Chapter VII: Part 7

Here Sevier gave hearty welcome to friend and stranger, no matter how poor, if they were honest. The settlers far and wide, and new settlers from over the mountains, partook of his cider, hominy, corn bread, and of wild meat of many kinds. Sometimes he invited them with their families to a barbecue. Whether people came for advice or to call him to arms against the Indians, no one was turned away. "Nolichucky Jack," as his neighbors loved to call him, held a warm place in every settler's heart.

[Sidenote: =British challenge=]

In 1780 Cornwallis, then victorious in South Carolina, sent Colonel Ferguson with one thousand British soldiers into western North Carolina to punish the backwoodsmen. Ferguson grew bold, and sent word across the mountains, threatening to punish Sevier and his brave riflemen. This was enough. Colonel Shelby of Kentucky and Sevier resolved to rouse the frontiersmen, cross the mountains, and teach Colonel Ferguson a lesson. Colonel Campbell with his men from the Holston, in Virginia, joined them. A thousand well-mounted backwoodsmen, with their long rifles, fringed hunting shirts, and coonskin caps, began the march from the Watauga across the mountains. Once across they were joined by several hundred Carolinians. Ferguson retreated to Kings Mountain, too steep on one side to be climbed. He felt safe behind his thousand gleaming bayonets.

[Sidenote: =The plan of battle=]

[Sidenote: =Battle of Kings Mountain=]

The backwoodsmen picked nine hundred men to make the charge up the mountain in face of the bayonets, although among themselves there was not a bayonet. Three divisions, one for each side, marched up the mountain. Down the mountain side came the flashing bayonets. The backwoodsmen in the center retreated from tree to tree, firing steadily all the time. The British, now shot at from both sides as well as in front, turned and charged at one side. Then one division fired into their backs and the other on their side. What could bayonets do in the midst of trees?

[Sidenote: =The result=]

The backwoodsmen kept to the trees and their rifles seldom missed their aim. The British retreated to the top of the mountain. Colonel Ferguson was killed and his entire army was killed or captured. This victory caused great rejoicing among the Americans and prepared the way for the work of Greene and Morgan.

[Sidenote: =A deadly blow=]

Sevier and Campbell hastened back over the mountains, for the Indians were scalping and burning again. With seven hundred riflemen, they marched against the Indian towns and burned a thousand cabins and fifty thousand bushels of corn. This was a hard blow, but the Indians kept fighting several years longer.

_Where 900 frontiersmen attacked and totally destroyed 1,000 British soldiers entrenched and better armed_]

Sevier, in all, fought thirty-five battles. He was the most famous Indian fighter of his time.

[Sidenote: =Governor of Tennessee many times=]

[Sidenote: =Indians trusted him=]

When Tennessee became a state the people elected him governor. They reëlected him till he had held the office for twelve years. The people of Tennessee almost worshiped the bold pioneer. He had spent all his time and all his wealth in their service. And while he was governor, and living in Knoxville, the early capital, one or more of his old riflemen were always living at his home. Even the Indian chiefs often came to visit him. When the people of Tennessee were debating questions of great importance, they always asked: "What says the good old governor?"

_Sevier welcomed by the congregation of the country church_]

[Sidenote: =The boy's disappointment=]

One Sunday, when all the people of a backwoods settlement were at the country church, a bareheaded runner rushed in and shouted, "Nolichucky Jack's a-coming!" The people rushed out to see their governor. As he came near, he greeted one of his old riflemen, put his hand upon the head of the old soldier's son, spoke a kindly word, and rode on. The boy looked up at his father and said: "Why, father, 'Chucky Jack' is only a man!"

[Sidenote: =Died in 1815=]

Sevier died in 1815, while acting as an officer in marking the boundary line between Georgia and the Indian lands. Only a few soldiers and Indians were present. There he lies, with only the name "John Sevier" cut on a simple slab. But for generations the children of the pioneers went on repeating to their children the story of the courage and goodness of "Nolichucky Jack." His name is yet a household word among the people of eastern Tennessee. Their children are taught the story of his life. In the courthouse yard at Knoxville stands a monument erected to his memory.

GEORGE ROGERS CLARK, THE HERO OF VINCENNES

[Sidenote: =Clark born in Virginia=]

[Sidenote: =A surveyor=]

=111. A Successful Leader against the Indians and the British.= George Rogers Clark was born in Virginia in 1752. From childhood Clark liked to roam the woods. He became a surveyor and an Indian fighter at the age of twenty-one. Like Washington, with chain and compass, and with ax and rifle, he made his way far into the wild and lonely forests of the upper Ohio.

[Sidenote: =A scout=]

Clark was a scout for the governor of Virginia in the expedition which defeated the great Shawnee chief Cornstalk at the mouth of the Kanawha.

_Again and again, when a surprise was not possible, the Indians from safe hiding places picked off the men in a garrison_]

Two years later Clark made his way alone over the mountains and became a leader in Kentucky, along with Boone. The Kentucky hunters chose Clark to go to Virginia as their lawmaker.

[Sidenote: =In Kentucky=]

He told Governor Patrick Henry that if Kentucky was not worth defending against the Indians, it was not worth having. At this the Virginian lawmakers made Kentucky into a Virginia county and gave Clark five hundred pounds of powder, which he carried down the Ohio River to Kentucky.

[Sidenote: =Life at Harrodsburg=]

Clark lived at Harrodsburg where, for more than a year, he was kept busy helping the settlers fight off the Indians. This was the very time when Boonesboro and other settlements were so often surrounded by Indians who had been aroused by the British officers at Detroit. These officers paid a certain sum for each scalp of an American the Indians brought them.

