A History of the United States of America, etc

Preface

. It has seemed to me that the most desirable qualities in a text-book history of the United States — or, for that matter, in any history — are clearness, reasonableness, and attractiveness. I have tried to use terms which have only one meaning, to avoid involved sentences, and to state facts with precision. It is impossible in such a book to introduce no words which have not before come into the reading of an ordinary pupil ; but tables of definition and pronunciation, at the head of each chapter, provide for the understanding of all novel words in the chapter. The maps, in like manner, are kept free from confusing detail ; and while they accompany and explain the text, they form a basis for that geographic treatment of history which is essential to a clear understanding of the physical conditions of human society.

I have tried also to avoid the error which makes history only a succession of unrelated facts. There is a logic in events which it is the business of historians to unfold, and it has been my chits thought to show the growth of our national life. The analyses which interrupt the narrative are designed to aid in a logical interpretation of the facts ; but the secret of success in any history must lie in the power of the author to conceive the development of life, and to discover the critical passages, the transition periods, the great epochs. I hope I have helped young people to understand the movements which I see from the time when America was first disclosed to the eyes of Europe

PREFACE.

. IV down to the present day. I will not here attempt to justify the divisions of our history which I have made, for if my narrative has not done it, nothing which I could say in a preface would make it clearer ; but I wish to emphasize my sense of the im portance to American children of connecting the history of their country with the changes which have been taking place in Europe during the period of our growth, — changes of the utmost consequence in the development of our own national life, an understanding of which is essential to an intelligent reading of American history. Therefore I have never lost sight of the fact that down to the close of tlie last war with England, America faced the Atlantic ; and any one who would read her history aright must often take his stand upon the European shore.

Finally, I have tried to make this book attractive. I believe with all my heart in the attractiveness of historical study, and I have sought to make my own interest in our history pass into my narrative ; but the restrictions of such a book forbid that full illustration from biography, local history, and descriptions of manners and customs, which one naturally desires to use in teaching the subject. The omission is partly supplied by the suggestions of illustrative reading which will be found in the Appendix ; but I leave my task with a weighty conviction that the most which a text-book maker can do is to furnish a clear outline for. a wise teacher to fill with details. I have written in the thought that our country is a land which was leserved until the new birth of Europe ■ that it was peopled by men and women who crossed the seas in faith ; that its foundations have been laid deep in a divine order • that the nation has been trusted with liberty.

A trust carries with it grave duties • the enlargement of liberty and justice is in the victory of the people over the forces of evil. So I bid God speed to all teachers of those who are to receive the trust of citizenship. H. E. S. Cambridge, Mass., August, 1884. TABLE OF CONTENTS. fart I. THE DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT OF NORTH AMERICA. Chapter Page I. Europe before the Discovery of America i II. Spain and Portugal 6 III. Christopher Columbus 10 IV. The First Voyage of Columbus 15 V. The Fate of Columbus 19 VI. Further Voyages of Discovery 23 VII. French Voyages , ... 27 VIII. The Spanish Conquest in America 30 IX. Spanish Failures in America 34 X. The First Emigration 38 XL England in the Sixteenth Century 42 XII. First Ventures of England in America 47 XIII. The Foundations of New Fkance. ........ 51 XIV.

The Dutch Traders 54 Topical Analysis for Review 59 Chronological Table 64 XV. Jamestown 65 XVI. Virginia 69 XVII. Plymouth 72 XVIII. The Puritan Migration 77 XIX. The Colony of Massachusetts Bay 81 XX. The Other New England Colonies 85 XXI. The Indians of North America 89 XXII. The English and the Indians 94 XXIII. England and New England 98 XXIV. The Loss of the Charters 101 XXV. The Quakers and New Jersey 106 XXVI. William Penn and his Colony no XXVII. The Old Dominion 115 XXVIII. Maryland J20 XXIX. The Carolinas and Georgia 123 Topical Analysis for Review 128 Chronological Table . . TABLE OF CONTENTS. VI r, Page Chapter XXX. France in America "35 XXXI. Conflict between the French and the English . . 138 XXXII. The Beginning of the War '43 XXXIII. The French and Indian War '47 XXXIV. The Fall of France in America '51 XXXV.

