, if you'd only please let me have it for a week."

His eyes were so eager that the old man could notwithstand them. "Wait here a minute," he said, andwent into the house. When he returned he brought thecoveted volume with him, and handed it to the boy.

"There it is," said he; "I'm going to let you have it,but be sure it doesn't come to harm down on PigeonCreek."


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The boy, with the precious volume tucked tightlyunder his arm, went down the single street ofGentryville with the joy of anticipation in his face. Hecould hardly wait to open the book and plunge into it.He stopped for a moment at the village store to buysome calico his stepmother had ordered and thenstruck into the road through the woods that led to hishome.

The house which he found at the end of his trail wasa very primitive one. The first home Tom Lincoln hadbuilt on the Creek when he moved there fromKentucky had been merely a "pole-shack" — four polesdriven into the ground with forked ends at the top,other poles laid crosswise in the forks, and a roof ofpoles built on this square. There had been no chimney,only an open place for a window and another for adoor, and strips of bark and patches of clay to keep therain out.

The new house was a little better; it had an attic,and the first floor was divided into several rooms. Itwas very simple, however; only a big log cabin.

The boy came out of the woods, crossed theclearing about the house, and went in at the door. Hisstepmother was sitting at the window sewing. He heldup the volume for her to see. "I've got it!" he cried. "It's


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the Life of Washington, and now I'm going to learn allabout him."

He had barely time to put the book in the woman'shands before his father's voice was heard calling himout of doors. There was work to be done on the farm;the rest of that afternoon Abe was kept busilyemployed, and as soon as supper was finished his fatherset him to work mending harness.

At dawn the next day the boy was up and out in thefields, the Life of Washington in one pocket, the otherpocket filled with corn dodgers. Unfortunately hecould not read and run a straight furrow.

When it was noontime he sat under a tree,munching the cakes, and plunged into the first chapterof the book. For half an hour he read and ate, then hehad to go on with his work until sundown.

When he got home he ate his supper standing up, sothat he could read the book by the candle that stood onthe shelf. After supper he lay in front of the fire, stillreading and forgetting everything about him.

Gradually the fire burned out, the family went tobed, and young Abe was obliged to go up to his roomin the attic. He put the book on a ledge on the wallclose to the head of his bed, so that nothing mighthappen to it.


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During the night a violent storm rose, and the raincame through a chink in the log walls. When the boywoke he found that the book was a mass of wet paper,the type blurred, and the cover beyond repair. He washeart-broken at the discovery. He could imagine howangry the old Squire would be when he saw the state ofthe book. Nevertheless, he determined to go toGentryville at the earliest opportunity and see what hecould do to make amends.

The next Sunday morning found a small boystanding on the Squire's porch with the remains of thebook in his hand. When the Squire learned what hadhappened, he spoke his mind freely. He said that Abedid not know how to take care of valuable property,and promised never to lend him another book as longas he lived.

The boy faced the music, and when the angry tiradewas over, said that he should like to shuck corn for theSquire and in that way pay him the value of the ruinedvolume. Mr. Crawford accepted the offer and named aprice far greater than any possible value of the book;and Abe set to work, spending all his spare time in thenext two weeks shucking the corn and working as choreboy. So he finally succeeded in paying for the ruinedLife of Washington.


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This was only one of many adventures that befellAbraham Lincoln while he was trying to get aneducation. His mother had taught him to read andwrite, and ever since he had learned he had longed forbooks to read.

One day he said to his cousin Dennis Hanks,"Denny, the things I want to know are in books. Mybest friend is the man who will get me one."

Dennis was very fond of his younger cousin, and assoon as he could save up the money he went to townand bought a copy of The Arabian Nights. He gave thisto Abe, and the latter at once started to read it aloud bythe wood fire in the evenings. His mother, his sisterSally, and Dennis were his audience. When he came tothe story of Sinbad the Sailor, Abe laughed.

Dennis, however, could not see the humor. "Why,Abe," said he, "that yarn's just a lie."

"Perhaps so," answered the small boy, "but if it is, it'sa mighty good lie."

As a matter of fact Abe had very few books. Hisearliest possessions consisted of less than half a dozenvolumes — a pioneer's library. First of all was the Bible,a whole library in itself, containing every sort ofliterature. Second was Pilgrim's Progress, with its quaintcharacters and vivid scenes told in simple English,


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Aesop's Fables was a third, and introduced the log cabinboy to a wonderful range of characters — the gods ofmythology, the different classes of mankind, and everyanimal under the sun; and fourth was a history of theUnited States, in which there was the charm of truth,and from which Abe learned valuable lessons ofpatriotism.

He read these books over and over, till he knewthem by heart. He would sit in the twilight and read adictionary as long as he could see. He could not affordto waste paper upon original compositions; so as he satby the fire at night he would cover the wooden shovelwith essays and arithmetical problems, which he wouldshave off and then begin again.

The few books he was able to get made the keen-witted country boy anxious to find people who couldanswer his questions for him. In those days many men— clergymen, judges, and lawyers — rode on circuit,stopping overnight at any farmhouse they mighthappen upon. When such a man would ride up to theLincoln clearing, he was usually met by a small boywho would begin to fire questions at him before hecould dismount from his horse.

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What Lincoln Learnedin the Wilderness

In that day Indiana was still part of the wilderness.Primeval woods stood close to Pigeon Creek, and notfar away were roving bands of Sacs and Sioux, and alsowild animals — bears, wildcats, and lynxes. The settlersfought the Indians, and made use of the wild creaturesfor clothing and food. The children spent practically alltheir time out of doors, and young Abe Lincoln learnedthe habits of the wild creatures and explored the farrecesses of the woods.

From his life in the woods the boy became veryfond of animals. One day some of the boys were teasinga turtle. Abe rescued the turtle, and when he got achance wrote a composition in school about cruel jokeson animals. It was a good paper, and the teacher hadthe boy read it before the class. All the boys liked Abe,and they took to heart what he had to say in the matter.

It was a rough sort of life that the children of theearly settlers led, and the chances were all in favor of


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the Lincoln boy's growing up to be like his father, akind-hearted, ignorant, ne'er-do-well type of man. Hismother, however, who came of a good Virginia family,had done her best to give him some ambition. Onceshe had said to him: "Abe, learn all you can, and growup to be of some account. You've got just as goodVirginia blood in you as George Washington had." Abedid not forget that.

Soon after the family moved to Pigeon Creek hismother died, and a little later a stepmother took herplace. This woman soon learned that the boy was notthe ordinary type, and kept encouraging him to makesomething of himself. She was always ready to listenwhen he read, to help him with his lessons, to cheerhim.

When he got too old to wear his bearskin suit, shetold him that if he would earn enough money to getsome muslin, she would make him some white shirts.Abe earned the money, and Mrs. Lincoln purchasedthe cloth and made the shirts. After that Abe cut quitea figure in Gentryville. He liked people and knew somany good stories that he was always popular with acrowd.

Small things showed the ability that was in the rawcountry lad. When he was only fourteen a copy ofHenry Clay's speeches fell into his hands. He learned

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most of them by heart, and what he learned from theminterested him in history. Then, a little later, when hisstepmother was ill for some time, Abe went to churchevery Sunday and on his return repeated the sermonalmost word for word to her.

Again, he loved to argue, and would take up somequestion he had asked of a stranger and go on with itwhen the latter returned to the Creek, perhaps monthsafter the first visit. Mrs. Lincoln noted these things andmade up her mind that her stepson would be a greatlawyer some day, because, as she said, "When Abe gotstarted arguing, the other fellow'd pretty soon say hehad enough."

Probably at this time Abe was more noted for hislove of learning new things and for his great naturalstrength than for anything else. It took him a long timeto learn, but when he had once acquired anything itstayed by him. The books he had read he knew fromcover to cover, and the words he had learned to spell atthe school "spelling bees" he never forgot.

Now and again he tried his hand at writing shortcompositions, usually on subjects he had read of inbooks. These little essays were always to the point andshowed that the boy knew what he was discussing. Oneor two of these papers got into the hands of a local


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newspaper and appeared in print, much to Abe'ssurprise and to his stepmother's delight.