_From a painting on wood by John Wesley Jarvis, now in the State Library at Richmond, Virginia_]

[Sidenote: =Turns to Patrick Henry in time of need=]

After having seen brave men and women scalped by the Indians, Clark decided to strike a blow at the British across the Ohio. But where could he find money and men for an army? Kentucky did not have men enough. Clark thought of that noble patriot across the mountains, Patrick Henry. He mounted his horse and guided some settlers back to Virginia, but kept his secret. In Virginia he heard the good news that Burgoyne had surrendered.

Governor Henry was heart and soul for Clark's plan. He made Clark a colonel, gave him six thousand dollars in paper money, and ordered him to raise an army to defend Kentucky.

[Sidenote: =A colonel with a secret=]

=112. The Campaign against Old Vincennes.= In May, 1778, Clark's little army of about one hundred fifty backwoodsmen, with several families, took their flatboats and floated down the Monongahela to Fort Pitt. Clark did not dare tell the riflemen where they were going, for fear the British might get the word. Here they took on supplies and a few small cannon.

[Sidenote: =Floating down the beautiful Ohio=]

On they floated, in the middle of the river to keep away from the Indians who might be hiding in the deep, dark forests on the river banks. At the falls of the Ohio, on Corn Island, Clark landed his party. He built a blockhouse and cabins, and drilled the riflemen into soldiers while the settlers planted corn. This was the beginning of the city of Louisville.

[Sidenote: =Clark tells his secret=]

One day Clark called his men together and told them the secret--he was really leading them against the British forts on the Illinois and the Wabash rivers.

A few of the men refused to go so far from home--a thousand miles--but the rest were willing to follow their leader.

[Sidenote: =A long march begun=]

In June, Clark's boats "shot the falls" and were soon at the mouth of the Tennessee, where a band of hunters joined the party. There Clark hid the boats and began the long march through tangled forests and over grand prairies. But they did not know what minute the Indians might attack, or some British scout discover them and carry the news to General Hamilton at Detroit.

[Sidenote: =Kaskaskia, July 4, 1778=]

They reached the old French town of Kaskaskia at dusk on July 4. They did not dare give a shout or fire a gun, for the British officer had more men than Clark.

[Sidenote: =Surrounds the town=]

Clark sent part of his men silently to surround the town, while he led the others to the fort, where they heard the merry music of the violin and the voices of the dancers.

[Sidenote: =Virginia, not Great Britain=]

[Sidenote: =The French settlers alarmed=]

Clark himself slipped into the great hall, folded his arms, and looked in silence on the dimly lighted scene. An Indian lying on the floor saw Clark's face by the light of the torches. He sprang to his feet, and gave the terrible war whoop. Instantly the dancing ceased, the women screamed, and the men rushed toward Clark. But Clark simply said: "Go on with your dance, but remember that you dance under Virginia and not under Great Britain!" The British general surrendered, and the French inhabitants trembled, when they learned that the backwoodsmen had captured the town. They sent their priest, Father Gibault, and other chief men to beg for their lives. Imagine their surprise and joy when Clark told them that not only were their lives safe, but that the new republic made war on no church, and protected all from insult.

[Sidenote: =The treaty with France=]

He also told them that the King of France had made a treaty with the United States and was sending his great war ships and soldiers to help America. The town of Cahokia also surrendered.

[Sidenote: =Vincennes surrenders=]

Father Gibault went to Vincennes to tell the French settlers about the doings of Clark and to give them the news that France had taken sides with the Americans. The people rejoiced, and ran up the American flag. Clark sent Captain Helm to command the fort.

General Hamilton at Detroit was busy planning to attack Fort Pitt and to encourage the Ohio Indians to kill and scalp Kentuckians.

[Sidenote: =General Hamilton stirred up=]

[Sidenote: =Stays in Vincennes until spring=]

How astonished he was when he heard that the forts on the Illinois and the Wabash had fallen! He gathered a mixed army of British, Canadians, and Indians, crossed Lake Erie to the mouth of the Maumee, and "poled" and paddled up that river to the portage. Down the Wabash they floated, five hundred strong. Vincennes surrendered without a blow. Hamilton decided to stay there for the winter and march against Clark in the spring. This was a blunder. He did not yet know Clark and his backwoodsmen.

"I must take Hamilton or Hamilton will take me," said Clark, when he heard the news. He immediately set to work to build a rude sort of gunboat, which he fitted out with his cannon and about forty men. He sent the _Willing_, as it was called, down the Mississippi, around into the Ohio, and up the Wabash to meet him at Vincennes.

[Sidenote: =Clark begins the march=]

All was excitement in the French towns. Forty or fifty French joined Clark's riflemen. Father Gibault gave them his blessing, and the march overland to Vincennes began.

[Sidenote: =On the march=]

Clark divided his men into parties. Each, in its turn, did the hunting, and at night invited the others to sit around great camp fires to feast on "bear ham, buffalo hump, elk saddle, and venison haunch." They ate, sang, danced, and told stories. No doubt they often talked of their loved ones far away in the cabins of Virginia and Kentucky.

[Sidenote: =The drowned lands=]

On they pushed till they came to the "drowned lands of the Wabash," and there they saw miles and miles of muddy water. They made a rude boat to carry them over the deepest parts. The horses had to swim.

[Sidenote: =The morning gun=]

Soon they were near enough Vincennes to hear the "morning gun" at the fort, but they did not dare fire a gun themselves for fear of being discovered by parties of hunters. Food grew scarce, game was hard to find, and starvation threatened them.

[Sidenote: =Terrible suffering=]

Sometimes, after wading all day, they could hardly find a dry spot to camp for the night. Some grew too weak to wade and were carried in boats. The stronger sang songs to keep up the courage of the weak. When they finally reached the opposite shore of the Wabash many fell, worn out--some lying partly in the water.