Pontiac's War lS& Topical Analysis for Review '5° Chronological Table 160 fart II. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE UNION. I. The Thirteen English Colonies. —1 161 II. The Thirteen English Colonies. — II 166 III. England and the Colonies 173 IV. The Beginning of the Quarrel 177 V. The First Resistance 182 VI. The First Fighting 188 VII. Open War 193 VIII. The Declaration of Independence 198 IX. The States and Congress 202 X. The War for Independence. — 1 207 XL The War for Independence. — II 212 XII. The War for Independence. — III 218 XIII. The War for Independence. — IV 223 XIV. The End of the War 229 1 End of the War 229 Topical Analysis for Review 233 Chronological Table 237 XV. What the War cost 239 XVI. After the War 243 XVII. The United States of America 246 XVIII. The Beginning of the Government 250 XIX.

The People of the United States. — 1 254 XX. The People of the United States. — II 250 v-*n -1-...- tt c-_ . . t^ *J~ XXI. The United States and Europe . 266 XXII. Dealings with Foreign Countries 270 U-VTTT T\..-.. t^_ __ _ ' XXIII. Difficulties with France 274 XXIV. Growth of the Union ,,s AA1V. LfROWTH OF THE UNION 278 XXV. The United States entangled with Europe . . . 282 XXVI. Destruction of American Commerce 286 XXVII. War with Great Britain 200 *»"'«« ., np. mun UKtAl DK11AIN 2QO XXVIII. The United States independent of Europe .... 296 Topical Analysis for Review ,OI Chronological Table to* TABLE OF CONTENTS. VII Part III. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE UNION. Chapter Page I. The Union and its Neighbors 305 II. The Business of the Country 309 III. Invention and Enterprise 31 IV. The System of Slavery 319 V. Slavery and Politics 324 VI.

Administration of Andrew Jackson 329 VII. Annexation of Texas 334 VIII. The War with Mexico 340 IX. Oregon 345 X. California 350 Topical Analysis for Review 355 Chronological Table 358 XL The Middle of the Century. — 1 359 XII. The Middle of the Century. — 11 , . 363 XIII. The Approaching Conflict 369 XIV. Secession 375 XV. The First Attack 379 XVI. The War for the Union. — 1 384 XVII. The War for the Union. — II 390 XVIII. The War for the Union. — HI 398 XIX. Fall of the Confederacy 405 XX. Reconstruction 411 XXI. After the Centennial Year 417 XXII. Signs of Progress 423 XX 111. The Present Nation 427 Topical Analysis for Review . 4-; Chronological Table 437

Appendix

. The Declaration of Independence The Constitution of the United States v The States and Territories, with their Areas and Population, Census of 1880 xxii Questions for Examination xxiii ftFNKSAL Index MAPS. [DRAWN BY JACOB WELLS. | COLORED. Page Physical Basis of the United States Frontispiece Routes of Navigators to India and America in the Fifteenth and sixteenth Centuries 27 New Spain and the West Indies 35 English and French possessions in North America at tlie time of the French and Indian War ; also Colonial Charter Claims 13s New England and New Netherland 135 The New England States during the War for Independence 193 The Middle States during the War for Independence 207 The Southern States during the War for Independence 223 Territorial Acquisitions of the United States 279 Mexico. — To illustrate the War, 1 846-4S 341 To illustrate the War for the Union 375 Note. — Red indicates non-seceding Slave Slates.

Pink indicates Free States. The United States of America 411 Divisions of the Country made by the United States Signal Service .... 425 UNCOLORED. Page Page ♦Vestern Coast of Africa, Spain, and Portugal 7 Crown Point and Ticonderoga . . 217 The Siege of Yorktown .... 227 St. Lawrence River and Gulf . . 29 Coast visited by Raleigh's Vessels 49 Western Movement of Centre of Population 256 The Canadian Frontier and Vicinity of Washington 290 Explorations of Champlain and Hudson 56 First settlements in Virginia ... 66 Hudson The Creek War 295 The New England Coast .... 80 Niagara River 297 Braddock's Route ...... 146 Campaign of General Taylor . . 341 Acadia 148 Charleston Harbor and its Approaches 378 Capture ot Quebec 155 Vicinity of Boston 1S4 Washington and Vicinity . . . 386 Arnold's Route 197 The Operations of the Army of the Potomac, etc 396 Vicinity of Vicksburg 401 The Peninsula, etc., between Norfolk and Richmond ..... 401 Vicinity of Quebec 197 Picinity of New York 209 Vicinity of Philadelphia .... 212 The Country between Montreal and New York ILLUSTRATIONS.