Yet, after all, these qualities were not the oneswhich won him greatest admiration in the roughcountry life. The boys and young men admired hisgreat size and strength, for when he was only nineteenhe had reached his full growth and stood six feet fourinches tall, while countless stories were current abouthis feats of strength.

At one time, it was said, young Abe Lincoln wasseen to pick up a chicken coop weighing six hundredpounds. At another time Abe happened to come uponsome men who were building a contrivance for liftingsome heavy posts from the ground. He stepped up tothem and said, "Let me have a try," and in a few minuteshe had shouldered the posts and carried them wherethey were wanted. As a rail-splitter he had no equal. Aman for whom he worked told his father that Abecould sink his axe deeper into the wood than any manhe ever saw.

This great strength was a very valuable gift in sucha community as that of Gentryville, and peoplerespected him for it even more than for his learning andhis kindness of heart.

A little later he lived in a village in Illinois, namedNew Salem, and there he found a crowd of boys called


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the “Clary's Grove Boys,” who were noted for therough handling they gave to strangers. Many a new boyhad been hardly dealt with at their hands. Sometimesthey would lead him into a fight and then beat himblack and blue, and sometimes they would nail thestranger into a hogshead and roll him down a steep hill.

When Abe Lincoln first came to the town they wereafraid to tackle him, but when their friends taunted thecrowd of young roughs with being afraid of Lincoln'sstrength, they decided to lay a trap for him. The leaderof the gang was a very good wrestler, and he seized anopportunity when all the men of the town weregathered at the country store to challenge Abe to awrestling-match. Abe was not at all anxious to acceptthe challenge, but was finally driven to it by the tauntsthe gang threw at him. A ring was made in the roadoutside the store, and Abe and the bully set to.

The leader of the gang, however, found that hecould not handle this tall young stranger so easily as hehad handled other youths. He gave a signal for help.Thereupon the rest of the roughs swarmed about thetwo wrestlers, and by kicking at Abe's legs and trying totrip him they nearly succeeded in bringing him to theground. When Abe saw how set they were on downinghim, his blood rose, and suddenly putting forth hiswhole strength, he seized his opponent in his arms andvery nearly choked the life out of him.


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For a moment it looked as though the rest of thecrowd would set upon Lincoln and that he would haveto fight the lot of them single-handed. He sprang backagainst a wall and called to them to come on. But helooked so able to take care of any number that theyfaltered, and in a moment their first fury gave place toan honest admiration for Lincoln's nerve. That endedhis initiation, and as long as he stayed in New Salemthe "Clary's Grove Boys" were his devoted followers.

The leader of the gang, whom Abe had nearlythrottled, became his sworn friend, and this bondlasted through life. When other men threatened Abe orspoke against him in any way, this youth was alwaysfirst to stand up for him, and acted as his championmany times. Curiously enough, in after years, whenAbe had become a lawyer, he defended his oldopponent's son when the young man was on trial forhis life, and succeeded in saving him.

Such an adventure as this with the "Clary's GroveBoys" was typical of the way in which Abe, as he grewup, came to acquire a very definite position in thecommunity. In one way and another he gained thereputation which the boys gave him of being not onlythe strongest, but also " the cleverest fellow that everbroke into the settlement."


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Lincoln served as a clerk in a store at the town ofNew Salem, and there he began at odd moments tostudy law. A little later he knew enough law to becomean attorney, and went to Springfield, and after that itwas only a short time before he had won his clients.

His cousin Dennis came to hear him try one of hisfirst cases. Dennis watched the tall, lank young fellow,still as ungainly as in his early boyhood, and heard himtell the jury some of those same stories he had readaloud before the fire.

When Abe had finished, his cousin said to him,"Why did you tell those people so many stories?"

"Why, Denny," said Abe, "a story teaches a lesson.God tells truths in parables; they are easier forcommon folks to understand and recollect."

Such was the simple boyhood of Abraham Lincoln,but its very simplicity, and the hardships he had toovercome to get an education, made him a strong man.He knew people, and later, when he came to bePresident and to guide the country through the greatesttrial in its history, it was those same qualities ofperseverance and courage and trust in the people thatmade the simple-minded man the great helmsman ofthe Republic.


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Lincoln was elected President just before the CivilWar — that is, the war between the North and theSouth. He did not want war and tried hard to preventit, but it could not be stopped. One of his importantacts as President was the freeing of the slaves.

At the close of the war, as he was sitting one eveningin a theater in Washington with his wife and twofriends, listening to the play, he was shot from behindby a man who is now believed to have been insane. Allthe nation, the South as well as the North, was filledwith sorrow and indignation. Never had a greatAmerican been more deeply mourned by the wholepeople.

255

The Soldier’s Reprieve

"I thought, Mr. Allan, when I gave my Bennie to hiscountry, that not a father in all this broad land made soprecious a gift — no, not one. The dear boy only slepta minute — just one little minute, at his post; I knowthat was all, for Bennie never dozed over a duty. Howprompt and reliable he was! I know he fell asleep onlyone little second — he was so young, and not strong,that boy of mine! Why, he was as tall as I, and onlyeighteen! And now they shoot him because he wasfound asleep when doing sentinel duty! Twenty-fourhours, the telegram said — only twenty-four hours!Where is Bennie now?"

"We will hope with his heavenly Father," said Mr.Allan, soothingly. "Yes, yes, let us hope; God is verymerciful!"

'"I should be ashamed, father!' Bennie said, 'when Iam a man, to think that I never used this great rightarm' — and he held it out so proudly before me — ' formy country when it needed it! Palsy it rather than keepit at the plow!' ' Go, then—go, my boy,' I said, 'and


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God keep you!' God has kept him, I think, Mr. Allan!"And the farmer repeated these last words slowly, as if,in spite of his reason, his heart doubted him.

"Like the apple of His eye, Mr. Owen; doubt it not."

Blossom sat near them, listening with blanchedcheek. She had not shed a tear. Her anxiety had been soconcealed that no one noticed it. She had occupiedherself mechanically in the household cares.

Now she answered a gentle tap at the kitchen door,opening it to receive from a neighbor's hand a letter. "Itis from him," was all she said. It was like a message fromthe dead. Mr. Owen took the letter, but could notbreak the envelope on account of his trembling fingers,and held it toward Mr. Allan with the helplessness of achild. The minister opened it and read as follows:

'"Dear Father,—When this reaches you I shall be ineternity. At first it seemed awful to me; but I havethought about it so much now that it has no terror, forthey say they will not bind me, nor blind me, but that Imay meet my death like a man. I thought, father, itmight have been on the field of battle for my country,and that, when I fell, it would be fighting gloriously; butto be shot like a dog for nearly betraying it — to die forneglect of duty! Oh, father, I wonder the very thoughtdoes not kill me! But I shall not disgrace you. I am


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going to write you all about it, and when I am gone youmay tell my comrades. I cannot now.

You know I promised Jemmie Carr's mother Iwould look after her boy, and when he fell sick I did allI could for him. He was not strong when he wasordered back into the ranks, and the day before thatnight I carried all his luggage, besides my own, on ourmarch. Toward night we went on double-quick, andthough the luggage began to feel very heavy, everybodyelse was tired too; and as for Jemmie, if I had not lenthim an arm now and then, he would have dropped bythe way. I was all tired when we came into camp, andthen it was Jemmie's turn to be sentry, and I would takehis place; but I was too tired, father. I could not havekept awake if a gun had been pointed at my head; butI did not know it until — well, until it was too late.'"

"God be thanked!" interrupted Mr. Owen,reverently. "I knew Bennie was not the boy to sleepcarelessly at his post." They tell me today that I have ashort reprieve —given to me by circumstances —' timeto write to you,' our good Colonel says. Forgive him,father, he only does his duty; he would gladly save meif he could; and do not lay up my death against Jemmie.The poor boy is broken-hearted, and does nothing butbeg and entreat them to let him die in my stead.