Those who were well built great fires and warmed and fed the faint ones on hot deer broth. But these brave men soon forgot their hardships and again were full of fight.

[Sidenote: =Clark's letter=]

Clark now decided to take a bold course. He sent a letter to the people of Vincennes telling them that he was about to attack the town. He advised all friends of America to remain quietly in their homes, and asked all friends of the British to go to the fort and join the "hair buyer," as the backwoodsmen called Hamilton.

[Sidenote: =The attack=]

At dark, Clark's men charged into the town and attacked the fort. The fight went on all night. As soon as it was daylight the backwoodsmen fired through the portholes and drove the gunners from the cannon.

[Sidenote: =Hamilton surrenders=]

Clark's men begged to storm the fort. Only one American had been wounded, but several British soldiers had been killed and others wounded. In the afternoon Hamilton surrendered and once more the Stars and Stripes floated over "old Vincennes."

The _Willing_ appeared in a few days. Her men were deeply disappointed because they were too late to take part in the fight.

Clark put men in the forts at Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes, and made peace with the Indians round about. But he was never able to march against Detroit, as once he had planned to do.

[Sidenote: =Clark's Grant=]

Virginia rewarded the brave men who had followed Clark by giving to each three hundred acres of land in southern Indiana. The land was surveyed and is known to-day as "Clark's Grant."

Clark and his men had performed one of the greatest deeds of the Revolutionary War. They made it possible for the United States to have the Mississippi River for her western boundary when England acknowledged our independence.

[Sidenote: =Clark unrewarded=]

George Rogers Clark was never properly rewarded. He spent his last days in poverty at the falls of the Ohio, on Corn Island, and died in 1818. In 1895 a monument was erected in honor of his memory in the city of Indianapolis, Indiana.

SUGGESTIONS INTENDED TO HELP THE PUPIL

=The Leading Facts.= _1._ Boone loved the woods, crossed the
mountains into east Tennessee, and later went to Kentucky. _2._
He wintered alone in Kentucky; his brother returned home for
supplies. _3._ Boone built the "Wilderness Road," and also built
Fort Boonesboro. _4._ Boone took part in the War of the Revolution,
was captured by the Indians, carried to Detroit, but escaped. _5._
Years after his death his remains were taken to Frankfort, Kentucky.

_6._ John Sevier studied at Fredericksburg; fought Indians in the
Shenandoah. _7._ He went over to the settlement on the Watauga;
helped defend it against the Indians. _8._ Sevier helped win the
great victory at Kings Mountain. _9._ He was many times governor of
Tennessee.

_10._ George Rogers Clark loved the woods; was a surveyor and an
Indian fighter at twenty-one. _11._ Moved to Kentucky, saw men and
women scalped, and resolved to capture the British posts north
of the Ohio. _12._ Clark received permission from Patrick Henry,
collected his little army, and floated down the Ohio to the falls.
_13._ He drilled his men; set out for Kaskaskia, which he captured.
_14._ Clark marched for Vincennes through the drowned lands;
attacked and captured Vincennes. _15._ Clark was not rewarded
by the government, but the state of Indiana has erected a great
monument to his memory.

=Study Questions.= _1._ What did Boone do that was pioneer-like?
_2._ What was the country doing in 1760? _3._ Why did Boone wish to
leave North Carolina? _4._ What were the early names of Kentucky,
and what did these names mean? _5._ Tell the story of Boone's first
visit to Kentucky. _6._ Picture the capture and escape of Boone
and Stewart. _7._ Find the places on the map which are named on
Boone's Wilderness Road. _8._ Picture the scene in Boonesboro the
night of the capture of the girls and also their rescue and return
home. _9._ Go with Boone to Blue Licks and help make salt. _10._
Be captured, and tell of the long journey to Detroit, what you
saw there, and how and why Boone made his escape. _11._ Tell the
story of the last attack on Boonesboro. _12._ Why did Boone move to
Missouri?

_13._ What famous men went to school at Fredericksburg? _14._ What
famous men have lived a part of their time in the Shenandoah? _15._
What changed Sevier's career? _16._ Tell what happened to Sevier at
the siege of Fort Watauga. _17._ Why did Sevier leave Watauga, and
what sort of life did he lead on the Nolichucky? _18._ Tell of the
gathering of the clans, and picture the battle of Kings Mountain.
_19._ Why did the people of Tennessee love Sevier? _20._ Why was
the boy disappointed?

_21._ What were Clark's surroundings in boyhood? _22._ When was
he a scout? a leader in Kentucky? _23._ What made Clark learn
to hate the British? _24._ Tell the story of his secret. _25._
Picture the voyage to the falls of the Ohio. _26._ What did Clark
do here? _27._ Tell the story of events from the falls of the
Ohio till he reached Kaskaskia. _28._ Picture the scene of the
dance at Kaskaskia. _29._ What news did Clark give Father Gibault?
_30._ Where were the British, and what did they do? _31._ Picture
Clark's march to Vincennes. _32._ Be one of the soldiers of Clark
and tell what was seen, heard, and done the night of the attack on
Vincennes and the next day. _33._ Where was Clark's Grant? _34._
Why do we call Clark's conquest of Kaskaskia and Vincennes one of
the greatest events in American history? _35._ Where is a monument
erected to his memory? _36._ Find on the map the places mentioned
in the campaign.

=Suggested Readings.= DANIEL BOONE: Wright, _Children's Stories of
American Progress_, 1-40; Glascock, _Stories of Columbia_, 138-147;
Hart, _Camps and Firesides of the Revolution_, 101-116; McMurry,
_Pioneers of the Mississippi Valley_, 68-83.