SEALS IN COLORS FROM OFFICIAL AUTHORITIES. Page Of the United States and of the Thirteen Original States 161 Of the States admitted into the Union, 1 791-1860 305 Of the States admitted into the Union 1861-1884, and of the Territories . . 359 Note. — The dates given on these pages are the years of the adoption of the Constitution, admission into the Union, and organization as Territories. LISTS OF PRESIDENTS tN THE ORDER OF THEIR ADMINISTRATIONS. Page Page From 1789 to 1829 328 From 1849 to 1861 372 From 1829 to 1849 338 From 1861 to 1885 420 ILLUSTRATIONS. The World as known to civilized Europe before the discovery of America . . 2 A Ship of the Vikings 3 A Monk illuminating a Book 5 Planting the Cross upon the Island 17 Coat-of-Arms of Columbus 20 An Ancient Printing Press 24 The Valley of Mexico 32 St. Augustine 41 a. The Town — looki"g South, b. Old Gateway, — Fort San Marco, c. Spanish Coat-of-Arms.

The Great Harry, the first famous ship of the English Navy 44 Flag of the Dutch West-India Company 57 Dutch and Indians Trading 58 The Mayflower 74 Roger Williams in Exile 87 Various Scenes in Indian Life 91 a. Pueblo Building, h. War Dance, c. Disposition of the dead, d. Head of chief, e. Mode of travel. A Stockade . . 95 Pine-tree Shilling 103 The Charter Oak 104 The Treaty Elm in 1 Soo ILLUSTRATIONS. X Page Philadelphia in 1682 "4 a. Site of the Town. b. Penn's House. Old Charleston ,25 Colonial Currency 133 a. Virginia Halfpenny, b. Lord Baltimore Shilling. The Attack on Schenectady 141 Indians sheltering Acadians '49 Quebec '53 a. The Rock of Quebec, b. Wolfe's Cove. Faneuil Hall, 1763 l65 A Tobacco Plantation ..171 Stamp '79 Carpenters' Hall, where the First Congress met 189 The Retreat from Lexington l9l Washington at Cambridge 196 a. The Elm under which he took command of the Army. b. His Head- Quarters, afterwards Longfellow's House.

Independence Hall, 1776 201 A Soldier in the Continental Army 207 Execution of Nathan Hale 210 Ruins of Fort Ticonderoga 216 Death of a Sentinel at Valley Forge 220 Capture of Major Andre 225 Surrrender of Cornwallis 228 Liberty Bell 238 Continental Currency 240 Interior of Independence Hall 246 L'nited States Mint 245 a. Exterior, b. Smelting-room. The " Clermont," Fulton's first Steamboat 260 The Indian and the Pioneer 262 Mount Vernon 273 The Guerriere and the Constitution 292 Battle of Lake Erie 294 Attack of the Highlanders — Battle of New Orleans 299 A Cotton Field ju A Western Farm -,!. The first Passenger Locomotive built in the United States 317 A Western Emigrant Train -.18 Scenes in Plantation Life t2i a. Corn Shucking, b. "Christmas, Missis?" Dr. Whitman starting for Washington ... ia% City of San Francisco p ,.0 Scenes in Western River Life ,54 a. Fort and Trading Post. b. Cordelling up the Mackinaw, c. Floating down the Mackinaw, d. Flat-boating, e. " Between Decks." /.

Steamboating — " Wooding up." Harper's Ferry „ . A .......1. "C . C .___ * Jl^ Attack on Fort Sumter , ,g2 Farragut's Fleet passing Forts Jackson and St. Philip ,02 The. M...,-;...-. - ..:«i.: — .1.,. r..~.\ — 1 1 " The Merrimac sinking the Cumberland ,g. ILLUSTRATIONS. xi Page Battle of Gettysburg — Defence of the Cemetery .... 400 Battle of Missionary Ridge .02 Liberty Enlightening the World 424 Great South Dome — Valley of the Yosemite . 42S Laying the first Atlantic Cable .2n The City of Washington 4-,2 ARTISTS. Page Barber (Miss) 165, 179 Pagf Moran, Peter . . 141,196,374,429,432 Cary, W. M 149, 364 Moran, Thomas .... 32, 351,428 Church, F. S 5 Parrish, Stephen . . . . 3, 17, 44, 74 Cooper, C. C, Jr. . . 20,24,57,189,201, Pyle, Howard .... 58, 87, 262, 349 238, 240 Redwood, A. C 321,400 Craig, T. B 113,246 Schell, F. B 95, 114, 153 Davidson, J. O. . 292, 294, 382, 392, 393 Shelton, W. H 228 Famy, H. F 91 Shirlaw, Walter 220 Fenn, Harry 216, 273 Stephens, C. H. . . 125, 249, 260,317 Frost, A. B. ... 192, 2jo, 225, 318 Taylor, W. I. 104 Gibson, W. Hamilton . . 17?, 311, 314 Wells, Jacob 2 Harper, W. St. J. ..... 41, 299 Zogbaum, R. F 207, 402 ENGRAVERS.