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"I can't bear to think of mother and Blossom.Comfort them, father! Tell them that I die as a braveboy should, and that when the war is over, they will notbe ashamed of me, as they must be now. God help me;it is very hard to bear! Good-bye, father! God seemsnear and dear to me; not at all as if He wished me toperish forever, but as if He felt sorry for His poor,sinful, broken-hearted child, and would take me to bewith Him and my Saviour in a better — better life.'"

A deep sigh burst from Mr. Owen's heart. "Amen!"he said solemnly; "Amen!"

" 'Tonight, in the early twilight, I shall see the cowsall coming home from pasture, and precious littleBlossom standing on the back stoop, waiting for me;but I shall never, never come! God bless you all!Forgive your poor Bennie.'"

Late that night the door of the "back stoop" openedsoftly, and a little figure glided out, and down thefootpath that led to the road by the mill. She seemedrather flying than walking, turning her head neither tothe right nor the left, looking only now and then toheaven, and folding her hands as if in prayer.

Two hours later the same young girl stood at theMill Depot watching the coming of the night train; andthe conductor, as he reached down to lift her into thecar, wondered at the tear-stained face that was


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upturned toward the dim lantern he held in his hand. Afew questions and ready answers told him all; and nofather could have cared more tenderly for his only childthan he for our little Blossom.

She was on her way to Washington, to ask PresidentLincoln for her brother's life. She had stolen away,leaving only a note to tell her father where and why shehad gone. She had brought Bennie's letter with her; nogood, kind heart, like the President's, could refuse to bemelted by it.

The next morning they reached New York, and theconductor hurried her on to Washington. Everyminute, now, might be the means of saving herbrother's life. And so, in an incredibly short time,Blossom reached the capital, and hastenedimmediately to the White House.

The President had but just seated himself to hismorning's task of looking over and signing importantpapers, when, without one word of announcement, thedoor softly opened, and Blossom, with downcast eyesand folded hands, stood before him.

"Well, my child," he said, in his pleasant, cheerfultones, "what do you want so bright and early in themorning?"

"Bennie's life, please sir," faltered Blossom.


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"Bennie! Who is Bennie? "

"My brother, sir. They are going to shoot him forsleeping at his post."

"Oh, yes," and Mr. Lincoln ran his eye over thepaper before him. "I remember. It was a fatal sleep. Yousee, child, it was at a time of special danger. Thousandsof lives might have been lost for his culpablenegligence."

"So my father said," replied Blossom, gravely; "butpoor Bennie was so tired, sir, and Jemmie so weak. Hedid the work of two, sir, and it was Jemmie's night, nothis; but Jemmie was too tired, and Bennie neverthought about himself, that he was tired too.".

"What is this you say, child? Come here; I do notunderstand." And the kind man caught eagerly, as ever,at what seemed to be a justification of an offense.

Blossom went to him; he put his hand tenderly onher shoulder, and turned up the pale, anxious facetoward his. How tall he seemed, and he was thePresident of the United States, too! A dim thought ofthis kind passed through Blossom's mind, but she toldher simple and straightforward story, and handed Mr.Lincoln Bennie's letter to read. He read it carefully;then, taking up his pen, wrote a few hasty lines, and


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rang his bell. Blossom heard this order given: "Sendthis dispatch at once."

The President then turned to the girl and said: "Gohome, my child, and tell that father of yours, who couldapprove his country's sentence even when it took thelife of a child like that, that Abraham Lincoln thinks thelife far too precious to be lost. Go back; or — wait untiltomorrow; Bennie will need a change after he has sobravely faced death; he shall go with you."

"God bless you, sir," said Blossom; and who shalldoubt that God heard and registered the prayer?

Two days after this interview the young soldiercame to the White House with his sister. He was calledinto the President's private room, and a strap fastened"upon the shoulder." Mr. Lincoln then said, "Thesoldier that could carry a sick comrade's baggage, anddie for the act so uncomplainingly, deserves well of hiscountry."

Then Bennie and Blossom took their way to theirGreen Mountain home. A crowd gathered at the MillDepot to welcome them back; and, as Farmer Owen'shand grasped that of his boy, tears flowed down hischeeks, and he was heard to say fervently, "The Lord bepraised!"

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Women on theAmerican Frontier:

A Valuable and AuthenticHistory of the Heroism,Adventures, Privations,Captivities, Trials and

Noble Lives and Deaths of the“Pioneer Mothersof the Republic”

SELECTED STORIES

William Fowler

Author’s Notes

The story of woman’s work in greatmigrations has been told only in lines andpassages where it ought instead to fill volumes...

The movement which has carried ourpeople from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceanand in the short space of two centuries and ahalf has founded the greatest republic which theworld ever saw, has already taken its place inhistory as one of the grandest achievements ofhumanity since the world began. It is a moral aswell as a physical triumph, and forms an epochin the advance of civilization. In this grandachievement, in this triumph of physical andmoral endurance, woman must be allowed hershare of the honor.

It would be a truism, if we were to say thatour Republic would not have been foundedwithout her aid...

...it is only by following woman in herwanderings and standing beside her in theforest or in the cabin and by marking in detailthe thousand trials and perils which surroundher in such a position that we can obtain thetrue picture of the heroine...

The recorded sum total of an observation ofthis...would teach us how much this republicowes to its pioneer mothers, and would fill uswith gratitude...

– William Fowler

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A Mother’sDaring Rescue

In the early days of the settlement of Royalton,Vermont, a sudden attack was made upon it by theIndians. Mrs. Hendee, the wife of one of the settlers,was working alone in the field, her husband beingabsent on military duty, when the Indians entered herhouse and capturing her children carried them acrossthe White river, at that place a hundred yards wide andquite deep for fording, and placed them under keeperswho had some other persons, thirty or forty in number,in charge.

Returning from the field Mrs. Hendee discoveredthe fate of her children. Her first outburst of grief washeart-rending to behold, but this was only transient;she ceased her lamentations, and like the lioness whohas been robbed of her litter, she bounded on the trailof her plunderers. Resolutely dashing into the river, shestemmed the current, planting her feet firmly on thebottom and pushed across. With pallid face, flashing


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eyes, and lips compressed, maternal love dominatingevery fear, she strode into the Indian camp, regardlessof the tomahawks menacingly flourished round herhead, boldly demanded the release of her little ones,and persevered in her alternate upbraidings andsupplications, till her request was granted. She thencarried her children back through the river and landedthem in safety on the other bank.

Not content with what she had done, like a patriotas she was, she immediately returned, begged for therelease of the children of others, again was rewardedwith success, and brought two or three more away;again returned, and again succeeded, till she hadrescued the whole fifteen of her neighbors' childrenwho had been thus snatched away from their distractedparents.

On her last visit to the camp of the enemy, theIndians were so struck with her conduct that one ofthem declared that so brave a squaw deserved to becarried across the river, and offered to take her on hisback and carry her over. She, in the same spirit,accepted the offer, mounted the back of the gallantsavage, was carried to the opposite bank, where shecollected her rescued troop of children, and hastenedaway to restore them to their overjoyed parents.

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A Mother’s Faith Throughthe Eyes of a Child

"My father was in the army during the whole eightyears of the Revolutionary War, at first as a commonsoldier, afterwards as an officer. My mother had thesole charge of us four little ones.

Our house was a poor one, and far from neighbors.I have a keen remembrance of the terrible cold of someof those winters. The snow lay so deep and long, that itwas difficult to cut or draw fuel from the woods, or toget our corn to the mill, when we had any.

My mother was the possessor of a coffee mill. Inthat she ground wheat, and made coarse bread, whichwe ate, and were thankful. It was not always we couldbe allowed as much, even of this, as our keen appetitescraved.

Many is the time that we have gone to bed, withonly a drink of water for our supper, in which a littlemolasses had been mingled. We patiently received it,


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for we knew our mother did as well for us as she could;and we hoped to have something better in themorning.

She was never heard to repine; and young as wewere, we tried to make her loving spirit and heavenlytrust, our example.