JOHN SEVIER: Blaisdell and Ball, _Hero Stories from American
History_, 90-104; McMurry, _Pioneers of the Mississippi Valley_,
104-123; Phelan, _History of Tennessee_, 57-66, 241-257.

GEORGE ROGERS CLARK: McMurry, _Pioneers of the Mississippi Valley_,
124-149; Blaisdell and Ball, _Hero Stories from American History_,
1-17; Eggleston, _Tecumseh and the Shawnee Prophet_, 41-51;
Roosevelt, _The Winning of the West_, II, 31-85.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEW REPUBLIC

ELI WHITNEY, WHO INVENTED THE COTTON GIN AND CHANGED THE HISTORY OF THE SOUTH

[Sidenote: =Eli at work in his father's tool shop=]

=113. What a Boy's Love of Tools Led to.= Before the Revolution there lived in a Massachusetts village a boy named Eli Whitney. His father had a farm, on which there was also a tool shop. This was the most wonderful place in the world to young Eli. Whenever he had a moment to spare, he was sure to be working away with his father's lathe or cabinet tools. At the age of twelve he made a good violin. After that people with broken violins came to him to have them mended.

One day, when his father had gone to church, Eli got Mr. Whitney's fine watch and took it all apart. He then showed his wonderful mechanical ability by putting it together again, and it ran as smoothly as before. During the war he made quite a bit of money as a nail-smith. At college he helped pay his expenses by mending things and doing a carpenter's work.

[Sidenote: =Goes to Georgia to teach=]

If Eli Whitney were living to-day he would surely have been an engineer. But there were no engineers in those days, so he decided to teach. He found a position in far-off Georgia, and took passage on a ship to Savannah. On board ship he found the widow of the old war hero, General Nathanael Greene, whom he had met a short time before. She liked the young man for his friendly nature and his intelligence. He had a very pleasant voyage. But sad was his disappointment when he arrived at Savannah! The people who had asked him to come had engaged another tutor, and he was left without a position.

[Sidenote: =Invited to Mulberry Grove=]

He was in a strange place, without money, and did not know what to do. Just then came an invitation to visit at Mulberry Grove, where Mrs. Greene lived. He went gladly and was treated very kindly. He made many new friends. The men liked the interest he took in their farms and their work. The children were his friends because he made for them wonderful toys of all sorts.

[Sidenote: =Cotton fiber separated from seed by hand=]

One day some visitors were talking with Mrs. Greene about cotton. This plant was little grown at that time. People knew that it had a fine soft fiber which could be made into excellent cloth. But the fiber had to be separated from the seed before it could be spun. In those days the seeds were taken out by hand, and even a skillful slave could clean only about a pound a day. Think of working a whole day for a handful of cotton! Because of this difficulty, cotton was very expensive, more so even than wool or linen. Only well-to-do people could wear cotton clothes.

=114. The Cotton Gin Invented.= One of the visitors said that a machine ought to be invented which would clean the cotton. Mrs. Greene thought of Whitney. She had seen him make many wonderful things. She believed he could make such a machine, and asked him to try. He thought about it, and believed he could make iron fingers do the work that the fingers of the slaves had done.

[Sidenote: =Whitney sets to work=]

[Sidenote: =Invents cotton gin=]

Whitney got a basketful of cotton and fixed up a shop. Then he went to work. He had a good deal of trouble, but he kept on. One day he called in Mrs. Greene and her overseer and proudly showed them his little machine, made of rollers and wires and brushes. Into this he poured the cotton just as it came from the field. When he turned a crank the soft, clean cotton came tumbling out of one side and the seeds out of another. This was the cotton gin, which in a few years was to change the entire life of the South.

A few years before Whitney made the cotton gin a vessel came to Liverpool with cotton from the United States. The people in Liverpool were astonished. They did not know that cotton grew in America! As soon as Whitney began to sell his new machines, all the South became a great cotton field. In 1825, the year of Whitney's death, the South shipped abroad thirty-seven million dollars' worth of cotton, more than that of all other goods exported from this country!

[Sidenote: =More slaves brought into the South=]

Before this time many planters had thought that slavery was unnecessary. But when Whitney's gin made cotton growing so profitable, they had to have many more laborers to raise this new crop. Thousands of black slaves were sold to the cotton-growing parts of the South. The planters then believed they could not grow cotton without slaves, and it took a terrible war to settle the great question of slave labor.

THOMAS JEFFERSON, WHO WROTE THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, FOUNDED THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY, AND PURCHASED THE LOUISIANA TERRITORY

[Sidenote: =Jefferson born in Virginia=]

[Sidenote: =A lover of books from boyhood=]

=115. The Early Years of Jefferson.= The author of the Declaration of Independence was born in 1743, near Charlottesville, Virginia. Like most other Virginia boys, Thomas Jefferson lived on a large plantation, and spent much time in hunting, fishing, and horseback riding. While yet a boy, and throughout his long life, Jefferson loved books and studied hard every subject that came before his mind.

[Sidenote: =Goes to William and Mary College=]

When seventeen years old he rode away to Williamsburg to attend the College of William and Mary, the second oldest college in America.

[Sidenote: =A wonderful old town=]

Although Williamsburg was the capital of the largest and oldest of all the colonies, it had scarcely more than two hundred houses, and not more than a thousand people. But it was a wonderful town in Jefferson's eyes, although it had but one main street. The capitol stood at one end of the street and the college at the other. It was the first town Thomas Jefferson had ever seen.