Andrew, Geo. T. . . 104, 165, 299, 374 Kingsley, Elbridge 32, 351 Collins, R. C 44, 400 Marsh, Henry. . . . 91.210,262,349 Nichols, David 228 Faber, L. E. . 2, 24, 57, 113, 189, 238, 240, 246, 382 Reed, C. H. . . . 196, 364, 429,432 French, Frank 3, 74. 4^8 Sharp,J.E.95, 114, 153,249,292,392,393 Harley, J. S 314 Snyder, H. M 125, 201, 294 Heard, T. H 311 Wellington, F. H 58, 321 Heinemann, E. . . . 5,41,216,273 Whitney, J. H. E. . . . 17,207,402 Held, E. C 171 Williams, G. P. 87, 141, 149, 192, 225,318 Juengiing, Fred 220 Willoughby (Miss) . . 20, 179, 260, ILLUSTRATIONS. PORTRAITS Engraver Page Christopher Columbus. Alter an engraving by Meicun (1843), from a picture-of the times William Penn. From the painting in Independence Hall, Thomas Johnson 1 1 G. Kruell Philadelphia . I09 Benjamin Franklin.

After an engraving by ChevDlet from the painting by Duplessis . G. Kruel! 169 George Washington. From the painting by Gilbert Stuart W. B. Closson 195 Daniel Webster. From a photograph from a painting by Chester Harding Thomas Johnson 333 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. From a photograph from life W. B. Closson 367 Thomas Johnson 409 Abraham Lincoln. From a photograph taken March, 1S65 THE FOLLOWING PORTRAITS ARE ENGRAVED FROM AUTHENTIC SOURCES BY THE PHOTO-ENGRAVING COMPANY Page Queen Isabella 14 Hernando Cortez 30 Sir Walter Raleigh 48 Captain John Smith 68 Governor John Winthrop ... 84 Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore . . 121 General Oglethorpe 127 Patrick Henry 180 Samuel Adams 185 Marquis de la Fayette 206 General Burgoyne ...... 213 General Anthony Wayne .... 223 General Nathanael Greene . . . 226 Alexander Hamilton 252 Eli Whitney 258 ' Robert Fulton 261 1 Daniel Boone 263 Thomas Jefferson 269 I Chief-Justice Marshall .... 27c I John C. Calhoun 327 ] Presidents Adams, Mauison, Monroe, J. Q. Adams 328 i President Andrew Jadtson . , . 330 1 Page Henry Clay 331 Presidents Van Burcn, Harrison, Tyler, Polk 338 Samuel F. B. Morse 360 Commodore Perry 361 Washington Irving 366 William Cullen Bryant .... 368 Presidents Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan 372 Jefferson Davis 377 General Winfield Scott .... 385 General Robert E. Lee .... 387 General U. S. Grant 390 General Joseph E. Johnston ... 394 General T. J. (Stonewall) Jackson 395 General George B. McClellan . . 397 Admiral David G. Farragut . . . 404 General George H. Thomas . . . 406 General W. T. Sherman .... 407 Presidents Johnson, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur .20 President Grover Cleveland ... 422 President Benjamin Harrison . .

HINTS TO TEACHERS. The three parts into which this history is divided correspond with the three great epochs of the country's life, and it will be found of great advantage to give to each part a thorough review before proceeding to the next. The Topical Analyses, which occur at convenient intervals, are designed to aid in such a review. They break up the narrative into natural groups of related facts, and enable one to get cross-sections of the history ; they furnish good subjects for compositions and discussions ; they give starting-points for new inquiries ; and they help to test the student's knowledge of the text, by compelling him to follow a new order, and to use his own language in stating facts and causes. The study of history affords, incidentally, the best opportunity for the cultivation of the faculty of expression.

Care has been taken to keep the text free from a multiplicity of dates. Those only have been given which it is desirable for the scholar to carry in his mind as pegs from which to hang im portant facts or movements. Many others, however, have been given as marginal notes. These will be found of service in fix ing the exact progress of events ; they are primarily mile-posts for the teacher's use. The Chronological Tables, besides their use for reference, can be made to suggest topics, by showing the nearness in time of events which at first sight appear to have nothing to do with one another, but really are very closely connected, like the three facts grouped under the date 1609. The full index, also, at the end of the volume, affords a means for bringing together scat- HINTS TO TEACHERS. tered references to a single topic which may run through the book, or a large portion of it.