When my father was permitted to come home, hisstay was short, and he had not much to leave us, for thepay of those who achieved our liberties was slight, andirregularly given. Yet when he went, my mother everbade him farewell with a cheerful face, and told him notto be anxious about his children, for she would watchover them night and day, and God would take care ofthe families of those who went forth to defend therighteous cause of their country.

Sometimes we wondered that she did not mentionthe cold weather, or our short meals, or her hard work,that we little ones might be clothed, and fed, andtaught. But she would not weaken his hands, or saddenhis heart, for she said a soldier's life was harder than all.

We saw that she never complained, but always keptin her heart a sweet hope, like a well of water. Everynight ere we slept, and every morning when we arose,we lifted our little hands for God's blessing on ourabsent father, and our endangered country.

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How deeply the prayers from such solitary homesand faithful hearts were mingled with the infantliberties of our dear native land, we may not know untilwe enter where we see no more 'through a glass darkly,but face to face.'"

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A Lonely Lifeon the Frontier

A European traveler lately visited the Territory ofMontana--abandoning the beaten trail, in companyonly with an Indian guide, for he was a bold andfearless explorer. He struck across the mountains,traveling for two days without seeing the sign of ahuman being.

Just at dusk, on the evening of the second day, hedrew rein on the summit of one of those lofty hillswhich form the spurs of the Rocky Mountains. Thesolitude was awful. As far as the eye could see stretchedan unbroken succession of mountain peaks, bare offorest--a wilderness of rocks with stunted trees at theirbase, and deep ravines where no streams were running.In all this desolate scene there was no sign of a livingthing.

While they were tethering their horses andpreparing for the night, the sharp eyes of the Indianguide caught sight of a gleam of light at the bottom of

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a deep gorge beneath them. Descending the declivity,they reached a cabin rudely built of dead wood, whichseemed to have been brought down by the spring rainsfrom the hillsides to the west.

Knocking at the door, it was opened by a woman,holding in her arms a child of six months. The womanappeared to be fifty years of age, but she was in realityonly thirty. Casting a searching look upon the travelerand his companion, she asked them to enter.

The cabin was divided into two apartments, akitchen, which also served for a storeroom, diningroom, and sitting room; the other was the chamber, orrather bunk room, where the family slept. Five childrencame tumbling out from this latter apartment as thetraveler entered, and greeted him with a stare ofchildlike curiosity.

The woman asked them to be seated on blocks ofwood, which served for chairs, and soon threw off herreserve and told them her story, while they awaited thereturn of her husband from the nearest village, somethirty miles distant, whither he had gone the day beforeto dispose of the gold dust which he had "panned out"from a gulch near by.

He was a miner. Four years before he had comewith his family from the East, and pushing on inadvance of the main movement of emigration in the


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territory, had discovered a rich gold placer in thislonely gorge.

While he had been working in this placer, his wifehad with her own hands turned up the soil in the valleybelow and raised all the corn and potatoes required forthe support of the family; she had done the housework,and had made all the clothes for the family.

Once when her husband was sick, she had riddenthirty miles for medicine. It was a dreary ride, she said,for the road, or rather trail, was very rough, and herhusband was in a burning fever. She left him in chargeof her oldest child, a girl of eleven years, but she was abright, helpful little creature, able to wait upon the sickman and feed the other children during the two days'absence of her mother.

Next summer they were to build a house lowerdown the valley and would be joined by three otherfamilies of their kindred from the East.

"When we first came there was no end of bears andwolves, and we could hear them howling all night long.Winter nights the wolves would come and drum on thedoor with their paws and whine as if they wanted to eatup the children. Husband shot ten and I shot six, andafter that we were troubled no more with them.


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"We have no schools here, as you see," continuedshe; "but I have taught my three oldest children to readsince we came here, and every Sunday we have familyprayers. Husband reads a verse in the Bible, and then Iand the children read a verse in turn, till we finish awhole chapter. Then I make the children, all but baby,repeat a verse over and over till they have it by heart;the Scripture promises do comfort us all, even thelittlest one who can only lisp them.

"Sometimes on Sunday morning I take all thechildren to the top of that hill yonder and look at thesun as it comes up over the mountains, and I think ofthe old folks at home and all our friends in the East.The hardest thing to bear is the solitude. We are awfullonesome. Once, for eighteen months, I never saw theface of a white person except those of my husband andchildren. It makes me laugh and cry too when I see astrange face.

"But I am too busy to think much about it daytimes.I must wash, and boil, and bake, or look after the cowswhich wander off in search of pasture; or go into thevalley and hoe the corn and potatoes, or cut the wood;for husband makes his ten or fifteen dollars a daypanning out dust up the mountain, and I know thatwhenever I want him I have only to blow the horn andhe will come down to me. So I tend to business hereand let him get gold.


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In five or six years we shall have a nice house fartherdown and shall want for nothing. We shall have asaw-mill next spring started on the run below, and folksare going to join us from the States."

The woman who told this story of dangers andhardships amid the Rocky Mountains was of a slight,frail figure. She had evidently been once possessed ofmore than ordinary attractions; but the cares ofmaternity and the toils of frontier life had bowed herdelicate frame and engraved premature wrinkles uponher face: she was old before her time, but her spirit wasas dauntless and her will to do and dare for her lovedones was as firm as that of any of the heroines whomhistory has made so famous.

She had been reared in luxury in one of the towns ofcentral New York, and till she was eighteen years oldhad never known what toil and trouble were.

Her husband was a true type of the Americanexplorer and possessed in his wife a fit companion; andwhen he determined to push his fortune among theWestern wilds she accompanied him cheerfully;already they had accumulated five thousand dollars,which was safely deposited in the bank; they wererearing a band of sturdy little pioneers; they hadplanted an outpost in a region teeming with mineralwealth, and around them is now growing up a thriving


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village of which this heroic couple are soon to be thepatriarchs. All honor to the names of Mr. and Mrs.James Manning, the pioneers of Montana.

The traveler and his guide, declining the hospitalitywhich this brave matron tendered them, soon returnedto their camp on the hill-top; but the Englishman madenotes of the pioneer woman's story, and pondered overit, for he saw in it an epitome of frontier life.

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A Fire to Light the Way

In the spring of 1676, James Shute, with his wifeand two small children, set out from Dorchester for thepurpose of settling themselves on a tract of land in thesouthern part of what is now New Hampshire, butwhich then was an unbroken forest. The tract wherethey purposed making their home was a meadow on asmall affluent of the Connecticut.

Taking their household goods and farming tools inan ox-cart drawn by four oxen and driving two cowsbefore them, they reached their destination after atoilsome journey of ten days. The summer was spent inbuilding their cabin, and outhouses, planting andtending the crop of Indian corn which was to be theirwinter's food, and in cutting the coarse meadow grassfor hay.

Late in October they found themselves destitute ofmany articles which even in those days of primitivehousewifery and husbandry, were considered of primenecessity. Accordingly, the husband started on foot fora small trading post on the Connecticut River, about


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ten miles distant, at which point he expected to findsome trading shallop or skiff to take him to Springfield,thirty-eight miles further south. The weather was fineand at nightfall Shute had reached the river, and beforesunrise the next morning was floating down the streamon an Indian trader's skiff.

Within two days he made his purchases, and hiringa skiff rowed slowly up the river against the sluggishcurrent on his return. In twelve hours he reached thetrading post. It was now late in the evening. The skyhad been lowering all day, and by dusk it began tosnow.

Disregarding the admonitions of the traders, he lefthis goods under their care and struck out boldlythrough the forest over the trail by which he came,trusting to be able to find his way, as the moon hadrisen, and the clouds seemed to be breaking. The traillay along the stream on which his farm was situated,and four hours at an easy gait would, he thought, bringhim home.

The snow when he started from the river wasalready nearly a foot deep, and before he hadproceeded a mile on his way the storm redoubled inviolence, and the snow fell faster and faster. Atmidnight he had only made five miles, and the snowwas two feet deep. After trying in vain to kindle a fire by


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the aid of flint and steel, he prayed fervently to God,and resuming his journey struggled slowly on throughthe storm. It had been agreed between his wife andhimself that on the evening of this day on which he toldher he should return, he would kindle a fire on a knollabout two miles from his cabin as a beacon to assurehis wife of his safety and announce his approach.