_Here Jefferson heard Patrick Henry make his famous Caesar-Charle the First speech_]

At the opening of the House of Burgesses, Jefferson saw the best people in the Old Colony come pouring in. The planters came in fine coaches drawn by beautiful horses. The wives and daughters came to attend the governor's reception, and to enjoy meeting their old friends.

[Sidenote: =He knew great men=]

Jefferson became acquainted with the great men of his colony, and with many young men who were to be the future leaders in America. Here he met Patrick Henry, a student in a law office. Jefferson liked the fun-making Henry, and the two young men enjoyed many happy hours together, playing their violins.

[Sidenote: =Studies law=]

After his graduation Jefferson remained in his old college town to study law in the office of one of Virginia's ablest lawyers. Henry often lodged in Jefferson's rooms when he came to attend the meetings of the Burgesses. When Henry made his stirring speech against the Stamp Act, Jefferson stood in the doorway of the House and listened spellbound to his friend's fiery eloquence.

[Sidenote: =Jefferson a member of the House of Burgesses=]

In a few years Jefferson himself was honored with a seat in the House of Burgesses. He immediately took a leading part in opposing the tax on tea. The king's governor became angry and sent the members of the House of Burgesses home. But before they went, the bolder ones met and signed a paper which pledged the people of Virginia to buy no more goods from England.

[Sidenote: =Marries and begins life at Monticello=]

The next important event in Jefferson's life was his falling in love, and his marriage to a young widow. She was beautiful in looks, winning in her manner, and rich in lands and slaves. Jefferson took his young wife to a handsome mansion which he had built on his great plantation. He called the home Monticello. Here these two Virginians, like Washington and his wife at Mount Vernon, spent many happy days.

[Sidenote: =A rich man=]

Jefferson, with his wife's estate added to his own, was a very wealthy man. Together they owned at this time nearly a hundred thousand acres of land and three hundred slaves.

[Sidenote: =Committee of Correspondence=]

But stirring events took Jefferson away from the quiet life at Monticello. After his marriage, he went to the meeting of the Burgesses, and there with other leaders formed a Committee of Correspondence. This committee wrote to the other colonies to get news of what the leaders were doing, and to tell them what the men in Virginia were planning to do. Each of the other colonies appointed committees of correspondence. They kept the news going back and forth as fast as rapid horsemen could carry it. These committees had a strong influence in uniting the colonies against England.

_When barred from the House of the Burgesses the Committee of Correspondence met in this tavern_]

[Sidenote: =In the Continental Congress=]

=116. Writes the Declaration of Independence.= In 1775 the Burgesses chose Thomas Jefferson, Richard Henry Lee, and Benjamin Harrison as delegates to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. In this Congress Richard Henry Lee made a motion declaring that the thirteen colonies were free and independent of Great Britain.

The Congress appointed Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, and Robert R. Livingston of New York, to draw up a Declaration of Independence.

[Sidenote: =Jefferson writes the Declaration of Independence=]

When these great men met to talk over the Declaration, the others urged Jefferson to do the writing, for he was able to put his thoughts on paper in plain, strong words. How important that the Declaration should be well written, and should contain powerful reasons for breaking away from England and setting up an independent government! A large number of people in America were opposed to separating from England. Besides, good reasons must be given to those brave Englishmen who, like Pitt and Burke, had been our defenders in Parliament.

[Sidenote: =The other members liked what Jefferson wrote=]

When Jefferson showed what he had written, the others liked it so well only a few words were changed. Even after several days' debate in Congress, only a few more words were changed. Then it was signed by the members of the Congress and sent out for all the world to see why America was driven to fight for independence.

_From the first historical painting of John Trumbull, now in the rotunda of the Capitol at Washington_]

John Hancock, the president of the Congress, was the first to sign the Declaration, and he did so in large letters, saying that George III might read his name without spectacles. He also said: "We must all hang together in this matter." "Yes," replied Franklin, "we must all hang together, or we shall hang separately."

Jefferson returned to Virginia, and later became governor, on the resignation of Patrick Henry.

[Sidenote: =Minister to France=]

[Sidenote: =Helps France become a republic=]

After the war was over and England had taken her armies home, Congress sent Thomas Jefferson as minister to France (1785). The French people liked Jefferson very much, because, like Franklin, he was very democratic, and treated all men alike. The French people were just beginning to overthrow the power of their king, and plan a republic. Jefferson told them how happy the Americans were since they had broken away from George III.

[Sidenote: =Greeted by his slaves=]

After five years Jefferson returned home. When his negro slaves heard that he was coming back to Monticello they went several miles to greet him. When the carriage reached home they carried him on their shoulders into the house. The slaves were happy for Jefferson, like Washington, was a kind master, and hoped for the day to come when slavery would be no more.

[Sidenote: =First Secretary of State=]

Washington had just been elected the first President of the United States (1789), and was now looking for a good man to be his adviser on questions relating to foreign nations. He chose Thomas Jefferson to do that work and gave him the office of Secretary of State.

[Sidenote: =Leader of the Democratic-Republican party=]

Congress disputed and debated over the best ways of paying the Revolutionary War debt, and also over the question as to whether America should take sides with France in the great war between that country and England. The people also disputed over these questions, and formed themselves into two parties. One, the Democratic-Republican, was led by Thomas Jefferson, and the other, the Federalist party, was led by Alexander Hamilton.

_From a painting by Rembrandt Peale, now in the possession of the New York Historical Society, New York City_]

[Sidenote: =Elected president=]

=117. Jefferson President.= In 1800 the people elected Jefferson president. He was very popular because he was a friend of the poor as well as of the rich people. He declared that the new national government should in every way be plain and simple, instead of showy like the governments of Europe.