One may, for example, by means of the article " France," trace the relation of that country to the New World from its first possession to its final exclusion. The groundwork, however, is in acquiring a thorough and accurate knowledge of the text, and questions 1 have been prepared, not as exhausting the subject, — for any skilful teacher can vary and multiply questions indefinitely, — but as offering a fair trial of a scholar's knowledge of any chapter. They are ques tions which cannot be answered by yes or no ; they require the pupil to know what he has studied, and very often to have thought carefully about the lesson. Indeed, the best questions are those which grow out of the recitations of a pupil, and the series given in this book should be taken as containing rather suggestions than a hard and fast set of questions.

Some have been introduced, — distinguished by being printed in italic, — which cannot be answered directly from the text, but require reasoning or fuller information ; they will aid in exciting that independent research which is the life of historic study. In connection with the questions, titles have been given of books which it is desirable to read. They are often stories, for the purpose has been to select those which make history a living stream to the imagination. In each case the book named relates to the subject under consideration in the questions which follow. It would be worth while for schools, in districts which are remote from libraries and large towns, to club together to buy these books and keep them as a library of reference and reading in American history. All words which are difficult of pronunciation are analyzed by sound at the head of the chapter in which they first occur ; in the same place definitions are given of new terms, and these definitions frequently add material knowledge.

If a teacher is at a loss at any time for the explanation of a word, a reference to the index will show where the word was first used, and the head 1 See Appendix, pp. xxiii-xxxviii. HINTS TO TEACHERS. XV of the chapter will contain the explanation. The teacher is recommended to make liberal use of the pictures in exciting the interest of the pupil and in testing his knowledge. They have been carefully prepared with a view to accuracy and sug gestiveness. For example, suppose the picture to be that on page 196, the following questions could easily be asked, those in italic requiring a knowledge beyond what the book gives. 1. Why is the elm called the Washington elm? 2. Where does it stand? 3. How long, at least, has it stood there? 4. What is the ring round the trunks 5 . Why is it there ? 6.

What are the people looking at who stand in front of it 1 7. What does it say on the stone ? 8. Is there any one -word which could be spared from the inscription ? 9. Why ? 10. Whence did the army come of which Wash. ington took charge ? 11. Had it been in any action before he took charge of it ? 12. Why did it gather at Cambridge? 13. What is there in Cambridge which makes the place famous ? 14. How did Cambridge get its name? 15. What was it at first called? 16. Whose headquarters was the house ? 17. How near to ihe eltn is it' 18. Who has since occupied it ? 19. Name his principal poem. These questions could, of course, be indefinitely extended to take in the military movements about Boston, and the lives of Washington and Longfellow. Finally, the maps, large and small, afford the teacher admirable opportunities for special examination and review.

To show more explicitly how they can be used, two illustrative exercises are here given. The first is based on the little map on page 56. 1. What names are near the middle of the map ? 2. At what time did Hudson discover the river that bears his name ? 3. In whose service was he at the time ? 4. What was he in search of? 5. What people based their claim to this territory on Hudson's discovery ? 6. In those days what constituted ownership in newly discovered lands ? 7. What city is situated near the place marked on the map ? 8. Of what was it the centre in old times ? 9. What name did the Dutch give to the place ? to the country ? 10. What were the Dutch farmers called who obtained the land near this spot ? II. When did the English obtain possession of this ter ritory ? 12. On what did they base their claims to ownership ? 13.

Who was the Dutch governor at the time of the seizure ? 14. Why does the name of Champlain appear here? 15. By what waters had he come? 16. What was he in search of? 17. What Indians came with him ? 18. With what Indians did he have a battle ? 19. Why were the Iroquois always enemies of the French ? 20. What city did Champlain found? 21. How far south did the French possessions ex tend ? 22. What forts were established near this place in the French and Indian War ? 23. When the French wished to invade English territory what route did they take ? the English, French territory ? 24. In what other war did this locality become important ? 25. On what occasion, and by whom, was it said, " In the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress"? HINTS TO TEACHERS. XVI The next exercise is based on the map to be found between pages 278 and 279.