Suddenly he saw a glare in the sky.

During his absence his wife had tended the cattle,milked the cows, cut the firewood, and fed the children.When night came she barricaded the door, and sayinga prayer, folded her little ones in her arms and lay downto rest. Three suns had risen and set since she saw herhusband with gun on his shoulder disappear throughthe clearing into the dense undergrowth which fringedthe bank of the stream, and when the appointedevening came, she seated herself at the narrow window,or, more properly, opening in the logs of which thecabin was built, and watched for the beacon which herhusband was to kindle. She looked through the fallingsnow but could see no light. Little drifts sifted throughthe chinks in the roof upon the bed where her childrenlay asleep; the night grew darker, and now and then thehowling of the wolves could be heard from the woodsto the north.


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Seven o'clock struck--eight--nine--by the old Dutchclock which ticked in the corner. Then her woman'sinstinct told her that her husband must have startedand been overtaken by the storm. If she could reach theknoll and kindle the fire it would light him on his way.She quickly collected a small bundle of dry wood in herapron and taking flint, steel, and tinder, started for theknoll. In an hour, after a toilsome march, flounderingthrough the snow, she reached the spot. A large pile ofdry wood had already been collected by her husbandand was ready for lighting, and in a few moments theheroic woman was warming her shivering limbs beforea fire which blazed far up through the cracklingbranches and lighted the forest around it.

For more than two hours the devoted womanwatched beside the fire, straining her eyes into thegloom and catching every sound. Wading through thesnow she brought branches and logs to replenish theflames. At last her patience was rewarded: she heard acry, to which she responded. It was the voice of herhusband which she heard, shouting. In a few momentshe came up staggering through the drifts, and fellexhausted before the fire. The snow soon ceased to fall,and after resting till morning, the rescued pioneer andhis brave wife returned in safety to their cabin.

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A Patriot Mother’s Prayers

An eminent divine whose childhood was passedupon our New England frontier, during the period ofthe Revolution, narrated to the writer many years since,the story of his mother's life while her husband wasabsent in the patriot army.

Their small farm was on the sterile hillside, and withthe utmost pains, barely yielded sufficient for the wantsof the lone wife and her three little ones. There was nohouse within five miles, and the whole region aroundwas stripped of its male inhabitants, such was thepatriotic ardor of the people.

All the labors in providing for the household fellupon the mother. She planted and hoed the corn,milked the cow and tended the farm, at the same timenot neglecting the inside duties of the household,feeding and clothing the children, nursing them whensick and instructing them in the rudiments ofeducation.


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"I call to mind, though after the lapse of eightyyears," said the venerable man, "the image of mymother as distinctly as of yesterday, and she movesbefore me as she did in my childhood's home amongthose bleak hills--cheerful and serene through all,though even with my young eyes I could see that abrooding sorrow rested upon her spirit. I rememberthe day when my father kissed my brothers and me,and told us to be good boys, and help mother while hewas gone: I remember too, that look upon my mother'sface as she watched him go down the road with hismusket and knapsack.

"When evening came, that day, and she had placedus in our little beds, I saw her kneeling and praying in alow tone, long and fervently, and heard her after shehad pleaded that victory might crown our arms,intercede at the throne of grace for her absent husbandand the father of her children.

"Then she rose and kissed us goodnight, and as shebent above us I shall never forget till my latest hour theangelic expression upon her face. Sorrow, love,resignation, and holy trust were blended and beamedforth in that look which seemed to transfigure hercountenance and her whole bearing.

"During all those trying years while she was sopatiently toiling to feed and clothe us, and bearing the


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burdens and privations of her lonely lot, never did sheomit the morning and evening prayer for her countryand for the father of her children.

"One day we saw her holding an open letter in herhand and looking pale and as if she were about to faint.We gathered about her knees and gazed withwondering eyes, silently into her sad and care-wornface, for even then we had been schooled to recognizeand respect the sorrows of a mother. Two weeks beforethat time, a battle had been fought in which father hadbeen severely wounded. The slow mail of those dayshad only just brought this sad intelligence. As we stoodbeside her she bent and clasped us to her heart, strivingto hide the great tears that coursed down her wastedcheeks.

"We begged her not to cry and tried to comfort herwith our infantile caresses. At length we saw her closeher eyes and utter a low prayer. Ere her lips had ceasedto intercede with the Father of mercies, a knock washeard at the door and one of the neighboring settlersentered. He had just returned from the army and hadcome several miles on foot from his home, expressly totell us that father was rapidly recovering from hiswounds. It seemed as if he were a messenger sent fromheaven in direct answer to the silent prayers of amother, and all was joy and brightness in the house."


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The patriot father returned to his family at the closeof the war with the rank of Captain, which he hadnobly won by his bravery in the battle's van. The sonsgrew up and became useful and honored citizens of aRepublic which their father had helped to make free;and ever during their lives they fondly cherished thememory of the mother who had taught them so manyexamples of brave self-denial and pious devotion.

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Moving West–A Perilous Journey

Among the chapters of accident and casualty whichmake up the respective diaries of the families who lefttheir eastern homes after the Revolution and joined theranks of the Western immigrants there is none moreinteresting than that of Mrs. Jameson. She was thechild of wealthy parents, and had been reared in luxuryin the city of New York. Soon after peace was declaredshe was married to Edward Jameson, a brave soldier inthe war, who had nothing but his stout arms andintrepid heart to battle with the difficulties of life. Herfather, dying soon after, his estate was discovered tohave been greatly lessened by the depreciation in valuewhich the war had produced. Gathering together theremains of what was once a large fortune, the couplepurchased the usual outfit of the emigrants of thatperiod and set out to seek their fortunes in the West.

All went well with them until they reached theAlleghany River, which they undertook to cross on a

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raft. It was the month of May; the river had beenswollen by rains, and when they reached the middle ofthe stream, the part of the raft on which Mr. Jamesonsat became detached, the logs separated, and he sank torise no more. The other section of the raft, containingMrs. Jameson, her babe of eight months, and a chest ofclothing and household gear, floated down-stream atthe mercy of the rapid current.

Bracing herself against the shock, Mrs. Jamesonmanaged to paddle to the side of the river from whichshe had just before started. She was landed nearly amile below the point where had been left the cattle, andalso the oxcart in which their journey had been hithertoperformed, and which her husband expected to carryover the river on the raft, returning for them as soon ashis wife and babe had been safely landed on thewestern bank. The desolate mother succeeded inmooring the remains of the raft to the shore; thenclasping her babe to her bosom, followed the bank ofthe river till she reached the oxen and cart, which shedrove down to the place where she landed, and by greatexertions succeeded in hauling the chest upon thebank. Her strength was now exhausted, and, lyingdown in the bottom of the cart, she gave way to griefand despair.

Her situation may be easily imagined: alone in theforest, thirty miles from the nearest settlement, her


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husband torn from her in a moment, and her babesmiling as though he would console his mother for herterrible loss. In her sad condition self-preservationwould have been too feeble a motive to impel her tomake any further effort to save herself; but maternallove--the strongest instinct in a woman's heart--buoyedher up and stimulated her to unwonted exertions.

The spot where she found herself was a denseforest, stretching back to a rocky ledge on the east, andterminated on the north by an alluvial meadow nearlybare of trees. Along the banks of the river was a thickline of high bushes and saplings, which served as ascreen against the observations of savages passing upand down the river in their canoes. The woods werejust bursting into leaf; the spring-flowers filled the airwith odor, and chequered the green foliage and grass;the whole scene was full of vernal freshness, life, andbeauty. The track which the Jamesons had followedwas about midway between the northern and southernroutes generally pursued by emigrants, and it was quiteunlikely that others would cross the river at that point.The dense jungle that skirted the river bank was animpediment in the way of reaching the settlementslower down, and there was danger of being lost in thewoods if the unfortunate woman should start alone.