Presidents Washington and Adams had had fine receptions, where people wore wigs, silver shoe buckles, and fine lace. When Jefferson became president he did away with all this show and style.

[Sidenote: =Reduces expenses=]

Jefferson also pleased the people by reducing the expenses of the government. He cut down the number of government clerks, soldiers in the army, and sailors in the navy. He spent just as little money as possible in running the government.

One of Jefferson's most important acts while president was the purchase of Louisiana. Thanks to George Rogers Clark and his brave men, England had been forced to give the United States the Mississippi as our western boundary.

[Sidenote: =Napoleon forces Spain to give France Louisiana=]

In 1800 Napoleon, the great French general, forced Spain to give France all the region then known as Louisiana, which extended from the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains, and from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Spain, a weak country, had already refused to permit American boats to use the mouth of the Mississippi. What if Napoleon should send his victorious army to Louisiana and close the Mississippi entirely? Jefferson saw the danger at once, and sent James Monroe to Paris to help our minister, Robert R. Livingston, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, buy New Orleans and a strip of land on the east side of the Mississippi River near its mouth.

[Sidenote: =Sells Louisiana to America=]

Napoleon was about to enter on a terrible war with England, and needed money badly. He was only too glad to sell all of Louisiana for fifteen million dollars (1803). This was more than Livingston was told to buy, but he and Monroe accepted his offer.

[Sidenote: =The greatness of the purchase=]

If you will count the number of great states which have been carved out of the "Louisiana Purchase," and look at the great cities and the number of towns which have grown up within "old Louisiana," you will understand why great honor is given to the men who purchased this vast region.

[Sidenote: =The Lewis and Clark expedition=]

In the very next year Jefferson sent out an expedition under the command of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore this vast country of Louisiana. With white men, Indians, and boats they made their way slowly up the Missouri, across the mountains, and down the Columbia River to the Pacific coast.

[Sidenote: =Louisiana Purchase Exposition=]

The wonderful stories told by Lewis and Clark gave Americans their first real knowledge of parts of the Louisiana Purchase and of the Oregon region. In 1904, America, with the help of all the great nations of the world, celebrated at St. Louis the buying of this region by holding the Louisiana Purchase Exposition.

[Sidenote: =President a second time=]

[Sidenote: =Friends visit him at Monticello=]

In 1804 Jefferson was elected president again by a greater majority than before. After serving a second term, he, like Washington, refused to be president for a third time. He retired to Monticello, where he spent his last days pleasantly and where hundreds of friends from all parts of America and Europe came to consult him. The people called him the "Sage of Monticello."

[Sidenote: =Died July 4, 1826=]

Jefferson lived to see the first two great states, Louisiana and Missouri, carved out of the Louisiana Purchase. He died at Monticello, July 4, 1826. On the same day, at Quincy, Massachusetts, died his longtime friend, John Adams. These two patriots, one the writer the other the defender of the Declaration of Independence, died just half a century after it was signed.

LEWIS AND CLARK, AMERICAN EXPLORERS IN THE OREGON COUNTRY

[Sidenote: =A vast unexplored country=]

[Sidenote: =Gray visits the Pacific=]

=118. Discovery of the Columbia River.= The purchase of the Louisiana territory by Jefferson opened up a great new field for settlers. It was necessary to know something about the new territory. It was a vast unexplored country stretching from the Mississippi River to the Rockies. The Pacific shore had already been visited by explorers. Boston merchants had sent Captain Robert Gray to the Pacific coast to buy furs of the Indians. He did not try to find an overland route, but sailed around South America and up the coast to Vancouver Island, where he obtained a rich cargo of furs. He then made his way across the Pacific to China, and came back to Boston by way of the Cape of Good Hope--the first American to carry the Stars and Stripes around the world.

[Sidenote: =Discovers the mouth of the Columbia=]

On a second voyage to the same region, in the good ship _Columbia_, Gray discovered the mouth of a great river (1792). Up this river he went for nearly thirty miles, probably the first white man to sail upon its waters. Captain Gray named the river the Columbia after his vessel. The Indians had called it the Oregon.

=119. The Lewis and Clark Expedition.= The next important step in finding a route to the Oregon country was the great expedition undertaken while Thomas Jefferson was yet president.

[Sidenote: =Expedition leaves St. Louis=]

Lewis and Clark were two young men chosen by Jefferson to explore the region known as the Louisiana Purchase and to make their way across the Rocky Mountains to the Oregon country and to the Pacific. They chose forty-two men to go with them--some as soldiers, others as servants, and still others as hunters. From the little French village of St. Louis they began their adventurous journey in boats in the spring of 1804.

_From the original painting by Charles Wilson Peale in Independence Hall, Philadelphia_]

Up the Missouri River they slowly made their way against the current of the muddy, rushing stream. At one time it was so swift that they could not force boats against it, and at another time the brushwood that came down the river broke their oars.

[Sidenote: =Smoked the "pipe of peace"=]

Near where the city of Council Bluffs now stands, Lewis and Clark held a great meeting with the Indians. They told the Indians that the people of the United States and not the people of France were now the owners of this great land. Together they smoked the "pipe of peace," and the Indians promised to be friendly.

On they went till the region near the Black Hills was reached. It was the fall of the year and the trees were bright with color, and the wild ducks and geese in large numbers were seen going southward.

[Sidenote: =Spent the winter with the Indians=]

The company spent the winter on an island sixteen hundred miles from St. Louis. The men built rude homes and fortified them. The Indians were friendly and the explorers spent many evenings around the wigwam fires listening to stories of the country the Indians had to tell them.

[Sidenote: =The Rocky Mountains=]

In the spring they bade the Indians good-by, passed the mouth of the Yellowstone, and traveled on till the Rocky Mountains with their long rows of snow-covered peaks came into view.