This map is, in a sense, an epitome of the civil and military history of the country down to the close of the Mexican War. 1. Locate the places where the first settlements were made. 2. Name the thirteen original States. 3. Was Vermont one of them ? if not, when admitted ? 4. Locate the various nationalities that settled on the Atlantic coast. 5. Name some of the most distinguished men connected with the history of these colonies, and mention some interesting incidents in their lives. 6. In what colonies were there struggles with the Indians ? 7. What Indians were always friendly to the whites? 8. Who has written five good books on the Indians? 9. Who is the hero in all of them ? 10. What was the last severe Indian war ? n. Whatman that was afterwards President took part in it ? 12. What range of mountains separated the thirteen colonies from the Mississippi Valley? 13.

Who owned that valley ? 14. On what ground did they claim it ? 15. On what grounds did the English base their claims ? 16. What war grew out of these rival claims ? 17. What general was killed while marching to attack an important fort ? 18. What city is there now f 19. Point out its place on the map. 20. At what time did England become possessed of a large portion of what is now the United States? 21. How extensive was our territory by the treaty of 1783? 22. Why did we not obtain Canada? 23. Was any effort made to get it? 24. Who were the commanders of the forces, and what routes did they take ? 25. Give the circumstances under which we obtained the Louisiana cession, the States of Texas, California, and Oregon. In reviews of this kind, it is not necessary to draw the map upon the board.

Let the pupil have the map before him. By a little practice he will become very expert in the needed preparation for such exercises as the above. The author desires to make his acknowledgments to Mr. L. W. Anderson for his aid in preparing these illustrative map exercises and the questions for examination at the end of the book. I A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

Chapter I. Europe Before The Discovery Of America

Norse'men. Inhabitants of ancient Norway and Sweden. Skald (siahld). A reciter or singer of ballads among the Norsemen. Fjord (f'yord). An arm of the sea, = firth, ox frith, in Scotland. Saga (sah'gah). A story or song among the Norsemen. Saga means "saying." Viking ( VeeHing). A sea robber; from vik, a Norse word meaning a "creek" or "bay." The word has nothing to do with king. Vln'land (= vineland) ; so called from the wild grapes that were found there. 1. THERE once was a time when the people living in Europe did not know that there was a continent lying between two great oceans, the Atlantic and the Pa cific. Their ships had sailed along the western coast of Europe, and had crept a little way down the western coast of Africa ; but they dared not go far out of sight of land. 2. In the far north, in the ninth century after Christ, the hardy Norsemen found Iceland, when their vessels were blown across to it by fierce winds ; ar»d later, by a like chance, they came upon Greenland.

They occupied Iceland, and made a few settlements in Greenland Ihe Werld u toown to Civilized Europe before the Discovery of America. 3. The coast of Norway is broken by long arms of the sea, called " fjords," which stretch far inland and branch into lesser creeks and inlets. The mountains which cover the greater part of Norway end sharply by the side of these waters ; and in the sheltered coves vikings kept their vessels, which were long boats, driven partly by sails and partly by oars. 4. The vikings were sea robbers, who came out to plunder by sea and by land ; and when they returned EUROPE BEFORE THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 3 to their mountain homes and gathered about their hall fires and at their feasts, some of their number would sing the wonderful deeds of the vikings. 5. These singers were called " skalds," and the songs and stories which they told were called "sagas."

The sagas were repeated by one and another, and at last were written down. In some of these sagas we read ~s the voyages of the vikings to Vinland. A Ship of the Viking 6. And where is Vinland? Many believe that about the year 1000, these bold rovers of the sea, passing from Norway to Iceland, and thence to Greenland, pushed on still farther to what is now the coast of New England, and gave to this country the name of Vinland. 7. They made no long stay in Vinland, and left no settlements there; but when they went home they told of their adventures, and of the strange people the37 had seen. These stories were told to their friends and neighbors, but were not known in southern Europe. 8. When the vikings were making these voyages, there was very little travel from one part of Europe to another.

There were no large kingdoms, but the country was ruled over by a great number of kings, princes, dukes, counts, and chiefs, who were continually sighting with one an other. The one bond of union for all these peoples was the Church, whose head was the Pope at Rome. 9. Five hundred years later, Europe was in a very different condition. People lived more at peace with one another. Cities were growing rich and strong. Trade was carried on by merchants who travelled between distant parts of the country and into Asia, and by sailors who went from one port to another, or pushed from headland to headland along the coast of Africa. 10. It was as if the world had waked from a long sleep. Learned men were eagerly asking what had happened and what had been written centuries before in Greece and Rome.