"On this spot," she said, "I must remain till someone comes to my help."


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The first two years of her married life had beenspent on a farm in Westchester County, New York,where she had acquired some knowledge of farmingand woodcraft, by assisting her husband in his labors,or by accompanying him while hunting and fishing.She was strong and healthy; and quite, unlike herdelicate sisters of modern days, her lithe frame washardened by exercise in the open air, and her face wastinged by the kisses of the sun.

Slowly recovering from the terrible anguish of herloss, she cast about for shelter and sustenance. Thewoods were swarming with game, both large and small,from the deer to the rabbit, and from the wild turkey tothe quail. The brooks were alive with trout. Themeadow was well suited for Indian corn, wheat, rye, orpotatoes. The forest was full of trees of everydescription. To utilize all these raw materials was herstudy.

A rude hut, built of boughs interlaced, and coveredthickly with leaves and dry swamp grass, was her firstwork. This was her kitchen. The cart, which wascovered with canvas, was her sleeping room. Ashotgun, which she had learned the use of, enabled herto keep herself supplied with game. She examined herstore of provisions, consisting of pork, flour, and Indianmeal, and made an estimate that they would last eightmonths, with prudent use. The oxen she tethered at


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first, but afterwards tied the horns to one of their forefeet, and let them roam. The two cows having calvedsoon after, she kept them near at hand by making a penfor the calves, who by their bleating called theirmothers from the pastures on the banks of the river. Inthe meadow she planted half an acre of corn andpotatoes, which soon promised an amazing crop.

Thus two months passed away. In her solitary andsad condition she was cheered by the daily hope thatwhite settlers would cross her track or see her as theypassed up and down the river. She often thought oftrying to reach a settlement, but dreaded the dangersand difficulties of the way. Like the doe which hides herfawn in the secret covert, this young mother deemedherself and her babe safer in this solitude than in tryingunknown perils, even with the chance of falling in withfriends. She therefore contented herself with her lot,and when the toils of the day were over, she would siton the bank and watch for voyagers on the river. Onceshe heard voices in the night on the river, and going tothe bank she strained her eyes to gaze through thedarkness and catch sight of the voyagers; she dared nothail them for fear they might be Indians, and soon thevoices grew fainter in the distance, and she heard themno more.

Again, while sitting in a clump of bushes on thebank one day, she saw with horror six canoes with


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Indians, apparently directing their course to the spotwhere she sat. They were hideously streaked withwar-paint, and came so near that she could see thescalping knives in their girdles. Turning their course asthey approached the eastern shore they silentlypaddled down stream, scanning the banks sharply asthey floated past. Fortunately they saw nothing toattract their attention; the cart and hut being concealedby the dense bushes, and there being no fire burning.

Fearing molestation from the Indians, she nowmoved her camp a hundred rods back, near a rockyledge, from the base of which flowed a spring of purewater. Here, by rolling stones in a circle, she made anenclosure for her cattle at night, and within in it built alog cabin of rather frail construction; another twoweeks was consumed in these labors, and it was nowthe middle of August.

At night she was at first much alarmed by thehowling of wolves, who came sniffing round the cartwhere she slept. Once a large grey wolf put its pawsupon the cart and poked its nose under the canvascovering, but a smart blow on the snout drove ityelping away. None of the cattle were attacked, owingto the bold front showed to these midnight intruders.The wolf is one of the most cowardly of wild beasts,and will rarely attack a human being, or even an ox,unless pressed by hunger, and in the winter. Often she


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caught glimpses of huge black bears in the swamps,while she was in pursuit of wild turkeys or other game;but these creatures never attacked her, and she gavethem a wide berth.

One hot day in August she was gathering berries onthe rocky ledge beside which her house was situated,when seeing a clump of bushes heavily loaded with thefinest blackberries, she laid her babe upon the ground,and climbing up, soon filled her basket with theluscious fruit. As she descended she saw her babesitting upright and gazing with fixed eyeballs at someobject near by; though what it was she could not clearlymake out, on account of an intervening shrub.Hastening down, a sight met her eyes that froze herblood. An enormous rattlesnake was coiled withinthree feet of her child, and with its head erect and itsforked tongue vibrating, its burning eyes were fixedupon those of the child, which sat motionless as astatue, apparently fascinated by the deadly gaze of theserpent.

Seizing a stick of dry wood she dealt the reptile ablow, but the stick being decayed and brittle, inflictedlittle injury on the serpent, and only caused it to turnitself towards Mrs. Jameson, and fix its keen andbeautiful, but malignant eyes, steadily upon her. Thewitchery of the serpent's eyes so irresistibly rooted her


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to the ground, that for a moment she did not wish toremove from her formidable opponent.

The huge reptile gradually and slowly uncoiled itsbody; all the while steadily keeping its eye fixed on itsintended victim. Mrs. Jameson could only cry, beingunable to move, "Oh God! preserve me! save me,heavenly Father!" The child, after the snake's charmwas broken, crept to her mother and buried its littlehead in her lap.

We continue the story in Mrs. Jameson's ownwords:--

"The snake now began to writhe its body down afissure in the rock, keeping its head elevated more thana foot from the ground. Its rattle made very little noise.It every moment darted out its forked tongue, its eyesbecame reddish and inflamed, and it moved ratherquicker than at first. It was now within two yards of me.By some means I had dissipated the charm, and, rousedby a sense of my awful danger, determined to stand onthe defensive. To run away from it, I knew would beimpracticable, as the snake would instantly dart itswhole body after me. I therefore resolutely stood up,and put a strong glove on my right hand, which Ihappened to have with me. I stretched out my arm; thesnake approached slowly and cautiously towards me,darting out its tongue still more frequently. I could now


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only recommend myself fervently to the protection ofHeaven. The snake, when about a yard distant, made aviolent spring. I quickly caught it in my right hand,directly under its head; it lashed its body on theground, at the same time rattling loudly. I watched anopportunity, and suddenly holding the animal's head,while for a moment it drew in its forked tongue, withmy left hand I, by a violent contraction of all themuscles in my hand, contrived to close up effectually itsjaws!

"Much was now done, but much more was to bedone. I had avoided much danger, but I was still in veryperilous circumstances. If I moved my right hand fromits neck for a moment, the snake, by avoidingsuffocation, could easily muster sufficient power toforce its head out of my hand; and if I withdrew myhand from its jaws, I should be fatally in the power ofits most dreaded fangs. I retained, therefore, my holdwith both my hands; I drew its body between my feet,in order to aid the compression and hasten suffocation.Suddenly, the snake, which had remained quiescent fora few moments, brought up its tail, hit me violently onthe head, and then darted its body several times verytightly around my waist. Now was the very acme of mydanger. Thinking, therefore, that I had sufficient powerover its body, I removed my right hand from its neck,and in an instant drew my hunting-knife. The snake,


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writhing furiously again, darted at me; but, striking itsbody with the edge of the knife, I made a deep cut, andbefore it could recover its coil, I caught it again by theneck; bending its head on my knee, and againrecommending myself fervently to Heaven, I cut itshead from its body, throwing the head to a greatdistance. ... the snake compressed its body still tighter,and I thought I should be suffocated on the spot, andlaid myself down. The snake again rattled its tail andlashed my feet with it. Gradually, however, the creaturerelaxed its hold, its coils fell slack around me, anduntwisting it and throwing it from me as far as I wasable, I sank down and swooned upon the bank.

"When consciousness returned, the scene appearedlike a terrible dream, till I saw the dead body of myreptile foe and my babe crying violently and nestling inmy bosom. The ledge near which my cabin was builtwas infested with rattlesnakes, and the one I had slainseemed to be the patriarch of a numerous family. Fromthat day I vowed vengeance against the whole tribe ofreptiles. These creatures were in the habit of comingdown to the spring to drink, and I sometimes killedfour or five in a day. Before the summer was over Imade an end of the whole family."