On the thirteenth day of June they beheld wonderful pictures of the "Falls of the Missouri." The water tore through a vast gorge a dozen miles or more in length.

=120. The Way over the Mountains.= On they went until their boats could go no farther. They had reached rough and rugged hills and mountains. They climbed the heights as best they could. From now on the suffering was very great indeed.

_From the original painting by Charles Wilson Peale in Independence Hall, Philadelphia_]

[Sidenote: =The source of the Missouri=]

One day Captain Lewis went ahead with three men to find Indian guides for the party. They climbed higher and higher until finally they came to a place where the Missouri River takes its rise. They went on and at last came to the western slope of the mountains, down which flowed a stream toward the Pacific Ocean.

Finally Captain Lewis came upon a company of Indian women who could not get away. They all bowed their heads as if expecting to be killed. They led the white men to a band of Indians, who received them with all the signs of kindness they could show.

[Sidenote: =Indians are friendly=]

Now they all turned back to find Clark and his party. When they reached Clark the Indians smoked the "pipe of peace" and Lewis and Clark told the Indians why the United States had sent them out.

_This Indian woman, as interpreter and guide, was a great aid to the exploring party_]

They were the first white men these Indians had ever seen. They looked the men over carefully and took a deep interest in their clothing, their food, and in their guns.

[Sidenote: =Explorers suffer from hunger and cold=]

The mountains were now rough and barren and the streams ran through deep gorges. The explorers took an old Indian guide and crossed the Bitter Root Mountains into a valley of the same name. They followed an Indian trail over the mountains again and into the Clearwater. They suffered for want of food and on account of the cold. When they reached a tribe of the Nez Percé (Pierced Nose) Indians they ate so much they were all ill.

[Sidenote: =Reach the Columbia River=]

=121. On Waters Flowing into the Pacific.= In five log boats, which they had dug out of trees, they glided down the Clearwater to where it meets the Snake River. They camped near the spot where now stands the present town of Lewiston, Idaho. Then they embarked on the Snake River and floated down to where it joins the mighty Columbia.

They were among the Indians again, who had plenty of dried fish, for here is the home of the salmon, a fish found in astonishing numbers. The men had never seen so many fish before.

[Sidenote: =Explorers reach the Pacific=]

The number of Indians increased as they went toward the Pacific. Finally the party of explorers passed through the Cascade Mountains and were once more on the smooth current of the Columbia. They soon beheld the blue waters of the Pacific.

During their five months' stay on the Pacific, Captain Clark made a map of the region they had gone through. They repaired their guns and made clothes of the skins of elk and of other game.

[Sidenote: =Lewis and Clark travel different routes=]

The Indians told them of a shorter route to the Falls of the Missouri, and Captain Lewis and nine men went by this route while Captain Clark with others retraced the old route. They saw nothing of each other for two months, when they all met again in August on the banks of the Missouri.

[Sidenote: =All return to St. Louis=]

They reached St. Louis September 23, 1806. The people of the United States were glad to hear of the safe return of the exploring party, for they had long thought the men were dead.

[Sidenote: =Rewarded by Congress=]

Both President Jefferson and Congress put great value upon the useful information that the expedition gathered. Congress rewarded every one connected with the expedition. Each man was granted double pay for the time he spent and was given three hundred acres of land. To Captain Lewis was given fifteen hundred acres and to Captain Clark a thousand acres. Lewis was appointed first governor of Louisiana Territory and Clark was made the governor of Missouri Territory.

=122. Fur Traders and Missionaries Lead the Way.= Soon after this expedition the fur traders pushed their way across the Rocky Mountains from St. Louis to the Pacific. They found the "gateway of the Rockies," called the South Pass, which opened the way to the Oregon country (1824).

[Sidenote: =The coming of the missionaries=]

After the fur traders came the missionary, Nathaniel Wyeth, a New Englander who led a party to the Columbia and established a post (1832). Five missionaries followed him and began to work among the Indians. Very soon Parker and Whitman went out to the Nez Percé Indians, who came over the mountains to meet them near the headwaters of the Green River. Parker returned with the Indians and visited Walla Walla, Vancouver, and the Spokane and Colville regions. Whitman returned East, was married, and found a missionary, Spaulding, and his wife, and the party went out to the Oregon country to work among the Indians.

[Sidenote: =The treaty of 1846=]

=123. The Boundary Established.= During this time fur traders from Canada and Great Britain were occupying the Oregon country as far as the Columbia River. The United States and Great Britain made a treaty by which they agreed to occupy the country together. This treaty lasted till settlers from the United States made it necessary to have a new treaty. In 1846 a new treaty was made and the present northern boundary was established.

OLIVER HAZARD PERRY, VICTOR IN THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE

[Sidenote: =A Rhode Islander=]

=124. A Young Man Who Captured a British Fleet.= Perry was born in Rhode Island in 1785. He went to the best schools, and learned the science of navigation. At fourteen years of age he was a midshipman on his father's vessel, and before he was twenty-one he had served in a war against the Barbary pirates.

[Sidenote: =Perry bitter toward the British=]

[Sidenote: =Ready for battle=]

When young Perry returned to his home the British were seizing American ships, claiming the right to search them for British sailors. Perry was very bitter toward the British for these insults to his country, and when war was declared he was eager to fight. A fleet of vessels was being built on Lake Erie, and Perry was sent as commandant to take charge of their construction. He promptly set to work, and in a few weeks the ships were ready for battle.