In September, two households of emigrants floatingdown the river on a flatboat, caught sight of Mrs.Jameson as she made a signal to them from the bank,


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and coming to land were pleased with the country, andwere persuaded to settle there. The little communitywas now swelled to fifteen, including four women andsix children. The colony throve, received accessionsfrom the East, and, surviving all casualties, grew at lastinto a populous town. Mrs. Jameson was married againto a stalwart backwoodsman and became the mother ofa large family. She was always known as the "Mother ofthe Alleghany Settlement."

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A Daring Rescue across theRocky Mountains

Both Mr. Hinman and his wife were scions of thathardy stock which had, even before the RevolutionaryWar, set out from Connecticut, and, cutting their waythrough the forest, had crossed the AlleghanyMountains and river, and pitched their camp in the richvalley of the Muskingum, near the site of the presentcity of Marietta. Both had also grown up amid thesurroundings of true frontier life, and were endowedwith faculties, as well as fitted by experience, to engagein the bold enterprise wherein they were nowembarked, namely, to cross the Rocky Mountains witha single ox team and establish themselves in the fertilevale of the Willamette in Oregon.

The spare but well-knit frame, the swarthy skin, theprominent features, the deep-set eyes, the alert and yetcomposed manner; marked in them the true type of theborn borderer. To these physical traits were united thequalities of mind and heart which are equally


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characteristic of the class to which they belonged; anapparent insensibility to fear, a capacity for endurancethat exists in the moral nature rather than in the body,and a self-reliance that never faltered, formed acombination which fitted them to cope with thedifficulties that environed their perilous project.

As early in the spring of 1845 as the ground wouldpermit, they re-packed their goods and stores, hung outthe white sails of their prairie schooner and pursuedtheir journey up the north fork of the Platte, crossedthe Red Buttes, went through Devil's Gate, skirted thebanks of the Sweet Water River, and winding throughthe great South Pass, diverted their course to the northin the direction of the headwaters of Snake River,which would guide them by its current to theColumbia.

At this stage in their journey they consulted a roughmap of the route on which two trails were laid down,either of which would lead to the stream they wereseeking. With characteristic boldness they chose theshorter and more difficult trail.

Following its tortuous course in a northwesterlydirection they reached a point where the path wasbarely wide enough for the wagon to pass, and wasbounded on the one side by a wall of rock and on the

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other by a ragged precipice descending hundreds offeet into a dark ravine.

Here Mrs. Hinman dismounted from her seat in thewagon to assist in conducting the team past thisdangerous point. Her husband stood between the oxenand the precipice when the hind wheel of the wagonslipped on a smooth stone, the vehicle tilted and beingtop-heavy upset and was precipitated into the abyss,dragging with it the oxen who, in their fall, carrieddown Mr. Hinman who stood beside the wheel yoke.

He gave a loud cry as he fell, and gazinghorror-stricken over the brink Mrs. Hinman saw himbounding from rock to rock preceded by the wagonand oxen which rolled over and over till theydisappeared from view.

In the awful stillness of that solitude the beating ofher heart became audible as she rapidly reviewed herterrible situation, and taxed her mind to know what sheshould do. Summoning up all her resolution she ranswiftly along the edge of the precipice in search of aplace where she could descend, in the hope that bysome rare good fortune her husband might havesurvived his fall. Half a mile back of the spot where theaccident occurred she found a more gradual descentinto the ravine, and here, by swinging herself from bushto bush she managed at length with the utmost


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difficulty and danger to reach the bottom of the ravine,but could find there no trace either of her husband orof the ox team.

Scanning the face of the precipice she saw, at last,one hundred feet above her the wreck of the wagon,and the bodies of the oxen, which had landed upon aprojecting ledge.

At great risk of being dashed to pieces, shesucceeded in climbing to the spot. The patient beastswhich had carried them so far upon their way werecrushed to a jelly; among the remains of the wagonscarcely a vestige appeared of the furniture, utensils,and stores with which it was laden. She marked thetrack it had made in its descent, and digging her fingersand toes into the crevices of the rock, and drawingherself from point to point in a zigzag course, by meansof bushes and projecting stones, she slowly scaled thedeclivity and reached a narrow ledge some threehundred feet from the ravine, where she paused to takebreath.

A low moan directed her eyes to a clump of bushessome fifty feet above her, and there she caught sight ofa limp arm hanging among the stunted foliage.Climbing to the spot she found her husband breathingbut unconscious. He was shockingly bruised, andalthough no bones had been broken, the purple current


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trickling slowly from his mouth showed that someinternal organ had been injured.

While there is life there is hope. If he could beplaced in a comfortable position he might still reviveand live. Feeling in his breast pocket she found aleather flask filled with whisky with which she bathedhis face after pouring a large draught down his throat.In a few moments he revived sufficiently tocomprehend his situation.

"Don't leave me, Jane," whispered the sufferingman, "I shan't keep you long." It was unnecessary toprefer such a request to a woman who had gonethrough such perils to save one whom, she loved dearerthan life. "I'll bring you out safe and sound, Jack,"returned she, "or die right here with you."

While racking her brain for means to remove himfifty feet lower to the ledge from which she had firstspied him, a welcome sight met her eye. It was the axeand the coil of rope which had fallen from the wagonduring its descent, and now lay within easy reach.Passing the rope several times around his body so as toform a sling she cut a stout bush, and trimming it, madea stake which she firmly fastened into a crevice, andwith, an exertion of strength, such as her loving andresolute heart could have alone inspired her to putforth, she extricated him from his position, and laying


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the ends of the rope over the stake gently lowered himto the ledge, and gathering moss made a pillow for hisbleeding head. Then descending to the spot where thecarcasses of the oxen lay she quickly flayed one, andcutting off a large piece of flesh she ransacked thewreck of the wagon and found a blanket and a pot.Returning to her husband she kindled a fire, and madebroth with some water which she found in the hollowof a rock.

Gathering moss and lichens she made acomfortable couch upon the rock, and gently stretchedher groaning patient upon it, covering him with theblanket for the mountain air was chill even in thatAugust afternoon. The wounded man's breathing grewmore regular, the bloody ooze no longer flowed fromhis white lips, but his frame was still racked byagonizing pains.

The hours sped away as the devoted wife bent overhim; the height of the mountains in that regionmaterially shortens the day to such as are in the valleys,but though the sun sets early behind the westernsummits twilight lingers long after his departure. Whenthe orb of day had disappeared, Mrs. H. still viewedwith wonder, not unmixed with fear, the savagegrandeur of the mountains which lifted their heads stillglittering in the passing light; and gazing into the


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profound below she watched the shades as theydeepened to blackness.

The ledge on which the forlorn pair lay was barelyfour feet wide and less than ten feet long. There, on theface of that precipice, one hundred miles from thenearest settlement, all through the lonely watches ofthe night, the strong-hearted wife, with tear-dimmedeyes, hung over the sufferer. Many a silent prayer in theweary hours of that moonless night did she send up tothe Father of mercies. Many a plan for bringing succoror for alleviating pain on the morrow did she devise.

Willpower is the most potent factor in giving asatisfactory solution of the problem of vitality. Just asthe gray light was shimmering in the eastern sky thewounded man moaned as if he wished to speak. Hiswife understood that language of pain and weakness,and placed her ear to his lips. "I won't die, Jane," he saidscarcely above a whisper. "You shan't die, Jack," was thereply. A great hope dawned like a sun upon her as thosefour magic syllables were uttered.

He fell into a doze, and when he woke the sun wasup. "Can you stay here all alone for a few hours,"inquired Mrs. H------, after feeding her patient, "I amgoing to see if I can fetch some one to help us out ofthis." "Go," he answered. Placing the flask and brothwithin reach of her husband, and kissing him, she


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sprang up the acclivity as though she had wings,reached the trail and sped along it southward. Fifteenmiles would bring her to the spot where the two trailsmet: here she hoped to meet some wayfaring train ofemigrants, or some party of hunters coursing throughthe defiles of the mountains.

Sooner than she expected, after reaching the fork,her wish was gratified. In less than half an hour sixhunters came up with her, and, hearing her story, threeof them volunteered to go and bring her husband totheir cabin, which stood half a mile away from the trail.A horse was furnished to Mrs. H------, and the threehunters and she rode rapidly to the scene of thedisaster.

Skipping down the declivity like chamois, andhelping their brave companion, who was now quitefatigued with her exertion, they reached the rocky shelf.The mountain air and the delicious consciousness thathe would live, coupled with implicit confidence in thesuccess of his wife's errand, had acted like a charm onthe vigorous organization of the wounded man, and hebegged that he might be immediately removed.

He was accordingly carried carefully to the trail, andplaced astride of one of the horses in front of one of thehunters. After a slow march of four hours, he was safely


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stowed in the cabin of the hunters, where, in a fewweeks, he entirely recovered from his injuries.

It might be readily supposed after such a graveexperience of the dangers of mountain life, that ourheroine and her husband would have been inclined toreturn to their old home on the sunny prairies ofIllinois. On the contrary, they strongly desired tocontinue the prosecution of their Oregon enterprise,and were only prevented from carrying it out by thelack of a team and the necessary utensils, etc.

The hunters, learning their wishes, returned to thescene of the mishap, and scoured the side of themountain in search of the articles which had beenthrown from the wagon in its descent. They succeededin recovering uninjured a large number of articles,including a few which still remained in the wreckedvehicle. Then clubbing together, they made up a purseand bought two pair of oxen and a wagon from apassing train of emigrants, who also generouslycontributed articles for the use and comfort of theresolute but unfortunate pair.

Such deeds of charity are habitual with the men andwomen of the frontier, and the farther west one goesthe more spontaneously and warmly does the heartbound to relieve the sufferings and supply the wants ofthe unfortunate, particularly of those who have been


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injured or reduced while battling with the hardshipsand dangers incident to a wild country. The morerugged the region on our western border, the moreboundless becomes the sympathetic faculty of itsinhabitants. Nowhere is a large and unselfish charitymore lavishly exercised than among the RockyMountain men and women. Free as the breezes thatsweep those towering summits, warm as the sun ofmidsummer, bright as the icy peaks which liftthemselves into the sky, the spirit of loving kindness forthe unfortunate animates the bosoms of the sons anddaughters of that mountain land.

After wintering with their hospitable friends, Mr.and Mrs. Hinman pursued their journey the followingspring, and, after a toilsome march, attended by nofurther startling incidents, reached their destination inOregon.

There in their new home, which Mrs. H------, by herindustry and watchfulness, contributed so largely tomake, they found ample scope for the exercise of thosequalities which they had proved themselves to possess.It is men and women like these whom we must thankfor building up our empire on that far off coast.

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Words of Comfort

Nearly two centuries ago, in one of those heatedreligious controversies which occurred in a riversettlement in Massachusetts, a young man and his wifefelt themselves constrained, partly through a desire forgreater liberty of thought and action, and partly fromnatural energy of disposition, to push away from thefertile valley and establish their home on one of thosebleak hillsides which form the spurs of the GreenMountain range. Here they set up their householddeities, and lit the lights of the fireside in the darknessof the forest, and amid the wild loneliness of nature'shitherto untended domain.

In such situations as these, not merely from theirisolation, but from the sterility of the soil and theinhospitable air of the region, the struggle for existenceis often a severe one. Perseverance and self-denial,however, triumphed over all difficulties. Year after yearthe trees bowed themselves before the axe, and the soilsurrendered its reluctant treasures in the furrow of theploughshare.


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Plenty smiled around the cabin. The light glowedon the hearth, and the benighted traveler hailed itswelcome rays as he fared towards the hospitable door.

Apart from the self-interest and happiness of itsinmates, it was no small benefit to others that such ahome was made in that rugged country. Such homesare the outposts of the army of pioneers: here they canpause and rest, gathering courage and confidence whenthey regard them as establishments in the samewilderness where they are seeking to plant themselves.

Five years after their arrival their house and barnswere destroyed by fire. Their cattle, farming utensils,and household furniture were all fortunately saved, andbefore long the buildings were replaced, and in twoyears all the ravages of the devouring element had beenrepaired. Again a happy and plenteous abode rewardedthe labors of the pair. Three years rolled away in thefaithful discharge of every duty incumbent upon them,each toiling in their respective sphere to increase theirstore and rear their large family of children.

A series of severe rains had kept them within doorsfor nearly ten days. One afternoon as they were sittingbefore their fire they experienced a peculiar sensationas though the ground on which the house stood wasmoving. Running out doors, they saw that the rains hadloosened the hillside soil from the rock on which it lay,

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and that it was slowly moving into the ravine below.Hastily collecting their children, they had barely timeto escape to a rock a short distance from their house,when the landslide carried the house and barns, withthe ground on which they stood, into the ravine,burying them and their entire contents beneath twentyfeet of earth.

Almost worn out with his unremitting toilscontinued through ten years, and seeing the fruits ofthat toil swept away in an instant, looking around himin vain for any shelter, and far away from any helpinghand, it was not surprising that the man should havegiven way to despair. He wept, groaned, and tore hishair, declaring that he would struggle no longer withfates which proved so adverse. "Go," said he, "Mary, tothe nearest house with the children. I will die here."

His wife was one of those fragile figures which itseemed that a breath could blow away. Hers, however,was an organization which belied its apparentweakness. A brave and loving spirit animated that frailtenement. Long she strove to soothe her husband'sgrief, but without avail.

Gathering a thick bed of leaves and sheltering herchildren as well as she could from the chilly air, shereturned ever and anon to the spot where her husbandsat in the stupor of despair, and uttered words of


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comfort and timely suggestions of possible means ofrelief.

"We began with nothing, John, and we can beginwith nothing again. You are strong, and so am I.Bethink yourself of those who pass by on their way tothe great river every year at this time. These folk aregood and neighborly, and will lend us willing hands todig out of the earth the gear that we have lost by thelandslip." Thus through the night, with these and likeexpressions, she comforted and encouraged theheart-broken man, and having at length kindled hope,succeeded in rousing him to exertion.

For two days the whole family suffered greatly whileawaiting help, but that hope which the words of thewife had awakened, did not again depart. A party ofpassing emigrants, ascertaining the condition of thefamily, all turned to, and having the necessary tools,soon dug down to the house and barn, and succeededin recovering most of the buried furniture, stores, andutensils. The unlucky couple succeeded finally inretrieving themselves, and years after, when the fatherwas passing a prosperous old age in the valley of theMohawk, to which section the family eventuallymoved, he was wont to tell how his wife had lifted himout of the depths of despair by those kind andthoughtful words, and put new life and hope into his

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heart during those dark days among the mountains ofMassachusetts.

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GOD GIVE US MEN

God give us men. The time demandsStrong minds, great hearts, true faith and willing hands;

Men whom the lust of office does not kill;Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy; Men who possess opinions and a will;

Men who have honor; men who will not lie; Men who can stand before a demagogue

And dam his treacherous flatteries without winking; Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog

In public duty and in private thinking!For while the rabble with their thumb-worn creeds,

Their large professions and their little deedsMingle in selfish strife; lo! Freedom weeps!

Wrong rules the land, and waiting Justice sleeps!

J.G. Holland(Heart Throbs, 1905)

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Index of Names

Audobon, John James . . . . . . . . . . 54

Benezet, Anthony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Boone, Daniel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30, 33

Burritt, Elihu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Clark, George Rogers . . . . . . . . . . 26

Davenport, Abraham . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Dix, Dorothy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Franklin, Benjamin . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 117

Fulton, Robert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41, 44

Goodyear, Charles . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Greeley, Horace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67, 71

Hale, Nathan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Irving, Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Jackson, Andrew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Jefferson, Thom as . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38, 90

Key, Francis Scott . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Lee, Robert E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Lincoln, Abraham . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79, 238, 240, 247, 255

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth . 65

M arion, General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

M arshall, John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

M arvin, Hetty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Randolph, John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Revere, Paul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Washington, George . . . . . . . . . . . 14, 17, 20, 94, 232

Webster, Daniel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59, 162

West, Benjamin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

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