He immediately set sail for Put-In-Bay, where the British fleet was stationed. There he arranged his ships for battle and raised a banner containing the last words of Captain Lawrence, who had been killed earlier in the war while bravely fighting. "Don't give up the ship!" were the words the flag showed as it was unfurled to the breeze.

_After an engraving by Edwin made in 1813 from the Waldo picture_]

[Sidenote: =Drives the "Lawrence" into the British fleet=]

Driving his flagship, the _Lawrence_, right in among the enemy's ships, Perry made them turn all their cannon against it. The loss of life was dreadful, but Perry kept cool. When the last gun of the _Lawrence_ could no longer be fired, he ordered a boat to be lowered and with some brave men rowed through a storm of shot and shell to the _Niagara_, another of Perry's large ships. Then he drove this ship into the midst of the fight. In fifteen minutes the two largest British ships struck their colors. The remainder of the fleet then surrendered.

[Sidenote: =Broke British power in the West=]

This victory broke the British power in the West. Congress voted resolutions in praise of Perry and ordered a gold medal struck in his honor. Wherever he went the people paid him great attention, and at his home he was given a royal welcome.

ANDREW JACKSON, THE VICTOR OF NEW ORLEANS

[Sidenote: =Jackson a Scotch-Irishman=]

=125. How a Poor Boy Began to Rise.= Andrew Jackson was born of Scotch-Irish parents who had emigrated from Ireland to South Carolina. His father died and his mother moved to North Carolina to be among her own people. Here, a few days after his father's death, in the same year in which England passed the Tea Act (1767), Andrew was born.

[Sidenote: =Learns from the woods=]

Schools were few and poor. In fact, Andrew was too poor himself to do anything but work. He learned far more from the pine woods in which he played than from books. At nine he was a tall, slender, freckle-faced lad, fond of sports, and full of fun and mischief. But woe to the boy that made "Andy" angry!

[Sidenote: =Learns to hate the British=]

When thirteen, he learned what war meant, for it was in the days of the Revolution when Colonel Tarleton came along and killed more than a hundred and wounded one hundred fifty of Jackson's neighbors and friends. Among the killed was one of the boy's own brothers. Andrew never forgave the British.

[Sidenote: =A prisoner of war=]

[Sidenote: =Loses his mother=]

At fourteen he was taken prisoner by the British. "Boy," shouted an officer, "clean these boots!" "I will not," replied Jackson. "I am a prisoner of war, and claim to be treated as such." The officer drew his sword and struck Jackson a blow upon the head, and another upon the hand. These blows left scars which Jackson carried to his grave. He was taken a prisoner to Camden, where smallpox killed his remaining brother and left Andrew poor and sickly looking. His mother had come to Camden to nurse her sons. A little later she lost her life in caring for American prisoners on British ships in Charleston Harbor, so Jackson was now an orphan of the Revolution.

_This historic house, the home of Andrew Jackson, is now owned by the state of Tennessee_]

[Sidenote: =A lawyer before twenty=]

After the Revolutionary times had gone by, Jackson studied law and at the age of twenty was admitted to practice in the courts of the state.

[Sidenote: =Follows the settlers over the mountains=]

But stories of the beautiful country that were coming over the mountains from Tennessee, stirred his blood. He longed to go, and in company with nearly a hundred men, women, and children, Jackson set out for the goodly land.

They crossed the mountains into east Tennessee, where was the town of Jonesboro, not far from where Governor Sevier lived.

[Sidenote: =Outwits the Indians=]

Jackson and the others rested awhile before taking up their march to Nashville. From Jonesboro to Nashville they had to look out for Indians. Only once were they troubled. One night, when men, women, and children were resting in their rude tents, Jackson sat at the foot of a tree smoking his corncob pipe. He heard "owls" hooting near by. These were Indian signals. "A little too natural," thought Jackson. He aroused the people, and silently they marched away. Another party, coming an hour or two later, stopped in the same place, and were massacred by Indians.

[Sidenote: =Practicing law on the frontier=]

Arriving in Nashville, Jackson began the practice of law. To reach the court, he sometimes had to ride miles and miles, day after day, through thick forests where the Indians might lie in wait.

When Tennessee was made a territory, Jackson became district attorney. He had many "ups and downs" with the bad men of the frontier. Jackson himself had a bad temper, and woe to the man who made him angry. He either got a sound thrashing or had to fight a duel.

[Sidenote: =In Congress=]

When Tennessee became a state, Jackson was elected to Congress. A year or so afterward (1797) he was appointed a United States senator to fill a vacancy. But such a position did not give him excitement enough, so he resigned the next year and returned to Nashville. He was a frontier judge for a time, then he became a man of business.

[Sidenote: =A call to arms=]

=126. How Jackson Won a Great Victory.= When the War of 1812 broke out there was a call to arms! The British will capture New Orleans! Twenty-five hundred frontiersmen rallied to Jackson's call. He was just the man to lead them. They decided to go to New Orleans by water.

Down the Cumberland to the Ohio in boats! Down the Ohio to the Mississippi, and down the Mississippi to Natchez! Here they stopped, only to learn that there were no British near.

[Sidenote: =How he won the name "Old Hickory"=]

The twenty-five hundred men marched the long, dreary way home. Jackson was the toughest one among them. He could march farther and last longer without food than any of them. The soldiers nicknamed him "Old Hickory."

Once more he was at home, where he now was a great man among his friends. About this time Jackson had a fierce fight with Thomas H. Benton and received a pistol shot in the shoulder. Before he was again well the people who suffered from the Fort Mims massacre were calling loudly for help. Tecumseh had stirred up the Creeks to murder five hundred men, women, and children at this fort in Alabama.

[Sidenote: =Another call to arms=]

[Sidenote: =Jackson and the hungry soldier=]